dotnet guides you through building foundational systems in Godot using C#, including scenes, nodes, collision, and third-person camera setups in this practical game development tutorial.

Scenes and Nodes - The Core Building Blocks in Godot with C# (Part 4 of 9)

In Episode 4 of our Godot C# training series, we explore the core principles and tools you need to start actual game development in Godot using C#.

Key Topics Covered

  • Scenes and Nodes in Godot: Learn how scenes and nodes compose the foundation of Godot projects.
  • Creating a Level Scene: Step-by-step instructions to build your first level, add a ground plane, and implement collision detection.
  • Building a Reusable Player Character: Use CharacterBody3D for a player character and integrate a third-person camera setup with SpringArm3D.
  • Node Hierarchy and Mesh Setup: Organize your game objects, optimize for reuse, and work with 3D meshes.
  • Lighting: Add directional lighting and adjust settings for visual fidelity.
  • Reusable Scenes: Improve design efficiency using scene instancing so obstacles or items can be reused easily.

Walkthrough

  1. Scenes and Nodes in Godot: Understand why Godot uses scenes as the basic unit and nodes for building behavior.
  2. Creating the Level Scene: Set up the project and create a simple level scene that will host all gameplay.
  3. Adding Ground and Collision: Add a ground mesh with collision so the player character has a surface to move on.
  4. Player Character and Camera: Build a CharacterBody3D player and attach a camera with SpringArm3D to follow player movement.
  5. Node Inheritance: Learn how inheritance helps reuse scene logic and behavior.
  6. Lighting: Create realistic lighting using DirectionalLight3D.
  7. Reusable Scene Instancing: Demonstrate making obstacles as reusable scenes for rapid level building.

Hands-On Challenge

  • Create a new Obstacle Scene: Design an obstacle that blocks the player, and experiment with material and rendering settings.

Resources

Connect with the .NET Community

Chapters

  • 00:04 - Scenes and Nodes in Godot
  • 01:01 - Creating the Level Scene
  • 02:32 - Adding Ground and Collision
  • 04:00 - Visualizing with MeshInstance3D
  • 05:20 - Fixing Collision Shape Warnings
  • 06:45 - Understanding Node Inheritance
  • 08:00 - Building the Player Scene
  • 11:00 - Godot’s Coordinate System Explained
  • 12:00 - Setting Up the Third-Person Camera
  • 13:45 - Adding and Positioning the Camera
  • 15:00 - Nesting and Reusing Scenes
  • 16:00 - Adding Lighting to the Scene
  • 17:30 - Challenge: Create an Obstacle Scene
  • 18:00 - Wrap-Up and What’s Next

Conclusion

By following dotnet’s walkthrough, you will gain practical experience with Godot’s scene system and C# scripting, preparing a playable 3D level and solid foundations for further game development.