GameMaker Cookbook

GameMaker Cookbook

Overview of this book

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.

GameMaker Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Preface

Free Chapter

Game Plan – Creating Basic Gameplay

Programming basic enemies

Setting up player health and lives

Creating scoring mechanism

Creating win/lose scenarios

It's Under Control – Exploring Various Control Schemes

Introduction

Creating 2D movement

Adding a Run button

Making your character jump

Using a point-and-click interface

Following the cursor

Setting up a controller

Utilizing analogue joystick acceleration

Adding tap control

Using swipes

Moving characters or objects by tilting a device

Let's Move It – Advanced Movement and Layout

Introduction

Dragging onscreen objects

Dragging objects on a grid

Moving a character on a grid

Setting a path

Creating enemy pathfinding

Controlling a character with a mouse and keyboard

Let's Get Physical – Using GameMaker's Physics System

Introduction

Creating objects that use physics

Alternating gravity

Applying force via magnets

Creating a moving platform

Making a rope

Now Hear This! – Music and Sound Effects

Introduction

Importing and playing background music

Implementing situational sound effects

Adding sound emitters and listeners

Adjusting the listener orientation

Replicating the Doppler effect with emitters

It's All GUI! - Creating Graphical User Interface and Menus

Introduction

Setting up a basic HUD with code

Making your HUD scalable

Using the GUI layer in full screen mode with views

Adding a title screen

Creating splash pages

Adding a game over screen

Saving the Day – Saving Game Data

Introduction

Creating game settings

Making a pause screen

Saving player selection and score

Encrypting and decrypting save data

Light 'em up! – Enhancing Your Game with Lighting Techniques

Introduction

Creating a room with a light switch

Lighting objects with a spot light

Changing day to night

Creating a flashlight

Making a flickering torch

Particle Man, Particle Man – Adding Polish to Your Game with Visual Effects and Particles

Introduction

Using particles to simulate kicking up dust

Simulating rainfall

Creating an explosion

Adding screen-shake

Using slow motion

Hello, World – Creating New Dimensions of Play Through Networking

Introduction

Basic networking

Online play

Connecting a client to a server

Setting up asynchronous play for a turn-based game

Index

Customer Reviews

5 star

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2 star

1 star

Creating a flashlight

Even if you're not a fan of the genre, you need to be aware of the growing number of survival horror games on the market, especially the ones that are popular with indie developers. Many of these games (probably even most of them) require you to fumble around in dark, creepy locales as you attempt to solve a puzzle, unlock a secret, or find your long lost dad who disappeared under suspicious circumstances. What do the developers give you to aid you on your quest? A flashlight. One that keeps running out of batteries. Well, I have good news for you if you're looking to make a 2D survival horror game: we're going to learn how to create a flashlight effect in GameMaker.

Getting ready

Once again, you'll need a room (rm_game), a controllable player object (obj_player), an obstacle (obj_block), and a light controller object (obj_lightControl). Go ahead and place instances of obj_block around the room so that you can test them on completion. For this recipe, you'll also need...

GameMaker Cookbook

GameMaker Cookbook

Overview of this book

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GameMaker Cookbook

Creating a flashlight

Getting ready