Creating a level editor

Hello everybody,

I haven't been posting recently, but do not let that delude you - I have been working! In October, I made the realization that my workflow is inefficient, and that I do not accomplish as much as I would like in the time that I am developing. One huge problem to tackle is the efficiency of level editing, scene creation, and creating the bulk of what this game will be. The room editor has too many miscellaneous features and is too clunky to be able to quickly create levels the way that I would like to create them. It may be passable, but it does not maximize the amount of time and effort spent. The solution: a level editor.

I know that recently I have been posting ideas and things without any sustenance, but this has been in the works for quite some time. There is also the usual obstacle of life, and as I am developing as a hobby, I am not able to spend as much time as I may want to on this. Here are some screenshots:

This is the general layout of the editor. I am utilizing the GUI Library IMGui for this project, with a port to GML by rou.sr - and it is working tremendously. Being able to focus on what actually needed to be completed rather than spending all my time creating a GUI system saved huge amounts of time. It is incredible easy to use and is the heart of this project. I am not fully settled on the design of the GUI, but it is workable, and I intend to polish after creating the bulk of the features that I would like to incorporate.  Enough talk about the GUI - let's get into the editor! 

Tiles, Scenes, and Objects

This is the resource window - resources will be selected from here to be placed in the level. There are also three tabs - tiles, scenes and objects.

I have spent the majority of time on the tiles tab, as it is proving to be the most difficult. This tab allows you to select a tile and place it on the selected layer. The difficult bit about it is incorporating the selection of a specific tile into the GUI - the framework is expansive, but it has been a bit of a hassle to incorporate this feature. Nevertheless, it is working now.

The scenes tab is rather simple, but not yet completed. It will have settings, sliders, and checkboxes to manipulate the environment. The background parallax, particles, lighting, and more will be edited here.

The objects tab is also simple and essentially has been completed. It allows you to select any object resource and place it within the level.

Toolbox

Lastly, on the right hand of the screen there is the toolbox. I have enjoyed using GameMaker's tile editing tools, and wanted to bring their functionality into my level editor. In a similar way, there is a small window to reset the view and enable the grid, and another to select tools from the toolbox. It is all very simple, and there is not much else to it.

Additional Developers / User Level Creation

For as long as this project has existed, it has been my project and mine alone. I have had no one to share the burden of development with. With this level editor, I can now share this burden with people who have no coding experience. I can enlist the help of friends to create levels, which will take much of the repetition out of what I am doing. I have already had several individuals agree to help, which has been tremendous news.

Who knows? I think the game is actually on its way to being finished.