20,39 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Key Features
Book Description
This book is for users experienced with game development who now want to learn how to develop games in GameMaker: Studio in a fast-paced way.What you will learn
- Get to grips with the GameMaker: Studio interface
- Discover resources such as sprites, shaders, scripts, and many more in GameMaker and what each one is used for
- Create and animate sprites using the GameMaker sprite editor
- Design your own game using GameMaker Language programing
- Create objects and program them to use in your games
- Set up monetization and analytics in your games
- Deploy and publish your games online across platforms such as Android, iOS, and Windows
Who this book is for
This book is for users experienced with game development who now want to learn how to develop games in GameMaker: Studio in a fast-paced way.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 162
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
GameMaker Essentials
GameMaker Essentials
Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: March 2015
Production reference: 1230315
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78439-612-1
www.packtpub.com
Credits
Author
Nathan Auckett
Reviewers
Mark Alexander
John M. Walker, PE
Commissioning Editor
Nadeem N. Bagban
Acquisition Editor
Harsha Bharwani
Content Development Editor
Samantha Gonsalves
Technical Editor
Bharat Patil
Copy Editors
Relin Hedly
Laxmi Subramanian
Project Coordinator
Sanchita Mandal
Proofreaders
Simran Bhogal
Lauren E. Harkins
Indexer
Hemangini Bari
Production Coordinator
Conidon Miranda
Cover Work
Conidon Miranda
About the Author
Nathan Auckett is an advanced GameMaker user and has been using the software for over 7 years now. He started using GameMaker during its seventh version and has been using the built-in programming language ever since to create his own games. In 2012, he began creating small tutorials on various topics in GameMaker and has since then created over 50 tutorials helping people achieve a variety of different tasks in GameMaker.
About the Reviewers
Mark Alexander is a self-taught programmer and writer. He started using BASIC on an old ZX81 and progressed through the years using other languages and learning the tools of the programming trade until he discovered GameMaker in 2006. At that point, he fell in love with the software and now dedicates his time to making games and writing articles on using the program and on game design in general.
Mark currently documents products for YoYo Games (who makes and sells GameMaker: Studio) and also has his own small software company, Nocturne Games, which specializes in small, family-friendly, and quirky games for all platforms.
Mark was the technical editor of GameMaker: Studio For Dummies, For Dummies as well as Learning GML from the Game Maker book series.
John M. Walker, PE is a licensed professional engineer in industrial engineering and is currently a licensed full-time teacher in computer science and information technology at Gresham High School near Portland, OR. He has been teaching full time for the last 15 years for High School and Regional Professional Higher Ed conferences.
John worked for more than 20 years as an information technology manager for high technology firms dealing with systems administration and networking architecture and engineering. His favorite designation was Director of Technology for the Portland Trail Blazers, while designing and constructing the Moda Center.
www.PacktPub.com
Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more
For support files and downloads related to your book, please visit www.PacktPub.com.
Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com, and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us at <[email protected]> for more details.
At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a range of free newsletters, and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and eBooks.
https://www2.packtpub.com/books/subscription/packtlib
Do you need instant solutions to your IT questions? PacktLib is Packt's online digital book library. Here, you can search, access, and read Packt's entire library of books.
Why subscribe?
Free access for Packt account holders
If you have an account with Packt at www.PacktPub.com, you can use this to access PacktLib today and view nine entirely free books. Simply use your login credentials for immediate access.
Preface
Welcome to GameMaker Essentials. This book will teach you how to use GameMaker: Studio to create your very own games from start to finish. You will learn the very basics, such as how to use the GameMaker: Studio interface, as well as the more advanced features such as programming, monetizing your game, and finally exporting your game for publishing.
If you have ever wanted to create your own games for operating systems, such as Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and more, then this book is the perfect place to start.
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Introducing GameMaker, introduces GameMaker: Studio by telling us exactly what it is and the basic idea behind it. The chapter also looks into some of GameMaker's history as well as showing how to install it onto your computer.
Chapter 2, Getting Started, walks you through the GameMaker: Studio interface, teaching you what each button does and introducing you to some of the core aspects of the interface.
Chapter 3, Resource Management, teaches you how to manage resources. In this chapter, you will learn what each resource is and also the best practices in organizing resources.
Chapter 4, Objects, introduces you to one of the core resources in GameMaker, objects. You will learn about the object interface and also how they function.
Chapter 5, The GameMaker Language, teaches you how to program using GameMaker's very own programming language. By the end of this chapter, you will be ready to program your own game.
Chapter 6, Sprites, takes a detailed look at the sprite resource in GameMaker. You will learn how to create sprites, edit sprites, the good sizing techniques, and finally, how to change the way sprites act through programming.
Chapter 7, Making a Game, walks you through the process of making your very own game using GameMaker Language (GML). You will learn more about rooms, objects, programming, and common practices in this chapter.
Chapter 8, Debugging, teaches you about debugging in GameMaker. You will learn how to read an error report, how to draw information to the screen, how to enable simple toggles, and finally, how to use the GameMaker debugger.
Chapter 9, Game Settings and Exporting, covers the settings available for each game in GameMaker. You will also learn how to implement ads, analytics, how to export your game, and also how to publish your final game.
What you need for this book
For this book, you will need:
Who this book is for
If you are an experienced developer or a beginner who wants to enter the rich world and experience of GameMaker: Studio, then this book is ideal for you.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive."
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "To do this, right-click on any branch and choose Create Group."
Note
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.
Tip
Tips and tricks appear like this.
Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or disliked. Reader feedback is important for us as it helps us develop titles that you will really get the most out of.
To send us general feedback, simply e-mail <[email protected]> and mention the book's title in the subject of your message.
If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide at www.packtpub.com/authors.
Customer support
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.
Downloading the color images of this book
We also provide you with a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. The color images will help you better understand the changes in the output. You can download this file from https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/6121OS_ColorImages.pdf.
Errata
Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in the text or the code—we would be grateful if you could report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will be uploaded to our website or added to any list of existing errata under the Errata section of that title.
To view the previously submitted errata, go to https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/support and enter the name of the book in the search field. The required information will appear under the Errata section.
Piracy
Piracy of copyrighted material on the Internet is an ongoing problem across all media. At Packt, we take the protection of our copyright and licenses very seriously. If you come across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the Internet, please provide us with the location address or website name immediately so that we can pursue a remedy.
Please contact us at <[email protected]> with a link to the suspected pirated material.
We appreciate your help in protecting our authors and our ability to bring you valuable content.
Questions
If you have a problem with any aspect of this book, you can contact us at <[email protected]>, and we will do our best to address the problem.
Chapter 1. Introducing GameMaker
In this chapter, you will learn what GameMaker is all about, who made it, what it is used for, and more. You will then also be learning how to install GameMaker on your computer that is ready for use.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
Understanding GameMaker
Before getting started with GameMaker, it is best to know exactly what it is and what it's designed to do.
GameMaker is a 2D game creation software by YoYo Games. It was designed to allow anyone to easily develop games without having to learn complex programming languages such as C++ through the use of its drag and drop functionality.
The drag and drop functionality allows the user to create games by visually organizing icons on screen, which represent actions and statements that will occur during the game.
GameMaker also has a built-in programming language called GameMaker Language, or GML for short. GML allows users to type out code to be run during their game. All drag and drop actions are actually made up of this GML code.
GameMaker is primarily designed for 2D games, and most of its features and functions are designed for 2D game creation. However, GameMaker does have the ability to create 3D games and has a number of functions dedicated to this.
GameMaker: Studio
There are a number of different versions of GameMaker available, most of which are unsupported because they are outdated; however, support can still be found in the GameMaker Community Forums. GameMaker: Studio is the first version of GameMaker after GameMaker HTML5 to allow users to create games and export them for use on multiple devices and operating systems including PC, Mac, Linux, and Android, on both mobile and desktop versions.
GameMaker: Studio is designed to allow one code base (GML) to run on any device with minimal changes to the base code. Users are able to export their games to run on any supported device or system such as HTML5 without changing any code to make things work.
GameMaker: Studio was also the first version available for download and use through the Steam marketplace. YoYo Games took advantage of the Steam workshop and allowed Steam-based users to post and share their creations through the service.
GameMaker: Studio is sold in a number of different versions, which include several enhanced features and capabilities as the price gets higher.
The standard version is free to download and use. However, it lacks some advanced features included in higher versions and only allows for exporting to the Windows desktop.
The professional version is the second cheapest from the standard version. It includes all features, but only has the Windows desktop and Windows app exports. Other exports can be purchased at an extra cost ranging from $99.99 to $300.
The master version is the most expensive of all the options. It comes with every feature and every export, including all future export modules in version 1.x. If you already own exports in the professional version, you can get the prices of those exports taken off the price of the master version.
Installing GameMaker: Studio
Installing GameMaker is performed much like any other program. In this case, we will be installing GameMaker: Studio as this is the most up-to-date version at this point.
You can find the download at the YoYo Games website, https://www.yoyogames.com/.
From the site, you can pick the free version or purchase one of the others. All the installations are basically the same.
Once the installer is downloaded, we are ready to install GameMaker: Studio. This is just like installing any other program. Just run the file, and then follow the on-screen instructions to accept the license agreement, choose an install location, and install the software.
On the first run, you may see a progress bar appear at the top left of your screen. This is just GameMaker running its first time setup. It will also do this during the update process as YoYo Games releases new features.
Once it is done, you should see a welcome screen and will be prompted to enter your registration code. The key should be e-mailed to you when you make an account during the purchase/download process. Enter this key and your copy of GameMaker: Studio should be registered. You may be prompted to restart GameMaker at this time. Close GameMaker and re-open it and you should see the welcome screen and be able to choose from a number of options on it:
What is this book about?
We now have GameMaker: Studio installed and are ready to get started with it.
In this book, we will be covering the essential things to know about GameMaker: Studio. This includes everything from drag and drop actions to programming in GameMaker using GameMaker Language (GML). You will learn about how things in GameMaker are structured, and how to organize resources to keep things as clean as possible. By the end of the book, we would have made a simple functioning game and will be ready to get going with game development using GameMaker: Studio.
Summary
In this chapter, we looked into what GameMaker actually is and learned that there are different versions available. We also looked at the different types of GameMaker: Studio available for download and purchase. We then learned how to install GameMaker: Studio, which is the final step in getting ready to learn the essential skills and starting to make our very own games.
In the next chapter, we will look into creating a new project and the main interfaces of GameMaker: Studio.
Chapter 2. Getting Started
In this chapter, we will be looking into the main interface of GameMaker: Studio and exploring the functions and features available within the program.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
Licensing
With GameMaker: Studio installed, it is important to know exactly what your license gives you in terms of access.
Firstly, your
