Switch Device Design Examples

Switch devices can be operated by users to turn devices on or off, or as a game mechanic to start or stop other devices.

Simple Light Switch Mechanic

One basic use of the Switch device is as a light switch as it can be easily configured to turn other devices on and off.

Devices Used

• 1 x Player Spawner device

• 2 x Customizable Light (Torch) devices

• 1 x Switch device

Set Up the Devices

1. Place the Castle Cellar prefab building.

2. Place a Player Spawner device outside the door.

3. Place a Switch device inside the building.

4. Customize the switch:

   

   Option	Value
   Turn On Text	Turn On Lights
   Turn Off Text	Turn Off Lights
   Device Model	Antique Lever (Unlit)

5. Place two Customizable Lights (Torch) devices.

6. Customize the lights:

   

   Option	Value	Description
   Initial State	Off
   Brightness Scale	1.0
   Turn On Team	None	Makes it so that players cannot directly interact with the Lights.
   Turn Off Team	None	Makes it so that players cannot directly interact with the Lights.

Bind Functions and Events

Direct event binding is how you set devices to communicate directly with other devices. This involves setting functions and events for the devices involved.

1. Configure the following events on the switch:

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Turned On	Torch, Torch2	Turn On
   On Turned Off	Torch, Torch2	Turn Off

You now have the basic functionality for players interacting with lights using the Switch device!

Design Tip

You can connect a switch to any device. These are  useful in turning different devices on and off! A switch can be easily used to open and close a door remotely, trigger the movement of a prop, or enable or disable a vehicle. 

Build a Persistent Tutorial Manager

The Switch device can be configured to save its state between playthroughs, allowing for very basic and straightforward data saving.

In this example, you will use a switch to create a system that automatically skips a tutorial if the player has completed it before.

Devices Used

• 1 x Switch device

• 1 x Player Spawner device

• 1 x Item Granter device

• 1 x Creature Spawner device

• 2 x Player Checkpoint devices

• 2 x Teleporter devices

• 1 x Trigger device

Set Up the Basic Gameplay

You’ll begin by setting up the basic play area and gameplay functionality. 

1. Create a play area with pieces from the Obstacle Course Gallery Blue Gallery. 

   Make sure the area has distinct sections for the tutorial and gameplay segments.

2. Place a Player Spawner device in another area of the map that the player will see during the starting countdown.

3. Place an Item Granter device and register a Legendary Tactical Assault Rifle to the device.  

4. Customize the item granter:

   

   Option	Value
   Receiving Players	All
   Spare Weapon Ammo	999
   Grant on Game Start	On

5. Place a Creature Spawner device in the tutorial area, and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Creature Type	Fiend
   Activation Range	3.0 Tiles
   Max Spawn Distance	1.0 Tiles

Configure the Different Start Points

You’ll now use the Teleporter and Player Checkpoint devices to configure starting locations for the tutorial and gameplay segments.

1. Place a Player Checkpoint device at the beginning of the tutorial segment, and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Visible In Game	Off
   Play Activate FX	Off

2. Place a Teleporter device on top of the player checkpoint and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Teleporter Rift Visible	No
   Play Visual Effects	No
   Play Sound Effects	No

3. Copy these two devices and place another pair at the beginning of the Gameplay segment. Rename them accordingly.

4. Customize the new Gameplay Teleporter device.

   

   Option	Value	Description
   Teleporter Group	Group B	This ensures that the two Teleporters are not connected to one another and will only teleport the player on events.
   Teleporter Target Group	Group B	This ensures that the two Teleporters are not connected to one another and will only teleport the player on events.
   Teleporter Rift Visible	No
   Play Visual Effects	No
   Play Sound Effects	No

Set Up the Persistent Switch

Now, set up a switch to keep track of whether the player has completed the tutorial, and to save the data.

1. Place a Switch device and customize.

   

   Option	Value
   Visible During Game	No
   Use Persistence	Use
   Auto-Save	Yes
   Auto-Load	Game Start

2. Place a Trigger device in the doorway at the exit of the tutorial segment and customize.

   

   Option	Value
   Visible In Game	Off
   Times Can Trigger	1
   Trigger VFX	Off
   Trigger SFX	Off

Bind Functions and Events

The next step is to bind the functions and events.

1. Configure the following event on the Player Spawner device, ensuring that the switch checks its state on game start.

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Player Spawned	Tutorial Switch	Check State

2. Configure the following events on the switch to send the player to the correct location and set their respawn location at the beginning of the game.

   

   On Check Result On	Gameplay Checkpoint	Register
   On Check Result On	Gameplay Teleporter	Teleport
   On Check Result Off	Tutorial Checkpoint	Register
   On Check Result Off	Tutorial Teleporter	Teleport

3. Configure the following events on the Trigger device to update the player’s respawn point and save their tutorial progress when they complete the tutorial segment. 

   

   On Triggered	Gameplay Checkpoint	Register
   On Triggered	Tutorial Switch	Turn On

You now have the basic functionality for a system that uses a switch to track whether a player has completed a tutorial!

Design Tip

This example showcases a Persistent Tutorial Manager in a single-player context, but the persistence functionality on the switch can easily be used for multiplayer games as well.

For each player to have their own unique switch, make sure the Store State Per Player setting is on Yes. This would be great in Islands where different players can enter the game at different times, making sure that each is able to interact with the tutorial on their own.

Build a King-of-the-Hill Game!

The Switch device can be used as an interactable objective in a two-player King-of-the-Hill game!

In this example, you will use a Switch device to represent which player is in control of the hill. If On, the Blue Team is in control. If Off, the Red Team is in control.

Devices Used

• 1 x Switch device

• 2 x Player Spawner devices

• 2 x Team Settings & Inventory devices

• 2 x End Game devices

• 3 x Timer devices

• 16 x Customizable Light (Spotlight) devices

• 6 x VFX Spawner devices

• 2 x Skydome devices

• 2 x Channel devices

Set Up the Play Area and Basic Devices

1. Create a play area with a large hill in the center using pieces from the Obstacle Course Gallery Black and Obstacle Course Gallery Grip Tape galleries.

2. Add spawn areas for each team using pieces from the Obstacle Course Gallery Blue and Obstacle Course Gallery Red galleries.

3. Place a large Switch device on the top of the hill and customize.

   

   Option	Value
   Enabled at Game Start	No
   Turn On Text	CHANGE TO BLUE
   Turn Off Text	CHANGE TO RED
   Device Model	Antique Lever (Unlit)

4. Place a Timer device to create a delay before the switch activates at the beginning of the game and customize it.

   

   

   Option	Value
   Duration	10.0 Seconds
   Timer Name	Game Start
   Start at Game Start	On
   Can Interact	No
   Visible During Game	HIdden
   Timer Color	White
   Display Time In	Seconds Only
   Timer Running Text	Hill Active In…

5. Place an Item Granter device and register a Legendary Tactical Assault Rifle to the device.

6. Customize the device.

   

   Option	Value
   Receiving Players	All
   Spare Weapon Ammo	999
   Grant on Game Start	On

Configure the Two Teams

1. Place a Player Checkpoint device in the blue spawn area and customize it to Team 1 (the Blue team).

   

2. Place a Team Settings & Inventory device in the blue spawn area, and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Team Name	Blue
   Team	1
   Team Color	Sky Blue

3. Place an End Game device in the blue spawn area and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Winning Team	Team 1
   Custom Victory Callout	Blue Wins

4. Place a Timer device in the blue spawn area, and customize it.

   

   Option	Value
   Duration	20.0 Seconds
   Timer Name	Blue
   Can Interact	No
   Visible During Game	Hidden
   Timer Color	Sky Blue
   Display Time In	Seconds Only
   Timer Running Text	BLUE WINS IN…
   Timer Label Text Style	Blue
   Enable Urgency Mode	On
   Urgency Mode Time	5.0 Seconds

5. Copy the devices placed in this section and place the duplicates in the red spawn area. Update the settings on the devices for Team 2 instead of Team 1 and Red instead of Blue where applicable.

Set Up the VFX

1. Place 16 Customizable Lights (Spotlight) devices along the top of the hill, and customize them.

   

   Option	Value
   Activate on Phase	Game Start
   Brightness Scale	1.0
   Color	White
   Color Change Time	Instant
   Turn On Team	None
   Turn Off Team	None

2. Place two VFX Spawner devices at the top of the hill. Customize each spawner to your liking, with one set for blue and one for red. Make sure the spawners are set to Enabled on Phase at None.

3. Place four additional VFX spawners on the sides of the hill. Customize each to your liking, with one on each side for blue and one on each side for red.

4. Place two Channel devices, one for blue and one for red. These will streamline our direct event binding for the VFX in the next section.

Bind Functions and Events

1. Configure the following events on the Game Start Timer device to enable the switch after a 10-second starting delay.

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Success	Switch	Enable

2. Configure the following events on the Blue Timer to make the Blue Team win if the timer reaches 0.  

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Success	Blue End Game Device	Activate

3. Repeat the previous step with the red timer and Red End Game device.

4. Configure the following events on the Blue Channel device to trigger the VFX changes when the channel is triggered.

   

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Received Transmit	Light-Light16	Set to Team Color
   On Received Transmit	Red VFX Spawner1-3	Disable
   On Received Transmit	Blue VFX Spawner1-3	Enable

5. Repeat the previous step with the Red Channel. Configure it so that it disables the Blue VFX Spawners and Skydome, and enables the Red VFX Spawners and Skydome. Leave the light events the same. 

6. Configure the following events on the switch to start and pause the timers and trigger the VFX channels.

   

   

   Event	Select Device	Select Function
   On Turned On	Blue Timer	Start
   On Turned On	Blue Timer	Resume
   On Turned On	Red Timer	Pause
   On Turned On	Blue VFX Channel	Transmit
   On Turned Off	Red Timer	Start
   On Turned Off	Red Timer	Resume
   On Turned Off	Blue Timer	Pause
   On Turned Off	Red VFX Channel	Transmit

You now have a fully functioning King-of-the-Hill game!

Design Tip

This example is configured for just two players, but you could add more player spawners to accomodate a larger battle.

When adding more players, make sure the play space is large enough to accommodate many interactions at once, and tune the amount of time it takes players to respawn to keep the gameplay engaging!