Game Maker: Every Programmer's Dream

Game Maker was started back in 1999 by a man named Mark Overmars. He wanted people with great ideas to be able to put them to work without having to know a bunch of complicated code. With Game Maker, you can drag and drop different actions on to different objects. It is even possible to create 3d games with this unique program!

One great aspect of Game Maker is it's very own built in image editor. For your games, you can create your own images to be used. You can also download other people's images from the main website, yoyogames.com (if you do not have a very artistic side like myself). Each object needs an image (or a sprite as they are called) so they can be seen!

Another addition was the option to record your own sound for the game. This can give your game more depth, with the ability to add in sound. Sound is a great feature to any game.

To get a little more in depth, there is an optional built in coding system, with its own unique language. It is called Game Maker Language, or GML. At first, it seems like a lot to handle, but after a few tutorials and a little experience, it is very easy to use. The games can get even better with this great aspect.

If you get some experience with Game Maker, you can move on to 3d games! Now, this requires a large portion of the Game Maker Language, but can be used to create some pretty decent games. I cannot promise you that you are about to create the next generation of Quake, but you can make some games that are fun to play and others can enjoy.

At any time, you can upgrade the standard version of Game Maker to Game Maker Pro. With this $20 investment, you unlock a wide range of new features that you can explore. I will let you see what can be unlocked, but it is definitely worth the $20. When Game Maker gets a better version, you can use the same key given to you to upgrade it to Pro.

If you would like to share your game with the world, there is a button right on the program that allows to you upload it to the website. This of course will protect your game from being stolen and distributed without credit to you. If you would like to distribute it yourself though, there are a few guidelines. The first thing is that anything in the game must be created by you or someone else on your team. If you receive money for the game, everyone who participated must receive a portion of it. You must also have the Pro verison of Game Maker, so you have distributing rights.

Well, if you would like to try it, go ahead and download the free program at yoyogames.com. That is it for my review, so I will leave it up to you to further explore the world of Game Maker. Thank you!