Phaser: Implementing Multiple Scenes for Better Organization and Flow

Welcome to the next installment of our Phaser series! In this blog post, we will explore how to create and manage multiple scenes in Phaser games. By organizing your game into separate scenes, you can easily switch between different sections or levels while maintaining a clear and organized structure.

In previous examples, we learned how to create a single scene by passing an object with function references to the scene property of the Phaser.Game() options object. However, games typically have multiple scenes, and it’s more efficient to create each scene in its own separate file and pass them as an array to the scene property.

Let’s start by creating a Welcome scene in its own file called Welcome.js:

export default class Welcome extends Phaser.Scene {
  constructor() {
    super('welcome');
  }

  create() {
    this.add.text(20, 20, 'Loading..');

    setTimeout(() => {
      this.scene.start('game');
    }, 2000);
  }
}

Here, we extend the Phaser.Scene object to create our Welcome scene. In the create() method, we display a simple loading message and then use setTimeout() to transition to the Game scene after 2 seconds by calling this.scene.start('game').

Next, let’s create the Game scene in its own file called Game.js:

export default class Game extends Phaser.Scene {
  constructor() {
    super('game');
  }

  create() {
    this.add.text(20, 20, 'Playing game!');
  }
}

Similarly, we extend the Phaser.Scene object to create our Game scene. In the create() method, we simply display a message indicating that the game is now being played.

Now that we have our scenes defined, let’s import them and pass them to the scene property in our main game file:

import Phaser from 'phaser';
import Welcome from './Welcome';
import Game from './Game';

const config = {
  width: 800,
  height: 600,
  backgroundColor: 0x000000,
  scene: [Welcome, Game],
};

const game = new Phaser.Game(config);

In this example, we import the Welcome and Game scenes from their respective files and include them in an array assigned to the scene property of the config object. This ensures that the Welcome scene is loaded and displayed first, followed by the Game scene.

By separating your game into multiple scenes, you can easily add more scenes as your game progresses or create additional levels with unique functionality. Each scene can have its own preload(), create(), and update() methods, allowing for modular and organized code.

With Phaser’s support for multiple scenes, you can create complex and captivating games with ease. Stay tuned for the next post in our Phaser series, where we’ll dive deeper into advanced features and techniques.

For more information on Phaser and to explore other topics in our series, click here.

Tags: Phaser, Game Development, Scenes, Organization