Game Object Components

Phaser 4 -- Game Object Components Reference

Component mixins that provide shared behavior to all Game Objects: Alpha, BlendMode, Depth, Flip, GetBounds, Lighting, Mask, Origin, ScrollFactor, Size, Texture, TextureCrop, Tint, Transform, Visible, PathFollower, RenderNodes, RenderSteps, Filters, FilterList.

Quick Start

// Every Game Object gets its component methods via mixins.
// Just call them directly on any game object:
const sprite = this.add.sprite(400, 300, 'hero');

sprite.setAlpha(0.5);                          // Alpha
sprite.setBlendMode(Phaser.BlendModes.ADD);    // BlendMode
sprite.setDepth(10);                           // Depth
sprite.setFlip(true, false);                   // Flip
sprite.setOrigin(0, 0);                        // Origin
sprite.setScrollFactor(0);                     // ScrollFactor (HUD)
sprite.setDisplaySize(64, 64);                 // Size
sprite.setTexture('hero', 'walk-1');           // Texture
sprite.setTint(0xff0000);                      // Tint
sprite.setPosition(100, 200);                  // Transform
sprite.setVisible(false);                      // Visible
sprite.setScale(2);                            // Transform
sprite.setAngle(45);                           // Transform

// Per-corner alpha (WebGL only)
sprite.setAlpha(1, 0.5, 0.5, 1);

// Crop a texture region
sprite.setCrop(0, 0, 32, 32);

// Enable WebGL filters (post-processing)
sprite.enableFilters();
sprite.filters.internal.addBlur(1, 2, 2, 1);

// Lighting (WebGL only, v4 feature)
sprite.setLighting(true);

Core Concepts

The Mixin System

Phaser uses Phaser.Class with a Mixins array to compose Game Objects from reusable component objects. Each component is a plain JS object whose properties and methods are copied onto the class prototype. This is NOT prototypal inheritance -- it is property copying at class definition time.

// How Phaser defines Sprite internally:
var Sprite = new Class({
    Extends: GameObject,
    Mixins: [
        Components.Alpha,
        Components.BlendMode,
        Components.Depth,
        Components.Flip,
        Components.GetBounds,
        Components.Lighting,
        Components.Mask,
        Components.Origin,
        Components.RenderNodes,
        Components.ScrollFactor,
        Components.Size,
        Components.TextureCrop,
        Components.Tint,
        Components.Transform,
        Components.Visible,
        SpriteRender
    ],
    initialize: function Sprite (scene, x, y, texture, frame) { /* ... */ }
});

Key Rules

1. Components are mixed in at class creation, not per-instance.
2. Most setter methods return this for chaining: sprite.setAlpha(0.5).setDepth(10).setPosition(100, 200).
3. Many properties use getters/setters internally (e.g., alpha, depth, visible, scale, rotation). Setting alpha = 0 or scale = 0 clears render flags, skipping rendering.
4. renderFlags is a bitmask: bit 0 = visible, bit 1 = alpha, bit 2 = scale, bit 3 = texture. All bits must be set for the object to render.
5. Alpha vs AlphaSingle: Alpha supports per-corner alpha (WebGL), AlphaSingle only supports a single global alpha. Containers use AlphaSingle.
6. Texture vs TextureCrop: TextureCrop extends Texture with setCrop() support. Sprites and Images use TextureCrop; some objects use plain Texture.
7. Filters and RenderSteps are v4-only, WebGL-only systems for post-processing.

Complete Component Reference

Alpha

Provides per-corner transparency. Used by Sprite, Image, Text, and most renderable objects.

AlphaSingle

Simplified alpha with no per-corner support. Used by Container.

BlendMode

Controls how pixels are composited during rendering.

WebGL blend modes: NORMAL, ADD, MULTIPLY, SCREEN, ERASE. Canvas supports additional browser-dependent modes.

Depth

Controls rendering order (z-index). Higher depth renders on top.

Flip

Visual mirroring without affecting physics bodies.

GetBounds

Calculate positions and bounding rectangles regardless of origin.

Set includeParent = true to factor in parent Container transforms.

Lighting (v4, WebGL only)

Enables light-based rendering with the Phaser 4 lighting system.