FrayTools

FrayTools is an upcoming cross-platform game development tool published by McLeodGaming as a companion product to the game Fraymakers, which the tool is named after. The software is directly integrated with the game and can be used to create and manage game assets that can then be used for custom content in-game. It is set to be released alongside the Early Access release of Fraymakers at no additional cost in August 2022.

Function
FrayTools provides a 2D-oriented environment that allows for the development of game assets, particularly Fraymakers characters, Assists, stages, items, game modes, and menus. Its interface is designed to be accessible and intuitive for users of all skill levels, with animations being organized through a "timeline" arranged similarly to a flip book and divided into layers and frames. Layers separate its different components such as its sprites, collision boxes, and scripts, whereas frames separate the length of time for an animation. Sprites can be imported to the asset's library as images, whereas collision boxes can be manually drawn over these images, and scripts can be written to trigger events through a custom scripting interface. The user is able to also drag and drop these components directly into a timeline.

Various features are included to allow for more streamlined development. For instance, a color palette map can be built for sprites to allow for simple alternate costumes by changing these palettes. Auto-keyframing allows for a series of images to be quickly arranged into an animation, and its motion from one point to another can be automatically interpolated. The auto-hurtboxer tool generates dynamic collision boxes around a character, and similarly, polygonal hit detection areas can be drawn over free-form stage art.

As the software is directly integrated with Fraymakers, assets are able to be transferred to the game to be released as custom content to be browsed and downloaded in-game. Assets can also be tweaked within Fraymakers itself in order to test it with the game's physics. Despite this integration, publishing assets is not strictly limited to this game, as a plugin system can be used to do so for other game engines and platforms.

Trivia

 * The interface of the software is inspired by that of, which many of the developers had used previously to create Adobe Flash games, particularly Super Smash Flash 2.
 * Due to being more adaptable for these developers, FrayTools was used to create much of Fraymakers itself.