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Make Cool CDs for your Games

Go on. Rub the awesomeness of your game in your friends' face before they even start playing it.

This tutorial will teach you how to make a CD with:
  • An Autorun menu
  • Your Own Writing on the top of the disk

What you'll need:

A Lightscribe enabled-disc drive with discs OR CD Labels
A copy of CDMenu Pro Edition (30 day trial works fine - for thirty days!)
A copy of Roxio Express Labeler (comes with most new computers)
A 640 by 480 pixel "poster" for your game
A game (Duh)

Optional
A CD case
Anything you want to put on the inside cover of that CD case (A manual book, for instance)
An icon
_________________________________________________________________________________________________


What you'll Do:

Step 1: The Autorun

Start up CDMenuProED.

1. Hit new project and type the name of your game. The below screen should appear.
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/8396/pic2ar9.png[/img]

2. Click the 15th Button from the right (Title Button) and type in the name of your game. Type in whatever you want to appear in the title bar of your autorun. You can also specify what kind of icon you want to appear, if you have one.

3. Click the 17th Button from the right (the picture button) and select the picture file you want.

4. You can edit the location of the exit bar on the game by clicking and dragging. Simple, right?

So far, I got...
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/1597/pic3fu6.png[/img]

5. Almost there! Create a new button ("But" button, on the vertical toolbar), click Linkage, and type %CURRENTDIR%/Yourgame.exe in the Application field (replacing "Yourgame.exe with the game file). NOTE: For the game to work, make sure your CD is NOT set to READ ONLY or else your game will be unable to save.

6. Make any edits you want using the vertical toolbar on the left. Make any aesthetic changes that you like.

7. Hit save.

Here is my slightly finished project (play buttons not done):
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/3498/pic4iy9.png[/img]

8. We're not done yet! Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\(Account Name)\My Documents\CDMenu\(Project Name)\CD_ROOT
Copy and paste to your CD and burn it. (Don't forget to burn the game to the CD, too!) You are done!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________


Step 2: The Lightscribe

This is a simple, three step part that is probably as long as the first one (mostly to the burning part).

1. Open Roxio Express Labeler.

2. Modify your CD to look anyway you want (importing custom backgrounds works)

3. Put your Lightscribe in your disk drive face down and select Print.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3: The CD Case (Optional)

If you have a CD case, then this step could boost how awesome this looks even more.

1. Once again, Open up Roxio Express Labeler. Select "Jewel Case" on the side.

2. Import the game poster (the same one you used back in Step 1, or a different poster) as a background.

3. Edit as you wish.

4. Print.

5. To create a booklet, create more "posters" in the same way, except having controls/game info on them instead of the picture.

6. Print those pages.

7. Assemble those pages together and put them in the front cover of your case.

8. Put the CD in the case. You are done!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

You're probably exhausted by now, but at least your game is must better than it was before. Go ahead. Wow your friends. Oh, and if you're marketing your game, this is probably helpful to you.
 
Pretty Nice.... Now I can put demos in my CD and put images on them so people will think that it's a special game! Thanks anyways! (Alot!)
 
Thanks for the nice tutorial.  :lol: But I have a question about LightScribe or whatever it's called, is that a program for the computer? I have a feeling it's something I have to go to the store and buy a discdrive. I know you said "diskdrive", but i'm clueless, but if it is, I'm definently going to do this, thanks in advance.  :lol:
 
Shadows Forger":ojqb8nde said:
Thanks for the nice tutorial.  :lol: But I have a question about LightScribe or whatever it's called, is that a program for the computer? I have a feeling it's something I have to go to the store and buy a discdrive. I know you said "diskdrive", but i'm clueless, but if it is, I'm definently going to do this, thanks in advance.  :lol:


Yeah, it's hardware. You also need software to actually get the label onto the disc, and special discs to have the burned in label on. Alternatively, you could just go buy some special paper used on CDs and just slap a label on it.
 

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