Everything Flowlab can do

What is Flowlab

• Browser-based game creation platform; no download or install. Runs on Chromebooks, Macs, Windows PCs, and mobile devices.
• Games are built with a visual, node-based behavior system instead of written code. The logic is never hidden: you can always open any part of your game to see how it works and change it.
• Games run instantly in the browser (HTML5) and can be exported to iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac as native apps.
• Used by individual creators and in classrooms worldwide; nearly 3 million games have been made with Flowlab.

Visual Programming

• Behavior graphs: logic is built by connecting nodes (triggers, logic, actions) with visible links. The graph is the program; anyone who can open the game can read its logic.
• Bundles: any group of nodes can be collapsed into a reusable bundle with its own inputs and outputs; bundles nest, and a personal bundle library lets you reuse logic across objects and games.
• Community bundles: publish bundles for other creators to browse, bookmark, and remix (remix lineage is tracked); teachers can disable community bundles for students.
• Editor conveniences: full undo/redo, copy/cut/paste of node selections (including between games), visual frames for annotating graphs, node search, notes on nodes, breadcrumb navigation inside nested bundles.
• Custom Code node Premium : write real scripted logic with typed inputs/outputs when you want to go beyond nodes; compiled server-side and sandboxed.

Nearly 100 built-in behavior nodes across 9 categories

New behaviors added regularly. Full reference in the Behavior Handbook.

Game Engine & Editor

• Hardware-accelerated 2D tile rendering engine, running as HTML5 in the browser.
• Three layers per level: Background, Game World, User Interface; objects can be moved between layers.
• Camera system: follow objects, parallax scrolling (per-layer depth), scroll bounds, infinite scrolling, repeating backgrounds, zoom (0.01x–100x), rotation, smoothing, sub-pixel smooth scrolling.
• Display: scale modes (none, zoom, letterbox, stretch, expand), fullscreen support, selectable render frame rate (30/60 fps with frame pacing options), smoothed or crisp pixel rendering per game.
• Text rendering: MSDF-based bitmap fonts, crisp at any scale; custom font upload Premium .
• Multiple levels per game; customizable loading screens Premium ; editable custom splash screens for exports.

Art & Sprite Creation

• Built-in pixel/sprite editor; no external tools needed: pencil, brush (1–16 px), eraser, fill bucket, line, rectangle, ellipse, filled shapes, color picker/dropper, text tool, rectangular select, canvas shift/resize, rotate, flip horizontal/vertical, zoom, palettes and swatches.
• Draw directly on animation frames with onion skinning; edits appear in the running game immediately.
• Import PNG, JPG, and GIF images (animated GIF import supported); scale and position on import.
• Sprite libraries: built-in sprite packs for every account; paid plans add thousands more licensed sprites.

Animation

• Frame-based sprite animation: named animations per object with per-frame timing, looping, priorities, and per-frame position offsets.
• Animation control from logic: play, stop, jump to frame, completion events.
• Animated GIF import: each GIF frame becomes an animation frame.
• Tweening: Ease node with 10 easing families (Linear, Quadratic, Cubic, Quartic, Quintic, Sine, Exponential, Elastic, Bounce, Back), each with in/out/in-out variants.

Physics

• Built-in 2D physics engine on every game object; no setup required.
• Per-object properties: movable/static, gravity on/off, solid/non-solid, collisions on/off, spin allowed, density, bounce, friction.
• Collision shapes: circle, rectangle, capsule, polygon; all editable visually, including individual polygon vertices.
• Custom collision groups: define which groups of objects collide with which.
• Joints: pivot, weld, and distance joints with visually editable anchor points; breakable.
• Sensors: event-driven trigger areas that detect objects entering/leaving without physical contact.
• Raycasting: invisible rays for line-of-sight, ground checks, and targeting.
• Forces: continuous motors (push, spin), one-shot impulses, direct velocity control.
• World settings per level: gravity (X and Y), drag, physics speed; all changeable at runtime.
• Particle emitter for projectiles and effects.

• 24 real-time shader effects applicable to a single object, a layer, the whole screen, or text.
• Effect parameters are drivable from behavior logic for animated effects.
• Additional per-object controls available to everyone: alpha, color channels, blend modes (normal, add, subtract, multiply, screen), display order.

Sound & Music

• Sound playback with live control of volume, pan, pitch, playback position, looping, and overlap from behavior logic; streamed music or fully-loaded sound effects; sounds can persist across pause and level changes.
• Sound library: built-in sound effects and music for every account; paid plans add thousands more licensed sounds.
• Custom sound upload (MP3, OGG, WAV, AAC) Premium , with folder organization for sound libraries.
• Nightloop: built-in sound and music creation tool. Design sound effects and music loops inside Flowlab and use them directly in your game, no export/import round-trip.

Interface & Text (GUI)

• Dedicated User Interface layer that stays fixed over the game world.
• Text labels with custom fonts, alignment, and live updates from game logic; progress/health bars; popup alerts; mouse cursor show/hide.
• Text processing: string values, case conversion, length, comparison, sanitization, text/number conversion, and full list handling (text lists, number lists, insert/remove/replace, sort, shuffle, iterate).

Data, Saving & Cloud

• Save Value node: persistent local saves on the player's device (numbers, text, and lists).
• Game Save Premium : snapshot and restore full game state, including a saved screenshot per slot.
• Cloud storage Premium : store and retrieve values server-side, shared across a game's players.
• Online leaderboards and achievements Premium , with management UI per game.
• Global variables (game-wide), object variables (per-object), Expression node for math.
• Player identity: logged-in player name/id available to game logic.

• Real-time online multiplayer for browser games, with automatic peer connection negotiation and relay fallback. Browser games only.
• Shared Values sync data between all connected players; Player Count and Player Check (local vs remote) nodes; per-object "shared object" replication toggle; configurable max players per game.
• Player input, spawning, and object state replicate automatically for shared objects.
• Full details in the Multiplayer Handbook.

Debugging & Performance Tools

• Live Mode: play the game with the behavior editor open and watch nodes and links light up as they fire, in real time.
• Watch Mode: slow the game down or pause it entirely and step through logic node-by-node.
• Physics shape overlays: see every collider while the game runs.
• Performance profiler Premium : live per-system timing metrics in-game.
• Per-node error and warning indicators in the editor.

Publishing & Exporting

• Every game gets a hosted, shareable game page on flowlab.io instantly: play in browser, like/favorite counts, play counts, description (markdown), tags, screenshots, QR code for playing on mobile.
• Customizable game pages Premium : colors, fonts, banner image, app-store links.
• Privacy per game: free games are public; unlisted, private, and locked (playable but read-only editor) options Premium .
• Embed games on any website (responsive iframe embed).
• Games can be cloned/forked (when the owner allows) as starting points.

Collaboration & Community

• Dev Teams Premium : create a team, invite members, share ownership of games, team pages and logos; team editing on shared games.
• Community bundle sharing: publish reusable behavior bundles, browse and bookmark others', remix with attribution lineage.
• Games gallery: trending ("Fresh"), most favorited, featured, and game-jam showcases.
• Flowjam: twice-yearly community game jams, Winter and Summer, with themed competitions, community voting, and prizes for the top games.
• Community forum (community.flowlab.io) and an active Discord server.
• User profiles with games, teams, and achievements.
• Content moderation: report system on games and bundles, human-reviewed.

Classroom Management (Education)

• Teacher dashboard managing classes, students, and (on multi-teacher plans) additional teacher accounts.
• Student accounts without email: teachers create username+password accounts; students never need an email address. Bulk creation via CSV import.
• Class join codes: students self-enroll with a 6-character code; every request requires teacher approval before the student joins.
• Student privacy controls (per school account): make all games/profiles visible only within the school, hide public games browsing, hide community/forum, hide social links, disable community bundles.
• Class pages: shareable showcase page per class with sorting and per-game visibility controls.
• Roster tools: rename, reset passwords, move students between classes, transfer/unlink accounts.
• Integrations: Clever SSO + roster import, Google Classroom SSO + course import, LTI (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) with automatic class creation.
• Dedicated student login domain: flowlab.school.
• Lesson plans included: Simple Platform Game (6 lessons), Space Pilot (6), Adventure Game (6), Endless Jumper (4), Code Node (3), each with starter projects and printable checklists; video tutorials.
• COPPA: children's privacy policy with teacher/school consent model; student data minimization (no student emails, no student marketing).
• Honest assessment: teachers can watch logic being built in class; the behavior graph shows the student's own reasoning.
• Free teacher trials; purchase orders and invoicing accepted.

Learning Resources

• User Guide, Behavior Handbook (every behavior documented), Multiplayer Handbook.
• Video tutorials, behavior cookbook, small runnable example games, and the "Flowlab: The Essential Guide" PDF.
• In-editor interactive tutorial for first-time users.

Accounts, Privacy & Safety

• Free tier: 3 games, 5 levels per game, 50 object types per game, all core editing features; published games playable by anyone.
• Paid tiers for individuals (Starter, Indie) and schools (per-teacher licensing with student seats). Full matrix on pricing.
• Downgrade-safe: premium features already used in a game keep working; exported games keep working.
• Sign-in: email/password, Clever, Google Classroom, LTI.
• Report/moderation system; children's privacy policy; data safety disclosure pages.

Platform & Technology