Game Maker
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Mark Overmars YoYo Games |
| Current version | 8.1 (April 17, 2011) |
| operating system | Windows , macOS |
| programming language | Object Pascal |
| category | Computer game development system |
| License | proprietary |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.yoyogames.com/studio | |
Game Maker ( GM ) is originally from the Netherlands Mark Overmars developed integrated development environment (IDE) for creating computer games for Windows and macOS . Games can be created in the own scripting language Game Maker Language with little or no programming knowledge. In addition, a script language with optional extensions is available. Game Maker itself is developed in Embarcadero Delphi .
Game Maker has been owned by YoYo Games Ltd. since 2007 . , a Dundee , Scotland based company established for this purpose in which Overmars has an interest. In the Game Maker Community (GMC) maintained by YoYo Games , more than 100,000 games have been created, around 56,000 are available for download (as of November 2010).
In 2012 the GameMaker was replaced by its successor GameMaker: Studio .
history
Game Maker was initially conceived as a 2D computer animation program under the name Animo , later it was expanded into a development tool for beginners and for training purposes. The first version was released by Overmars on November 15, 1999. From version 3.0 of 2001 DirectDraw is used for graphics output, from version 6.0 of 2004 Direct3D . A version for Mac OS X has been available since August 2010, versions for PlayStation Portable and Apple iOS were announced in 2010.
An official and numerous unofficial communities deal with the development of Game Maker games. The official community operated by YoYo Games has over 167,000 registered members, the largest German-speaking community around 2,750 (as of December 2011). Competitions, some of which are endowed with prizes, are regularly organized in the communities.
user interface
The graphical user interface and the operating concept of the software are simple and clearly structured: Each program created with Game Maker is subdivided into different resources : sprites , sounds, backgrounds, paths , scripts , fonts , timelines , objects and rooms. With drag and drop you can develop the program flow by simply dragging icons onto the work surface. Objects, for example, are assigned a series of events and associated actions that trigger the destruction of one object if it collides with another. Nevertheless, variables and source text can already be used here. Each of the program blocks symbolized by the icons then stands for a short script section.
The program offers the possibility of creating jump 'n' runs , puzzles , maze and other retro games using drag and drop , but with the scripting language and its diversity it can also be used for large projects.
Completed games can be published independently of Game Maker as source text or compiled as an independently executable file (Windows- EXE ). The compiled games are also interpreted , which means that they are inferior to native implementations in terms of maximum execution speed.
Game Maker Language
For complex tasks, Game Maker provides its own scripting language, Game Maker Language (GML), which is based on higher programming languages such as Pascal , Java and C and offers the user more options by creating scripts. Thus, block structures optionally or mixed by curly brackets (C-style) or the keywords begin , and end(Pascal style) to be labeled. Strings can be enclosed in both single and double quotes.
Extensions
From version 6, the registered full version enables the integration of dynamic link libraries (DLLs), which do tasks that Game Maker cannot perform itself. Examples of this are network and database functions, the use of compressed archive formats (including 7z ) or other audio formats such as Ogg - Vorbis or Tracker formats.
Versions
Game Maker 5.3 A
The somewhat older version 5.3 A of the Game Maker takes on a special role . This has significantly lower system requirements than the 6/7 series, so it already runs on a Pentium system under DirectX 5 and is therefore suitable for older computers. In contrast to version 6/7, DirectDraw is used as the graphics system. In contrast to versions 6 and above, the "Lite" version 5.3 A has no functional restrictions.
Game Maker 6.1
Game Maker 6 is based on Direct3D for the first time , which makes it possible to use 3D and vector graphics , albeit to a limited extent. There are also simple ways to quickly create effects such as snow, rain or fog.
The Game Maker engine may support a. Hardware transparency and color mixing functions for the sprites .
Game Maker 6 calculates inaccurately with very large numbers and numbers with decimal places. Furthermore, unlike Game Maker 5 and Game Maker 7, it does not support Windows Vista because Vista no longer supports its compression method . A patch is known for this.
Game Maker 7
Game Maker 7 was published by YoYo Games in February / March 2007. Compared to Game Maker 6.1, it primarily contains an extension system with which third-party scripts and dlls can be seamlessly integrated into the syntax and runtime system. Furthermore, Game Maker 7 and the games created with it run on Windows Vista, but support for Windows 9x has been completely given up. With version 7 the game maker went to YoYo Games Ltd. over. The new registration and activation system, which, similar to Windows XP, enables the Game Maker copy locally on the PC, has led to some controversy, which is why many Game Maker users have stayed with version 6.1.
Game Maker 8
Version 8 was published on December 22, 2009 and replaced by version 8.1 in March 2011. New features included a completely revised script editor, the ability to import and export resources and support for images with alpha channels .
Availability
A limited lite version can be downloaded for free from the developer's website. This lacks, for example, the functionality for reloading external files, extended drawing functions, 3D functions, a particle system, data structures, surfaces and the network-internal multiplayer functions. From version 8.1 onwards, a permanently visible watermark is added to the game surface in games that were created with the Lite version .
Individual evidence
- ↑ YoYo Games Glog: New PSP video. May 4, 2010, accessed December 29, 2011 .
- ↑ YoYo Games Glog: GameMaker now running on iPad. September 24, 2010, accessed December 29, 2011 .
- ↑ YoYo Games: Game Maker Community Board Statistics. Retrieved December 29, 2011 .
- ↑ Game Maker Domain: Membership Statistics . Retrieved December 29, 2011 .
- ↑ Making_games_work_under_Windows_Vista ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on yoyogames.com (English)
- ↑ YoYo Games: GameMaker for Windows - Feature Comparison. Retrieved December 29, 2011 .
literature
- Mark Overmars and Jacob Habgood: Game Makers Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners. Computer Bookshops, 2006 ISBN 1-59059-615-3
- Jacob Habgood et al: The Game Makers Companion . Apress, 2010. ISBN 1-43022-826-1
- David Waller: Basic Projects in Game Maker Payne-Gallway Publishers, 2009 ISBN 1905292570
- Jerry Lee, Jr. Ford: Getting Started with Game Maker Course Technology, 2009 ISBN 1598638823
