Starter Kit 3D Platformer

This repository has a basic template for a 3D platformer game.

Note

The original was written by Kenney for Godot 4.3 (stable).

The template includes such features as:

• Character controller (with double jump)
• Collectable coins and falling platforms
• Camera controls (rotate, zoom)
• GamePad support
• Basic Convex Hull Collision System
• Uses Blender for Level Editing
• Sprites and 3D Models (CC0 licensed)
• Sound effects (CC0 licensed)

Screenshot

Controls

• Standard keyboard controls (WASD, Space), plus GamePad support
• Camera controls (Arrows to move), Comma/Period Zoom
• Mouse clickable menus

Build Instructions

• Make sure your system is set up for MonoGame development by following the documentation at https://docs.monogame.net/
• Clone the repository.
• dotnet build Starter-Kit-3D-Platformer.sln
• dotnet run --project Platforms/Desktop/Desktop.csproj

Note

A Directory.Packages.props configuration exists at the root of the project to make managing the version of MonoGame (and the Content Dependencies) used by the project simpler. From here, you only need to change the MonoGameVersion property to update the version of MonoGame used to build/run the project.

For debug builds we define a DEVMODE conditional define. This is used to make sure development code is not included in the final build.

When in debug mode you can use the following keys to show/see debug information.

• F1 : Show/Hide collision meshes
• F2 : Show/Hide RenderTargets for Shadow and Post Processing'.
• F3 : Show/Hide Performance Metrics.
• +/- : Speed up or slow time the game time. Useful for debugging animations.
• M : Mute/UnMute the Music.

Project Layout

The Starter Kit 3D Platformer is organized into several key directories, each serving a specific purpose in the game's architecture:

Core Projects

• Source/ - Contains the main game code and logic

  • PlatformerGame.cs - The entry point and main game loop
  • Base/ - Core engine components like Scene, Camera, Entity, and collision systems
  • Entities/ - All game entity implementations (Player, Coins, Platforms, etc.)

• Content/ - Houses all game assets

  • Models/ - 3D models for characters, platforms etc.
  • Textures/ - Sprite sheets, UI elements, and textures
  • Effects/ - Shader effects like Bloom, Shadow, and Vignette
  • Font/ - Font files and spritefont definitions
  • Sounds/ - Sound effects and music files
  • Levels/level.json* - Level definition files exported from Blender
  • Levels/levels.json - Index of all available levels
  • BuildContent.targets - The Content Builder import definition, used by the runtime project to build the content automatically.

Note

This sample utilizes the new Content Builder solution for building assets, which is far superior to the legacy MGCB Editor.

To read more about it, check out the Documentation here

• Builder/ - Content Builder and Custom content processing
  • Builder.cs - The Content Builder project definition to define how assets are processed.
  • ConvexHullHelper.cs - Generates collision meshes from 3D models
  • MeshAnimatedModelProcessor.cs - Processes animated models
  • MeshAnimatedModelHelper.cs - Utilities for model processing
  • Pipeline.csproj - MonoGame Content Pipeline extension project

Important

For 3.8.5 the Content Builder is still classed as experimental and not recommended for production projects at this time (that is your decision to make). This sample acts as a testbed for the new approach and is tested thoroughly to function with the new builder. This only affects asset building, the runtime is unchanged.

• Platforms/ - Platform-specific implementations

  • Desktop/ - Desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux) implementation
    • Program.cs - Entry point for desktop applications
    • Desktop.csproj - Project file for desktop builds

• Blender/ - Level editing tools

  • level.blend - Main Blender file for level editing
  • AddMenu.py - Adds export menu to Blender (in the scene view)
  • ExportScript.py - Exports level data to JSON files in the Content/Levels folder

Level Editing

This sample demonstrates using Blender as a 3D design tool to create levels. The entire game is made up of these building blocks of meshes.

• cloud
• coin
• grass
• platform-falling
• platform-grass
• platform-large
• platform-medium
• platform
• flag
• jumppad

All of these models have already been imported into the level.blend file.

Note

When you open the .blend file it will ask if you want to run the AddMenu script. This script adds a Platformer->Run Platformer Export menu to the Blender scene menu to make it easy to export to the game.

To create / layout more platforms, select one of the platforms you want to add and duplicate it (Shift+D). You can then move it to the desired location.

We use custom properties in Blender to allow us to flag an object as having special properties. For example in the sample you will see the Empty property, which is used for the spawn point and has an IsSpawnPoint Boolean custom property. When using an Empty you can change the Display Type to be a sphere and alter the radius if you want to define an area. This can be useful for things like goals or trigger points.

Supported custom properties:

• IsGoal: Add this to an Empty and set it to true to make this the end goal of a level.
• IsSpawnPoint: Add this to an Empty and set it to true to make this the spawn point of the level.
• IsCollidable: Add this to any object to control if this mesh should collide with the player. This can be useful for things such as grass which the player can move through.
• JumpForce: A float value, this defines the amount of force to apply when the player touches it. Usually used in conjunction with the jumppad mesh.

Once you have organised your level you can go to the scripting tab in Blender and run the provided ExportScript script (or click "Run Platformer Export" from the scene menu). This script will examine all the objects in the Scene collection and export their properties to a .json file.

Note

The name of the file is taken from the collection name.

The script will also produce a levels.json file which contains a list of all the levels in the game. This will allow you to easily add new levels.

Debugging Blender Export Script

First install the required extension.

The run command Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac), Blender: Start, is used to start Blender and attach the debugger. Note: You will be asked for the path to Blender.

Then open the ExportScript.py in VSCode and place a breakpoint. When you then run Ctrl+Shift+P the Blender: Run Script command, you will now be debugging the script.

Ideas for Improvements

This is your Starter Kit! So you can modify it, extend it, or take things out.

Here are some thoughts on things that could be added

• Rotating Platforms.
• Enemies
• Other Collectables
• Power Enhancement Pickups.
• Local Co-op
• Swap out the artwork.

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2024 Kenney

Copyright (c) 2025 MonoGame Foundation, Inc.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Assets included in this package (2D sprites, 3D models and sound effects) are CC0 licensed