Gamelabs Studio AI Game Development Guides

https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/
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A collection of guides and tutorials focusing on AI-powered tools and techniques for game...
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### Unreal Material Flipbook Node Setup

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-unreal

Connect the Flipbook material function's UV output to the Texture Sample's UV input. Then connect the Texture Sample color into the material's color output, and the Texture Sample alpha into Opacity or Opacity Mask depending on your Blend Mode.

```Unreal Material Editor
Texture Sample Color -> Material Color
Texture Sample Alpha -> Opacity/Opacity Mask
Flipbook UV -> Texture Sample UV
```

--------------------------------

### Blueprint Nodes for Flipbook Animation Control

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-unreal

These Blueprint nodes are used to manage Paper Flipbook Components in Unreal Engine. Use 'Set Flipbook' to change animations, 'Set Play Rate' to adjust speed, and 'Play from Start' to restart playback.

```blueprint
Set Flipbook
Set Play Rate
Play from Start
```

--------------------------------

### Set Specific Animation Speed

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-game-maker

Override the sprite's base animation speed at runtime using `sprite_set_speed()`. This example sets the animation to play at exactly 10 FPS.

```gml
// Set animation to play at exactly 10 FPS (matching Gamelab metadata)
sprite_set_speed(sprite_index, 10, spritespeed_framespersecond);
```

--------------------------------

### Gamelabs Studio MCP Server Configuration

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/gamelabs-studio-vs-retro-diffusion

Configure Gamelabs Studio's SSE-based MCP server. Ensure you replace 'your_api_key' with your actual API key.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gamelab-mcp": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://api.gamelabstudio.co:8765/sse",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

--------------------------------

### Load Spritesheet at Runtime

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-game-maker

Load sprites dynamically at runtime using `sprite_add()`. The image must be in a horizontal strip format. Specify the number of sub-images, transparency, edge smoothing, and origin coordinates.

```gml
// Create Event — load a Gamelab spritesheet at runtime
spr_loaded = sprite_add("sprites/warrior_idle_strip8.png", 8, false, false, 64, 64);
sprite_set_speed(spr_loaded, 10, spritespeed_framespersecond);
sprite_index = spr_loaded;

// Clean Up Event — prevent memory leaks
sprite_delete(spr_loaded);
```

--------------------------------

### Retro Diffusion MCP Server Configuration

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/gamelabs-studio-vs-retro-diffusion

Configure Retro Diffusion's HTTP-based MCP server using bearer token authentication. Replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' with your actual API key.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retrodiffusion": {
      "url": "https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

--------------------------------

### Gamelab MCP Server JSON Configuration

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/mcp-setup-guide

Use this JSON configuration to add the Gamelab MCP server in Cursor or VS Code. Ensure you replace 'your api key here' with your actual API key.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gamelab-mcp": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://api.gamelabstudio.co:8765/sse",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "your api key here"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

--------------------------------

### Set Naming Template for Sprites

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-unreal

Use a naming template to organize extracted sprites. The `{0}` placeholder will be replaced by the sprite's index, ensuring they sort correctly for animation.

```text
Robot_Run_{0}
```

--------------------------------

### Pixel Lab MCP Configuration

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/gamelabs-studio-vs-pixellab

Configure Pixel Lab's HTTP-based MCP server, including bearer token authentication.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pixellab": {
      "url": "https://api.pixellab.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

--------------------------------

### Switching Sprite Animations in GameMaker

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-game-maker

Use a switch statement in the Step Event to manage different player states and update the sprite_index accordingly. Reset image_index to 0 when changing sprites and adjust image_speed for specific animations like attacks.

```gml
switch (state) {
    case PLAYER_STATE.IDLE:
        if (sprite_index != spr_warrior_idle) {
            sprite_index = spr_warrior_idle;
            image_index = 0;
        }
        break;
    case PLAYER_STATE.RUN:
        if (sprite_index != spr_warrior_run) {
            sprite_index = spr_warrior_run;
            image_index = 0;
        }
        break;
    case PLAYER_STATE.ATTACK:
        if (sprite_index != spr_warrior_attack) {
            sprite_index = spr_warrior_attack;
            image_index = 0;
            image_speed = 1.5;  // play attack faster
        }
        break;
}
```

--------------------------------

### Gamelabs Studio MCP Server URL

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/mcp-setup-guide

This is the server URL required for MCP integration. Ensure this URL is correctly entered into your editor's MCP settings.

```text
http://api.gamelabstudio.co:8765/sse
```

--------------------------------

### Play Animation at Runtime in Godot

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-godot

This script plays a specified animation on an AnimatedSprite2D node when the scene is ready. Ensure the AnimatedSprite2D node is correctly referenced and the animation name matches one defined in the SpriteFrames resource.

```gdscript
extends CharacterBody2D

@onready var _sprite = $AnimatedSprite2D

func _ready():
    _sprite.play("run")
```

--------------------------------

### Rename PNG for Strip Import

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-game-maker

Rename your spritesheet PNG file to include the '_stripN' suffix, where N is the total number of frames. This allows GameMaker to automatically detect and split the animation.

```text
warrior_idle.png  →  warrior_idle_strip8.png
```

--------------------------------

### Gamelabs Studio Authentication Header

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/mcp-setup-guide

The authentication header includes your personal API key, which is essential for authenticating requests to the Gamelabs MCP server. Keep this key private and ensure it's correctly formatted.

```text
X-API-Key: <your_api_key>
```

--------------------------------

### Switch Between Sprites

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-game-maker

Switch between different sprite animations in the Step Event by changing `sprite_index`. Reset `image_index` to 0 when switching sprites to prevent visual glitches.

```gml
// Step Event
var _target_sprite = spr_warrior_idle;

if (abs(hspeed) > 0) {
    _target_sprite = spr_warrior_run;
}

if (sprite_index != _target_sprite) {
    sprite_index = _target_sprite;
    image_index = 0;
}
```

--------------------------------

### Play Godot Animations Based on Direction

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-godot

Use this GDScript snippet to play different animations on a SpriteFrames node based on the character's movement direction. Ensure animations like 'walk_right', 'walk_left', 'walk_up', and 'walk_down' are pre-defined in the SpriteFrames editor.

```gdscript
func update_animation(direction: Vector2):
    if direction.x > 0:
        _sprite.play("walk_right")
    elif direction.x < 0:
        _sprite.play("walk_left")
    elif direction.y < 0:
        _sprite.play("walk_up")
    elif direction.y > 0:
        _sprite.play("walk_down")
    else:
        _sprite.stop()
```

--------------------------------

### Godot CharacterBody2D Script to Play Animation

Source: https://gamelabstudio.co/blog/how-to-ai-spritesheet-godot

This script plays a specified animation from the AnimationPlayer node when the scene is ready. Ensure the AnimationPlayer node is correctly referenced.

```gdscript
extends CharacterBody2D

@onready var _anim = $AnimationPlayer

func _ready():
    _anim.play("run")
```
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