My Arcade Game is Broken, What Do I Do???
From time to time, we might get a little carried away when coding and forget to test as we go. But, what is a game developer to do when they’ve spent hours (or days) on a game and it no longer works? Keep reading to find out.
An Ounce of Prevention
When coding, it’s always best to assume that something will eventually go wrong.
1. Don’t tempt fate by trying Beta when you’re signed in
Some curious go-getters love to experiment with the newest (and least stable) version of MakeCode Arcade. This is wonderful, since we always need testers, but it can be a mistake to switch to beta while you’re logged in. To avoid breaking a bunch of projects all at once, be sure to switch to an incognito/private tab before testing beta.
2. Save Frequently
Make it a habit to save your work at regular intervals. You can download your game project as a .png file by clicking the save icon at the bottom of the screen. This file contains all your code and assets and can be reloaded into MakeCode Arcade at any time. Regular downloads ensure you always have a backup, even if the online editor crashes.
If, for some reason, you don’t see the save icon, click the Download button and choose one of the displayed tiles. The file won’t be saved as a .png anymore, but it will still contain all of the images and code that you’d need to revive a lost project.
Alternatively, you can click the screenshot button below the game window to save a .png to your computer. You may think it’s only saving an image of the game screen, but in reality, you can drop that image onto the editor window to open that version of your project at any time.
3. Use Version Control
After significant changes or milestones, save new versions of your game with updated file names like game_v1, game_v2, etc. This will allow you to revert to previous versions if something goes wrong and avoid losing hours of progress.
4. Utilize GitHub Integration
MakeCode Arcade supports GitHub integration. By connecting your GitHub account, you can push changes to a repository as you code. This ensures that every change is saved online and allows you to easily track changes and revert to earlier commits if needed.
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Keep in mind that once you connect your project to GitHub, the traditional “save” icon goes away and you’ll need to use the Download button to keep up with emergency backups.
5. Test Often
Test your game as you make changes. This helps ensure that bugs or issues are caught early, preventing the need for extensive troubleshooting that could disrupt progress.
6. Keep the Code Organized
Keep your code modular by breaking it into small, manageable pieces (functions, events, etc.). This makes it easier to track changes and fix bugs without affecting the entire game, reducing the risk of losing progress due to one large coding error.
7. Use the Undo Feature Wisely
MakeCode Arcade has a built-in undo feature. However, be cautious when relying on it, as it can be limited. Always save before making major changes because undoing multiple actions can sometimes behave in unexpected ways.
It’s also worth noting that the undo history is cleared each time you swap between blocks/text/assets, so be sure to save a copy before making a jump like that.
8. Share to Friends, Forum, or Yourself
Share links (whether persistent or snapshot) reference the entire codebase of your game. This is great if you somehow delete the game from your account, but only snapshots (the links that have the _ in them) will keep previous versions safe.
Make it a habit to share snapshot links via email, discord, or text so you have a record of previous versions of your game.
Attempting to Debug Severe Issues
If you were not able to save a previous version, or the code from the previous version was significantly changed, it’s probably worth trying to debug your issue.
The first step is to try to figure out where everything is going wrong. How far does the code get before it bugs out?
Can’t Even Load Your Code?
It’s possible that your codebase is too big! This generally happens because there are too many images, tiles, or animations in your game.
Code Loads, but the Game Doesn’t Work Properly
This is a case for traditional debugging methods, which I describe in detail in the article “Hunting Bugs — Debugging and Troubleshooting in MakeCode Arcade.”
Everything Works, but Something is Missing
Is your game missing blocks of code? Have important images disappeared? Are tilemaps corrupted? If this is the case, and you don’t have any backups to pull from, you may want to reach out to us on the Forum. Post on forum.makecode.com to speak with our team and see if there’s anything they can do to help you get back the version that you’re missing. Sometimes, especially if you were logged in, our engineers can find what you need.
