Generic Asset

In this guide we will be creating the most basic of Assets, a Generic Asset and implementing it in a game.

What is an Asset?

An Asset is an item of property that can be connected to a player - something a player can earn, purchase, or possess. At its core, an Asset is an empty shell looking to be assigned a Context and populated with relevant data or information. Before assigning a Context to an Asset, Contexts must be created with Complexities and any other relevant information. This can be done in the Asset Settings menu.

Configure Contexts

Before you create your first Asset, you will want to configure Asset Contexts, so that LootLocker know what and how you plan on using the Assets in your game.

The following steps can only be completed in the Stage Environment. Make sure you are in the Stage Environment before continuing. To learn how to switch environments, click here.

An Asset Context is a way to group and describe Assets. All Assets must be assigned an Asset Context when being created. Defining the Context of an Asset lets your game know what type of Asset it is, and lets LootLocker know what sort of information or logic will be stored in the Asset and any special relationships it should have, for example with Character Classes and Default Loadouts.

The Context Configuration menu can be found in the Game Settings menu by clicking the Settings icon on the left bar of the Management Interface.

Click on the Context Configuration tab at the top of the Game Settings menu. You should be taken to a menu that looks like this.

You will notice that there is already one context configured, Feature Unlocks. This is by design as this type of Context needs to exist by default in case it is used to unlock other Contexts.

To create a new Context, click the Add Context button. As we want to create a Generic Asset, select Generic Assets (Simplified) from the Complexity dropdown menu.

In this tutorial we are creating a cosmetic using the Generic Assets complexity. If you want more functionality like Asset variations or multiple Asset images, we recommend using the Customization Complexity.

Next we will want to fill in the rest of the information about the Context. A detailed explanation about each of the Context options can be found here.

• Name: Hat

• Friendly Name: (can leave this blank if the Friendly Name is the same as the Name)

• Detachable?: Yes (so that this Context can be unequipped by the player, in case they do not want to wear a hat)

• User Facing?: Yes

• Depends On: Independent (No Asset)

Click Save Contexts to save this Context. It should now look like this:

You've now set up your first Context and are ready to create your first Asset!

Create the Asset

Now lets navigate to the Asset Manager to create our first Asset. The Asset Manager can be accessed by clicking the Content button of the side bar and selecting Assets.

To create an Asset, click the Add Asset button in the top right corner of the Asset Manager. Fill in an Asset Name and select the Hat Context from the drop down menu. Click Create to create the Asset.

Once the Asset has been created, you will be taken to the Asset's page where you can see all of it's stored information and data. It should look like this:

In this tutorial we will ignore most of the fields as they are not required. We will, however, attach an image to this Asset that can be sent to the game and used as an icon in-game. To do this, click on the Filters & Storage tab in the Asset menu.

Next, either drag the image file you'd like to use for the Asset's icon into the box under the Files header, or click on the box to open a dialog.

Activate the Asset

The final step is to activate the Asset so that it is sent to the game and players can access the Asset. To do this, click the Activate button on the right side of the Asset menu. Clicking Activate will automatically Activate and save any changes you have made to the Asset.

Send the Asset to Live Environment

All of the work we've done so far has been in the Stage Environment of LootLocker - where you can make changes to Assets and settings and easily test those changes before sending them to the Live Environment for your players to see in their game. While we usually suggest testing all changes against the Stage Environment first, for the purpose of this tutorial we will push the new Asset to the Live Environment and test it there.

To push the Asset to the Live Environment, click the Review Changes button in the side bar of the Management Console.

This will take you to the Differences screen where you can see all the differences between the Stage and Live Environments of your data in LootLocker. To calculate these differences you will need to switch to the Live Environment by clicking the Switch to Live button on this screen. This will automatically switch you to the Live Environment and calculate the differences between the two states. You will be taken to a screen that looks like this:

Since we want to push both the new Asset and the new Context information we will tick the boxes next to both entries and then select Push Selected to Live. In the confirmation modal that appears, click Merge to merge the changes into the Live Environment.

Congratulations, you have now created an Asset and pushed it to the Live Environment - ready to be sent to your game!