Swift version: 5.6
All nodes in SpriteKit have a zPosition
property that dictates its depth on the screen. If you’re using Xcode’s default SpriteKit template then the view you’re rendering into has its ignoresSiblingOrder
property set to true, which means zPosition
is the only factor that decides whether one node is drawn above or below another.
All Z positions default to 0, but if you use negative values (-1, -2, etc) it forces those nodes to be drawn behind nodes that have higher Z positions (1, 2, etc). These numbers don’t have any absolute meaning – all that matters is that one number is higher or lower than another. That is, setting a Z position to 10,000 doesn’t make a sprite any larger or more prominent than setting it to 1,000.
Here’s some example code:
// place the background behind other things
background.zPosition = -1
// place the player in front
player.zPosition = 1
// make the score go above everything
score.zPosition = 10
TAKE YOUR SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL If you like Hacking with Swift, you'll love Hacking with Swift+ – it's my premium service where you can learn advanced Swift and SwiftUI, functional programming, algorithms, and more. Plus it comes with stacks of benefits, including monthly live streams, downloadable projects, a 20% discount on all books, and free gifts!
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
Available from iOS 7.0 – learn more in my book Dive Into SpriteKit
This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.
Link copied to your pasteboard.