Opal is easiest to learn in short loops: place something, wire one behavior, press Play, then publish. This page turns the manual into a practical path.
Follow these in order. Each step ends with something visible, playable, or saved.
After the first game, jump to the part of the engine that matches what you want to make next.
Use components and Flow to build rules, pickups, hazards, spawners, and scene logic.
Import art, organize assets, bake sprite sequences, animate characters, and set up polished scene presentation.
Add UI, scripts, debugging tools, and publishing flow when the game is ready to leave the editor.
Use this checklist any time you feel stuck. If every line is true, you have a complete Opal loop.
Open the editor in one tab and keep the first-game walkthrough in another.