SpriteKit Refer to a Node that's Outside of a Function - swift

Question

I'm currently working on a game in SpriteKit that uses a functions to spawn a spike and I call that function every few seconds to spawn another spike. Here is that function
func summonSpike() {
let spike = SKSpriteNode(imageNamed: "Spike")
let randomizer = Int.random(in: 1..<2)
// 1 = Left
// 2 = Right
if randomizer == 1 {
spike.position = CGPoint(x: -70, y: 300)
spike.zRotation = -1.5708
} else {
spike.position = CGPoint(x: 70, y: 300)
spike.zRotation = 1.5708
}
spike.name = "spike"
spike.size = CGSize(width: 30, height: 60)
spike.physicsBody = SKPhysicsBody(texture: SKTexture(imageNamed: "Spike"), size: CGSize(width: 30, height: 60))
spike.physicsBody?.affectedByGravity = false
spike.physicsBody?.allowsRotation = false
if gameStarted == true && gameEnded == false {
addChild(spike)
}
}
I need to refer to each spike node that exists outside of the function. What's the best way to do this?, I tried putting the let spike = SKSpriteNode(imageNamed: "Spike") outside of the function but then it doesn't let me spawn multiple spikes. How do I refer to a node outside of the function?

Answer 1

there are different ways to do this. as Whirlwind mentioned, you can save your sprites in an array. however i would recommend simply relying on the node structure itself as your storage. once you call addChild(node) you've effectively saved that node for later. here are two ways to access those nodes again, first by filtering on the node's class, and second by using the node's assigned name.
//get all child SKSpriteNodes by class
let nodes_by_class = self.children.compactMap({ $0 as? SKSpriteNode })
//get all children with a particular name
let nodes_by_name = self.children.filter({ $0.name == "spike" })
you can also use childNode(withName:) to grab a single child based on name