Start your day with a warm up.
Let’s talk about modding, specifically modding a game. Take a few minutes to research modding then write about what you learned. If you have ever modded anything game related, what was it? Was it hardware or software? Have you ever bricked anything while modding? Is there any modding project you are curious about? 150 Words 3 Points
Class Appropriate! Remember, in a job setting, you want to read the room. Take a moment to consider your audience, no matter if it is a class assignment, a meeting at work or your company holiday party.
What are we working on today?
Super Mario Modding
Why is it important?
This is some actual OG game modding. What is modding? I personally define it as intentionally changing a game for an unintended purpose.
This is how you will be able to change the theme and look of the game art.
How will you show you understand? What is the assignment?
Follow along with me and then you will find at least one partner.
You and each of your partners are do each mod three NPCs (so you will each mod 3 different NPCs).
You will then each create a level and combine them into a world (we will do that later).
Level is worth 3 points
So we are going Take a sprite sheet from SMBX
Import the sprite sheet into Piskel
Modify the sprite
Export the sprite sheet
Convert to gif file
Replace the original file with the modified file
Open your SMBX Folder
Open the Graphics Folder
Now that you are in the graphics folder, open the NPC Folder
Find Your NPC-1.GIF file and make a copy. Do the same for NPC-1m.gif
If you recall, the file with the m at the end is the mask or area blocked out/off
Ctrl + C to copy
Ctrl + V to paste
Ctrl + X to cut
Ctrl + Z to undo
Open up Piskel and Click Import
Import from a picture
Browse Images
Find your npc-1 folder in your SMBX > GRAPHICS > NPC
Select it
NOT THE COPY!
Remember, this is a Sprite Sheet so the gif file separates it into the psrts and shows them at the FPS we set it to.
IMPORTANT
We are importing a sprite sheet! If we wanted it to be a single 32 x 64 image, we just select and import BUT we need two images from the sprite sheet.
So we select Import as a Spritesheet and we know the total width is 32 and the total height is 64. We need two frames so we divide 64 by 2 and get a frame size of 32 x 32
Import
Now I have the two frames for the mushroom animation.
Let’s Make the eyes in the second frame red so that is flashes
Extend the head on BOTH Frames
Click Export on the tab in the middle right side of your screen
You would think this is the end, I export the animation so all I have to do is drop it in the game but you would be incorrect!
Remember, we are going OLD school. The SMBX Game engine ready the sprite sheet as a gif, NOT an animated gif.
Piskel exports the spritesheet to PNG so we need to export to PNG, convert to gif and replace the original art with our modded sprites.
Our original image was 32 wide x 64″ tall. That was one column x 2 rows
Click Download
Once you have downloaded the file, rename it npc-1 (MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE A COPY)
Replace it in your SMBX NPCs Folder
Do the same for the Mask File
I have downloaded my superhead mushroom and the modified mask files as PNG Files.
Check out EZ Gif
Select Make a Gif
Save File
Save the file and RENAME IT npc-1.gif
Replace it in your original NPC Folder
Repeat the steps for the masked sprite
Save and Test
