GameFlowConnect

A Collaboration Tool for Game Artists, Programmers, and Designers

GameFlowConnect is a tool designed to facilitate effective collaboration between game artists, programmers, and designers by providing a centralized platform for the exchange and submission of assets within a project. The system is built with Python, leveraging Clean Architecture, SOLID principles, and CustomTkinter for a user-friendly and intuitive experience.

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🚀 Recent Progress & Architecture

GameFlowConnect has evolved to a production-ready Clean Architecture structure:

• Domain Layer (src/domain/): Pure business entities (Asset, ProjectContext) and enums (AssetType, SyncStatus), completely decoupled from UI or external APIs.
• Use Cases Layer (src/use_cases/): Application orchestrations (SyncAssetUseCase, ListAssetsUseCase) depending exclusively on repository abstractions (IAssetStorageRepository, ILocalStorageRepository) enforcing Dependency Inversion (DIP) and Interface Segregation (ISP).
• Adapters Layer (src/adapters/): Concrete implementations for Google Drive API (GoogleDriveAdapter), Local File System (LocalFileAdapter), and Mock Service (MockDriveAdapter) adhering to Liskov Substitution (LSP).
• UI / Presentation (src/components/): Atomic Design UI structure (atoms, molecules, organisms, pages, templates) with CustomTkinter.
• Asset Synchronization Engine (Phase 1: Images): Enables seamless image asset sync (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .tga, .webp) from Google Drive directly into local Game Engine asset directories (/Assets/Images/).
• Automated Unit Tests (tests/): Fully covered unit and integration tests using unittest and unittest.mock.

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🛠️ Problems & Solutions

Version Control Conflicts

• Problem: In game development, mixing large binary assets (3D models, textures, audio) with source code in Git leads to repository bloat and merge conflicts.
• Solution: GameFlowConnect establishes a hybrid bridge: Google Drive for heavy binary assets and GitHub for code and scripts.

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🔑 Key Features

1. Google Drive Integration (Cloud Asset Storage) Enables easy and secure storage, preview, and 1-click sync of game assets directly to local engine folders.
2. GitHub Repository Integration Provides repository tracking, commit histories, and code management directly within the application.
3. Local Game Engine Sync (Unity / Unreal / Godot) Automatically creates and organizes local asset subdirectories (Assets/Images, Assets/Docs, Assets/Models).
4. Clean Architecture & SOLID Design System Modular, testable, and maintainable codebase built with CustomTkinter.
5. Demo Mode (1-Click Test) Allows offline exploration of all UI features using simulated mock data.

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📋 Requirements

• Python 3.9 or higher
• Google Drive account
• GitHub account & GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT)

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⚡ Installation & Execution

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Germano123/python-gameflowconnect.git
   cd python-gameflowconnect

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   • Windows (PowerShell/CMD):

     python -m venv venv
     .\venv\Scripts\activate

   • Linux / macOS:

     python3 -m venv venv
     source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the Application:

   • Windows:

     run.bat

   • Linux / macOS:

     chmod +x run.sh
     ./run.sh

   • Direct Python:

     python src/main.py

5. Run Unit Tests:

   python -m unittest discover -s tests

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📦 Packaging & Windows Installer

If you want to package GameFlowConnect into a standalone Windows executable and generate a professional installation wizard (setup.exe) for distributing the software, follow these steps:

Step 1: Build the Standalone Executable & Portable Package

Before generating the setup installer, compile the Python application using the automated build script. With your virtual environment (venv) active, run:

# On Windows PowerShell
.\venv\Scripts\python.exe build_exe.py

This will clean up any previous build outputs and bundle all required libraries (including CustomTkinter themes and assets) under the directory dist/GameFlowConnect/. It also automatically generates a compressed portable ZIP package at: 👉 dist/GameFlowConnect_v<version>_Portable.zip

You can verify the portable version by running the executable directly: 👉 dist/GameFlowConnect/GameFlowConnect.exe

Step 2: Compile the Setup Installer (Inno Setup)

To bundle the compiled files into a modern Windows installation wizard:

1. Download and install Inno Setup.
2. Open the Inno Setup Compiler.
3. Open the GameFlowConnect.iss script (located in the project root directory).
4. Click Build > Compile from the top menu or press F9.
5. The compiler will package the executable directory and output the installer program at: 👉 Output/GameFlowConnect_Setup.exe

This GameFlowConnect_Setup.exe is the final wizard ready to install the application with Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts.

Note

This project is open-source and non-commercial. The Windows installer generated via Inno Setup is intended for non-commercial distribution and testing purposes.

Tip

Troubleshooting Installer Error 4551: If running GameFlowConnect_Setup.exe fails with "Unable to execute file in the temporary directory. Error 4551: an access control policy blocked this file", a Windows policy (e.g., Smart App Control or AppLocker) is blocking execution in the user Temp folder.

• Easiest Solution: Simply use the portable version dist/GameFlowConnect_v<version>_Portable.zip. Extract the ZIP and run GameFlowConnect.exe directly. Since it runs out-of-the-box and does not extract helper stubs to the Temp directory, it bypasses the policy block entirely.
• Bypass via CMD: Alternatively, you can override the temp environment variables before launching the installer:

  mkdir C:\Temp
  set TEMP=C:\Temp
  set TMP=C:\Temp
  GameFlowConnect_Setup.exe

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🎨 Visual Identity

The project's color scheme consists of:

Primary: #1e3743

Secondary: #1e3760

Accent: #00aa00

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🤝 Contributions

Contributions are welcome! Please refer to CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute to the project.