#Tag Manager

The Gameplay Tags settings page is where you create, organize, document, import, export, and validate your project's tag database.

Gameplay Tags settings window with hierarchy and details panel — Gameplay Tags settings window with the hierarchy on the left and the details panel on the right.

#Open the Tag Manager

Open Game Creator settings and select Gameplay Tags.

TODO: Verify the exact menu path in the final packaged asset. The code exposes a full-screen Game Creator settings page named Gameplay Tags.

#Interface Overview

The tag manager is split into two main areas:

Area	Purpose
Hierarchy	Browse, search, create, rename, delete, duplicate, and reorganize tags.
Details	View the selected tag, edit its description, copy its GUID, and perform tag actions.

The Gameplay Tags hierarchy and details panel.

#Create Tags

Start with a small set of root categories:

Character
Damage
Faction
Interaction
Item
Quest
World

Then create child tags as your project needs them:

Character.State.Stunned
Damage.Type.Fire
Faction.Enemy
Interaction.Usable.Door
Quest.Main.Completed

#Valid Paths

Valid tag paths:

Are not empty.
Do not start or end with a dot.
Do not contain double dots.
Do not contain /.
Do not contain empty segments.

Good:

Damage.Type.Fire

Avoid:

.Damage
Damage.
Damage..Fire
Damage/Fire

#Rename Tags

Select a tag and use Rename, double-click the row, press F2, or use the context menu.

Renaming a parent tag renames its subtree. For example:

Damage.Element.Fire

can become:

Damage.Type.Fire

Important
TODO: Verify whether the packaged asset performs project-wide reference rewriting for serialized references outside the tag database. The runtime includes redirect support, but I did not find clear code that scans and rewrites every scene, prefab, or asset reference during rename.

#Delete Tags

Deleting a tag removes that tag and its descendants from the database after confirmation.

Example: deleting

Character.State

also removes:

Character.State.Stunned
Character.State.Burning
Character.State.Dead

Important
TODO: Verify whether delete workflows include project-wide reference detection before removal. Documented behavior should be treated as database deletion unless reference scanning is confirmed.

Use search to filter large hierarchies:

Fire
Quest.Main
Faction
Interaction.Usable

Use expand and collapse controls to quickly scan a large database.

Keyboard shortcuts supported by the manager include:

Shortcut	Action
`F2` or `Enter`	Rename selected tag.
`Delete` or `Backspace`	Delete selected tag.
`Ctrl+C` or `Cmd+C`	Copy selected tag path.
Left Arrow	Collapse selected tag or move to parent.
Right Arrow	Expand selected tag.

#Details Panel

Selecting a tag shows its details.

Field	Purpose
Full Path	The complete tag path used by Actions, Conditions, and code.
Parent	The parent category, if any.
Description	Notes for designers about when to use the tag.
GUID	Internal identity value that can be shown, hidden, or copied.
Children / Descendants	Quick summary of hierarchy depth.

Use descriptions for tags that are shared across many systems.

Good description:

Applied while a character cannot move, attack, or interact. Remove when the stun effect expires.

Right-click a tag row to access common actions:

Add Child Tag
Add Root Tag
Rename
Delete Tag
Copy Tag Path
Duplicate

Tag row context menu with common management actions.

#Drag Reparenting

Tags can be reorganized by moving a subtree under another valid parent.

Example:

Element.Fire

can be moved under:

Damage.Type

to become:

Damage.Type.Fire

This is useful when a project vocabulary matures and you want to group older tags more cleanly.

#Import and Export

The tag manager supports JSON import and export.

Use Export before large changes, or when sharing a tag database between projects.

Use Import to load a JSON tag database.

Import modes:

Mode	Behavior
Merge	Keep existing tags and update or add imported tags.
Replace	Clear existing tags and redirects, then load the imported file.

Gameplay Tags import/export dialog — Import or export workflow for sharing or backing up the Gameplay Tags database.

#Validation

Validation can report:

Invalid paths.
Duplicate paths.
Redirect targets that no longer exist.
Redirect cycles.

Run validation after imports, large renames, or database cleanup.

#Reference Tracking and Redirects

The runtime includes redirect resolution for renamed paths when redirects are present. This helps older paths resolve to newer paths at runtime.

TODO: Verify the complete reference tracking workflow in the final build. I did not find a confirmed user-facing reference list that scans scenes, prefabs, variables, Actions, and Conditions before rename/delete.

#Naming Recommendations

Prefer names that read like gameplay facts:

Character.State.Stunned
Damage.Type.Fire
Faction.Enemy
Quest.Main.Completed
Interaction.Usable.Door

Avoid names that are vague, temporary, or hard to search:

Thing.Active
Bad.Fire
State1
Temp

Recommended style:

Use singular category names.
Start broad, then become specific.
Keep segments short and meaningful.
Avoid spaces and punctuation.
Use parent categories when broad matching is useful.
Do not store numbers or quantities in tag names.