Gamemaker Cookbook

Key Features

• Design and develop game elements that can be used alone or stacked to enhance your gaming experience
• Explore extensions that can unlock GameMaker: Studio's true potential to create complex games
• A recipe-based, easy-to-follow guide to take your GameMaker skills to the next level

Book Description

GameMaker: Studio started off as a tool capable of creating simple games using a drag-and-drop interface. Since then, it has grown to become a powerful instrument to make release-ready games for PC, Mac, mobile devices, and even current-gen consoles. GameMaker is designed to allow its users to develop games without having to learn any of the complex programming languages such as C++ or Java. It also allows redistribution across multiple platforms.

This book teaches you to harness GameMaker: Studio's full potential and take your game development to new heights.

It begins by covering the basics and lays a solid foundation for advanced GameMaker concepts. Moving on, it covers topics such as controls, physics, and advanced movement, employing a strategic approach to the learning curve. The book concludes by providing insights into complex concepts such as the GUI, menus, save system, lighting, particles, and VFX.

By the end of the book, you will be able to design games using GameMaker: Studio and implement the same techniques in other games you intend to design.

What you will learn

• Set up player control schemes of various types, such as touch controls and a gamepad
• Create your own physics sandbox
• Get accustomed to advanced player movement
• Implement music and 3D sound in your games
• Utilize GameMaker's GUI layers to create exciting games
• Generate adjustable game settings and save systems
• Add depth to your game with lighting and special effects

About the Author

Brandon Gardiner is a game developer and designer living out his love of video games. Though he started his foray into games through 3D art and level design, he always kept a notebook of ideas for games and game mechanics he wished to see. When he discovered GameMaker: Studio, he found that he could bring these ideas to life.

He is a graduate of the first iteration of the game development program at Toronto's George Brown College. In college, he worked as an artist and designer on several game projects for outside companies, including tie-ins for children's television shows and educational titles. After graduating, he founded MechaBee Studios where, being the sole developer of mobile and PC games, he is a jack of all trades.

He also writes a blog at http://www.gamemakerhq.com, through which he hopes to build a resource for other independent developers. He lives with his wife in Toronto where he is a veteran of the annual Toronto Game Jam (tojam.ca), an active member of the International Game Developers Association.

Table of Contents

1. Game Plan – Creating Basic Gameplay
2. It's Under Control – Exploring Various Control Schemes
3. Let's Move It – Advanced Movement and Layout
4. Let's Get Physical – Using GameMaker's Physics System
5. Now Hear This! – Music and Sound Effects
6. It's All GUI! - Creating Graphical User Interface and Menus
7. Saving the Day – Saving Game Data
8. Light 'em up! – Enhancing Your Game with Lighting Techniques
9. Particle Man, Particle Man – Adding Polish to Your Game with Visual Effects and Particles
10. Hello, World – Creating New Dimensions of Play Through Networking