The Game Maker’s Apprentice
Early this summer, I downloaded Game Maker and gave it a go. I had first seen the app several years back, but had dismissed it after checking out many of the games created with it online (though there are a few excellent exceptions!).
Reevaluating Game Maker in light of my recent shift from game technology to game development (see my posts on Flash, et al), what I saw was an excellent, excellent tool. A hugely underapprecaited tool, to say the least.
Last week, I received my copy of the Game Maker’s Apprentice. I haven’t had much time to read it, but over the week I’ve made it through the first few chapters and have nothing but compliments for the authors. The writing is incredibly clear and the instrunction is as smooth as silk to follow. Yeah, of course, they’re making incredibly trivial games. To start with! By the end of the book, the reader will easily have the chops to make something on par with just about anything you’d find in a casual game today, or on the Nintendo or Super Nintendo a decade ago.
Well, I was spurred today to write this because I just read an excellent article by one of the authors of the book on Gamasutra. He discusses Game Maker in the context of education. What struck me was where he talks about game players often are able to comprehend game mechanics and share opinions on them, but until they’ve actually tried making games they are very unsuccessful at suggesting how to improve them (even though they think they have good ideas on how to improve them).
My challenge to myself and to my readers (yes, both of you!): download Game Maker (free) and make a game this weekend. Grab some graphics from an old NES or SNES title, or grab some from Danc, or make your own. Just make something. Clone something. Then tweak it slightly. I guarantee you’ll find the results incredibly satisfying. Kinda like going for a walk on a pleasant day: it clears the cobwebs from the mind.
BTW, I’m very curious to try out Torque Game Builder and see how it compares. Considering the history of Game Maker relative to TGB, I’m not getting my hopes up, but I’m definitely curious…
[Update: here's an IGDA discussion forum thread regarding this article.]
[...] I’ve tried to break myself from this technology focus as evidenced by my recent forays into Flash and Game Maker. I’ve forced myself to step away from the 3D that I stare at all day (and arguably have the most expertise in) and limit myself to 2D technology. Even before then, I accepted the fact that I personally was not going to be crafting the next Doom or Source engine, so why participate in that age old arms race? I’ve also long accepted (and been very vocal about) the fact that technology really means zilch at the end of the day if the game isn’t finished. In other words, I am more impressed by a finished game running at 5fps than a tech demo running at 60fps. [...]
Game Maker is an excellent tool for learning game design and learning to design better games. With all the focus on 3D graphics today, many people have forgotten about good design. A good game is a good game, because the same design principles apply to both 2D and 3D gameplay. Game Maker is for anybody who plays games, makes games, dreams of making games, and anybody who wants to learn to design games better.
I have been using GM(GameMaker) and VB(Visual Basic) for over… 3 years? Yes thats just about right. I found out that it was incredible software! I am working on a 3D game now called Gravitouch 3D(http://seesicsupport.googlepages.com/Gravitouch3D.exe)
I am very glad you reviewed the book. I loved the game design segment.
Thanks. I think I’ll buy the book.