Interactive Studio

Interactive Studio is Portals' no-code system for making a space react to players. Use it for a simple door, a repeatable race, an NPC conversation, a score challenge, or a guided tour.

An interaction has three parts:

A task remembers where that interaction is in its flow.
A trigger changes the task when something happens, such as a click, a player entering a zone, or a timer ending.
An effect changes the world while the task is in a chosen state, such as playing an animation, showing an object, opening an iframe, or updating a score.

Start in Build Mode, select an item, and open Space Options → Tasks. The menu only shows the triggers and effects the selected item supports.

The task state model

Think of every task as a three-position switch:

State	Meaning	Typical use
Not Active	The interaction has not started, or has been reset.	Door closed; collectible available; race waiting.
Active	The interaction is underway.	Door open; conversation in progress; timer running.
Completed	The interaction has finished.	Quest done; reward revealed; race finished.

Tasks start in Not Active. Effects can be attached to any state, which lets one task describe the whole before/during/after experience.

Legal transitions

In a trigger, choose Changes From and To. The current runtime supports the following transitions:

From	To
Any	Not Active, Active, or Completed
Not Active	Active or Completed
Active	Not Active or Completed
Completed	Not Active or Active

Use an exact source state when the action should work only at one point in the flow. A trigger whose source does not match the current state does nothing; that is what keeps a completed interaction from firing again by accident.

Build one interaction at a time

Name the outcome. Decide what a player should see at the beginning, during the interaction, and at the end.
Create one task. Give it a short, specific name, such as Library Door or Race Start.
Choose its scope. Use Single Player Tasks for a private interaction or Multiplayer Tasks for one shared room state.
Add the first trigger. Select the item that should listen, connect it to the task, and set source and destination states.
Add visible effects. Select the item that should change, then attach effects to the relevant state.
Test one path. Start from Not Active, perform the action, and verify the expected state before adding the next step.
Inspect Node View. It is the fastest way to find a trigger or effect that points at the wrong task.

Item compatibility

Interactive Studio is item-aware. A Trigger Zone provides entry and exit events; an animated imported model offers animation options; a vehicle offers vehicle options. If an option is absent, select the item that performs the action rather than the item a player merely sees.

Use a Trigger Zone for player entry, exit, and physics-item events.
Use an animated import for animation effects and animation-finished triggers.
Use a vehicle for vehicle-entered and vehicle-exited triggers.
For global events such as timers or player movement, attach the trigger through an item that has the Tasks panel; the task connection is what matters.

Choose the right task

Single Player: each player has an independent state. Best for a personal door, hint, collectible, or quest.
Multiplayer: all players share the same state. Best for a gate, shared match state, or room-wide event.
Persistent: state is kept between visits. This is the default and suits one-time quests.
Non-Persistent: state starts fresh on a future visit. Use it for repeatable games and temporary interactions.
Dependent: a task cannot enter Active or Completed until its prerequisite is Completed.
Quest-visible: a task appears in the player's quest log.

No-code recipes

Click to open, exit to close door

Create Library Door as single-player if each player should see their own door state, or multiplayer if everyone should share it.

Select the door and add Click: Not Active → Active.
Put a Trigger Zone just past the doorway and add User Exit Trigger: Active → Not Active.
On the door, add the open animation for Active and the closed animation (or reverse direction) for Not Active.
Test from Not Active: click, walk through, then leave the zone.

The door needs an animation-capable imported model; the exit step needs a Trigger Zone. See Click, User Exit Trigger, and Play Animation Once.

Collectible quest

Create a single-player task named Find Relic and make it visible if players should track it.
On the collectible, add Item Collected: Not Active → Completed.
Add a Show Object effect on Completed to reveal a sign, exit, or reward display.
Leave persistence on for one-time progress, or use Non-Persistent Tasks for a later fresh start.

Timer or race finish

Create a task called Race and choose shared scope only when players share the same round.
On Active, use Start Timer with a clear name such as race-clock.
Use Countdown Timer Finished with that exact name to move Active → Completed.
On Completed, use Stop Timer, reveal the finish state, or post the score after testing the value flow.

Score and leaderboard

Use Update Value to set or add a numeric value such as score.
Use Value Updated to react when that value reaches a chosen comparison.
Add Post Score to Leaderboard after the value is ready to submit.
Add Open Leaderboard to a button or finish state so players can check results.

Use the same value label everywhere. Start with a test value before publishing the flow.

NPC dialogue

Create a task such as Guide Conversation.
On the NPC, add Click: Not Active → Active.
Add an Iframe effect for Active. Choose NPC will animate only when the dialogue setup supports it.
Add Close Iframe on Completed or reset the task when the conversation ends.

Combat encounter

Create a task such as Arena Round.
Use gun triggers on a gun, and player-health or NPC effects only when those options appear for the selected item.
Use explicit transitions: start the round, react to a hit or kill, then move to Completed when the encounter ends.
Test with another player before treating a multiplayer result as final.

Camera or side-scroller moment

Create a task such as Bridge Camera.
Trigger it with a zone entry, click, or another verified interaction.
Attach Change Camera State, Change Camera Zoom, or Lock Camera to the appropriate state.
Always add an exit or reset path using the paired effect so a player cannot remain stuck in a special camera mode.

More verified trigger options

These options are available in the current runtime and have their own reference pages in the Interactive Studio navigation.

Trigger	Use it when	Required item or setting
Drag Start	You need the moment a player begins dragging, rather than a completed click.	An item that offers Drag Start, such as a building cube, nine-slice cube, imported model, or world text.
Hover Started / Hover Ended	A player points at or moves off an eligible object.	A compatible building cube, nine-slice cube, imported model, painting, or vehicle.
Collision Stopped	A collision on the selected item ends.	A compatible physics-enabled building cube, nine-slice cube, imported model, or vehicle.
Animation Stopped	An animation reaches the configured point.	An imported animated model, addressable item, or vehicle that offers it.
Physics Item Enter / Exit Trigger	A physics item enters or leaves a Trigger Zone.	Trigger Zone; optional Physics Item Label filters the item, and blank matches any physics item.
Countdown Timer Finished	A named countdown reaches its end.	The exact timer name used by Start Timer.
On Variable Change	A named value changes.	A value label updated with Update Value or Update String Value.
Player Revived / Microphone Unmuted	A local player is revived or turns on their microphone.	Attach through the Tasks panel; no special scene item is required.
Vehicle Entered / Vehicle Exited	A player gets into or leaves a vehicle.	A vehicle item.

Troubleshooting checklist

Nothing happens: make sure the trigger and effect point to the same task, and confirm the trigger's source matches the current state.
The option is missing: select the item that supports the behavior.
The effect happens for the wrong people: check whether the task should be single-player or multiplayer.
It worked once but not again: the task may still be Completed. Add an intentional reset for repeatable interactions.
A zone never fires: make sure the player crosses the Trigger Zone rather than merely walking near it.
The flow is hard to inspect: open Node View and trace item → trigger → task → effect.

Next steps

Single Player Tasks
Multiplayer Tasks
Node View
Browse the trigger and effect references in the Interactive Studio navigation.