Getting Started with Orbem Studio

This guide will walk you through installing Orbem Studio, completing the initial setup, and creating your first playable game area.

Table of Contents

Installation

From WordPress Plugin Directory

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New
  3. Search for "Orbem Studio"
  4. Click Install Now on the Orbem Studio plugin
  5. Click Activate once installation completes

Manual Installation

  1. Download the orbem-studio plugin folder
  2. Upload the folder to /wp-content/plugins/ on your server
  3. Navigate to Plugins in your WordPress admin
  4. Find "Orbem Studio" and click Activate

Requirements Check

After activation, Orbem Studio will verify your server meets the minimum requirements:

Initial Setup Wizard

Upon first activation, Orbem Studio will trigger a setup wizard to help you configure essential settings.

Setup Flow

graph LR
    Activate[Plugin Activated] --> Setup[Setup Wizard]
    Setup --> Page[Create Game Page]
    Page --> Area[Create First Area]
    Area --> Character[Create Main Character]
    Character --> Weapon[Create Starting Weapon]
    Weapon --> Options[Configure Global Options]
    Options --> Ready[Ready to Build]

The setup wizard will guide you through:

  1. Creating a dedicated page for your game
  2. Setting up your first area/level
  3. Creating your main character
  4. Selecting a default weapon
  5. Configuring essential game options

You can access the setup wizard anytime from Orbem Studio → Game Options in your WordPress admin.

Creating Your First Area

Areas are the levels or maps where your game takes place. Each area has its own background image, music, and collection of game objects.

Step-by-Step Area Creation

  1. In your WordPress admin, navigate to Orbem Studio → Areas
  2. Click Add New
  3. Enter a title for your area (e.g., "Starting Zone" or "Level 1")

Essential Area Configuration

In the Configuration meta box, set the following fields:

Map Image

Upload a large background image that serves as the playable area. This is where your character will walk.

Tip: Larger images provide more exploration space, but may impact load times. Optimize images for web before uploading.

Background Music (Optional)

Upload an audio file to play continuously while in this area.

Starting Position

Set where the player character appears when entering this area:

Example values for center positioning:

Top: 2000
Left: 2500
Direction: down

Area Transitions (Optional)

To connect this area to others, configure an area trigger:

Publishing Your Area

Click Publish to make your area available in the game. You can create as many areas as you need for your game world.

Creating Your First Character

Characters can be playable (controlled by the player) or NPCs (non-player characters with pre-defined behaviors).

Creating a Playable Character

  1. Navigate to Orbem Studio → Characters
  2. Click Add New
  3. Enter a character name (e.g., "Hero" or "Alex")

Character Configuration

Character Images

Orbem Studio supports directional character sprites with multiple states. At minimum, you need:

Static Poses:

Walking Animations:

Combat Poses (Optional):

Tip: Use GIF files for walking animations, or PNG files for static poses. All images should be the same dimensions for consistent appearance.

Character Position

Place your character in an area:

Example character size:

Height: 100
Width: 80

Playable Character Options

For characters the player can control:

Character Name Override

The "Character Name" field allows you to set a display name different from the post title. This is useful for:

Publishing Your Character

Click Publish to add your character to the game world.

Configuring Global Game Options

Global options control game-wide settings that affect all areas, characters, and gameplay systems.

Accessing Global Options

Navigate to Orbem Studio → Game Options in your WordPress admin.

Essential Settings

Page for Game

Select which WordPress page will display your game. This page will be replaced with the game interface when viewed by users.

  1. Create a new page (e.g., "Play Game")
  2. Publish the page (remove any content to avoid conflicts with game assets)
  3. Select this page in the "Page For Game" option

Starting Area

Choose which area players begin in when they first load the game. This can be your tutorial or introductory level.

Main Character

Select which character the player controls at game start. This must be a character. This character must not have an Area, Top or Left fields filled out. Those fields are not needed for your main character.

Default Weapon

Choose the starting weapon for your main character. Many games use "fist" or "unarmed" as the default. Note, weapons are not required. This is more important if you plan on having multiple types of weapons.

Require Login

Choose whether players must create an account to play:

HUD Customization

The HUD (Heads-Up Display) shows player stats and controls during gameplay.

HUD Bars

Choose which stat bars to display:

Select only the stats relevant to your game design.

Custom Icons (Optional)

Override default HUD icons:

External Integrations (Optional)

Google Login (OAuth)

To enable Google Sign-In:

  1. Create a Google Cloud project
  2. Set up OAuth 2.0 credentials
  3. Add your Client ID to the "Google Login ClientID" field

Google Text-to-Speech

To enable voice acting for cutscenes and dialogue:

  1. Enable the Google Cloud Text-to-Speech API
  2. Generate an API key
  3. Add the key to the "Google TTS API Key" field

Note: These integrations send data to Google's services. See the plugin's privacy policy for details.

Saving Options

Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page to apply your configuration.

Testing Your Game

Once you've created an area, and character, and configured global options, you're ready to test your game.

Accessing Your Game

  1. Navigate to the page you selected as "Page For Game" in global options
  2. The game interface will load with your starting area
  3. If "Require Login" is enabled, you'll see a login screen first

Basic Controls

Default game controls:

What to Test

  1. Movement - Can your character walk around the area?
  2. Boundaries - Does your character stay within the map?
  3. Starting Position - Does your character appear in the correct location?

Troubleshooting

Character doesn't appear:

Game page is blank:

Character falls through the map:

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've created the foundation of your game. Here's what to explore next:

Add Gameplay Elements

Use Developer Mode

Customize Your Game

Build Your World

Advanced Topics

Need help? Check out the other documentation sections or visit https://orbem.studio/ for support resources.