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Actions

Actions are the core units of behavior in PlayMaker.

Each one performs a specific task, like:

  • Play an animation
  • Test for a collision
  • Check if a button is pressed
  • Move a game object toward a target

For example, setting an object's position:

Set Position Action

Collapsed actions show a nice summary:

Set Position Action Summary

Combining Actions

You combine actions in states to build behaviors.

For example, combine Get Axis and Translate actions to move a character based on input:

Combine Actions

Use the Action Browser to find actions.

Variables and Events

Actions are similar to MonoBehaviours but can use variables and send events.

For example, set the camera FOV to the value stored in a WideAngle variable:

Use Variable

Or send a Shoot event when the Fire1 button is pressed:

Send Event

See the Action Editor for more detail on configuring actions.

Update Loop

When a state is active:

  • Its actions are updated every frame from top to bottom.
  • Finished actions are skipped in the next update.
  • When all actions in the list have finished a FINISHED event is sent.

Here's how the action update loop works behind the scenes:

graph LR
    A["State Becomes Active"] --> B["Update Actions"]
    B --> C["Are All Actions Finished?"]
    C -- Yes --> D["Send FINISHED Event"]
    C -- No --> B

PlayMaker visually shows the status of each action while the state is running:

  • ✅ Active actions have a green highlight while playing.
  • 💤 Finished actions are dimmed to show completion. (You can customize this in Settings.)

See Also