Building a Pause Menu and Key Bindings in Godot | Day 3 of Learning Game Dev - Episode 7

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saebynVODs

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Published on July 18, 2025 7:00:08 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WM4AvWjDp4

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In this video, I dive into day 3 of my journey learning game development with Godot and tackle some pivotal functionality for our project. Today, I focus on creating a fully functional pause menu and setting up a basic key binding system for the game. Join me as I walk through the processes, challenges, and solutions in a live coding session filled with exploration and explanation!

First, I begin by implementing a pause menu. I explain the process of overlaying the menu on the game scene, keeping the existing scene active while pausing gameplay mechanics using Godot's built-in game pausing features. I create options such as Resume, Restart, and Quit, then wire them up to interact with the game logic. I even demonstrate how to connect signals and implement functions to resume gameplay seamlessly.

After finishing the pause menu, I explore adding functionality for restarting the game. I delve into resetting gameplay state, including ball positions, scores, and timers. I discuss the additional challenges tied to ensuring all game elements behave properly when the player triggers a reset. Throughout, I share insights into effective ways to organize and connect signals between game objects to achieve responsive interactions.

Later, I begin tackling a feature for customizable key bindings. While this is a complex topic, I break it down by starting simple: creating UI elements to allow players to rebind keys for essential controls like Pause, Up, and Down. I explore how to work with Godot's InputMap, saving and loading custom key settings, and translating inputs into key mappings dynamically. However, there are still challenges to address, and I share my thoughts on potential next steps and areas for future research.

By the end of this session, the game has made considerable progress with new features and improved functionality. It’s exciting to see the project coming together as I continue to learn and experiment with Godot.

Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoy this type of content, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to follow along with my game development journey.

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