User Manual
This manual is for artists, designers, and game makers building with Opal — in the browser at opal-engine.com, or in Opal Desktop. It follows the real editor workflow: create a project, build scenes, prepare assets, wire behavior, play-test, publish to the arcade, and export backups when you need them.
Code how-to lives under Scripts. The left sidebar lists the high-level track, your first component, and Flap. The Scripting API also has a low-level track, then every class. Lookup pages live under Reference.
Prefer a guided path? The 15-lesson sequence on Learn walks these same chapters in build order — Your first hour → Make it a game → Make it yours — with a local progress strip. Use Learn when you want order; use this Manual when you want to look something up.
The Opal Loop
Recommended Path
Start with projects, scenes, autosave, the top bar, panels, and play mode.
Build the coin collector before designing something large. It touches the core tools without burying you.
Use Pixel Studio for drawing, Art Canvas for sprite sequences, Sound Canvas for SFX, Particle Canvas for `.pfx` effects, Variables for GameState, Skeleton Studio for characters, Components for reusable systems, Flow for rules, and UI for menus and HUD.
Publish small builds to the arcade during development so the game is always playable outside the editor. On Desktop, Cloud Sync the folder first, then publish from the browser.
Sections
Each section page lists its own topics. For code, start at the Scripting API (high-level and low-level tracks). For lookup catalogs, see Reference.
Introduction, setup, your first game, and the editor overview.
Projects, scenes, GameState, objects, assets, art, sound, FX, components.
Flow, motion, physics, prefabs, UI, input, audio, VFX, and Scripts.
Testing, multiplayer, publishing, and troubleshooting.
Tip: the sidebar on the left mirrors these groups — if you arrived from Learn, this is the same territory, organized for lookup.
Quick Reference
Workspaces: Arrange, Flow (Object / Scene), Animate (Motion / Rigging), Create (Pixels / Art / Sound / FX), Scripts, UI
Top-bar menus: File for save/import/export/publish (Desktop also has folders and Cloud Sync), Add for assets, Help for tutorials/shortcuts/console/problems/about. Bottom shelf: Variables for GameState and Input for project input settings
Play: Play in viewport, fullscreen play, Stop, Stats, Live Flow overlay
Undo / redo: Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (or Ctrl+Shift+Z for redo on Mac-style layouts)
Use Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac) to search all documentation.