Using a point-and-click interface

If you've ever played a computer game, chances are you've done so using a mouse or similar device at one point or another. So many game genres utilize such a peripheral but few have made as big an impact as Diablo, which was released in 1996. Diablo was not the first action-RPG to use a mouse-based movement, but it was among the first to use 8 direction movement and certainly revitalized a game genre in decline. Even with the release of Diablo 3 in 2012, the biggest change is the 360-degree movement in place of the 8 direction movement based on a grid. Given the continued popularity of this genre, you may be inclined to recreate it in a game of your own, so let's do that now.

Getting ready

To start with, you'll need a room and an animated character set for either a top-down or 3/4 isometric view with separate sprites for each direction. This is easily achieved if you create a 3D model for your character and simply render out the various poses and animation...