Book Image

GameMaker Cookbook

Book Image

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.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
GameMaker Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Using swipes


If you use a mobile device, such as a phone or tablet, it's a safe bet to use swipe controls in a game or an app; popular games such as Fruit Ninja have been designed entirely around this type of a touchscreen input. Swipe controls are intuitive for certain onscreen actions (such as slicing a fruit), so the game just feels right; it's satisfying. Let's take a moment to cook up some satisfying controls.

Getting ready

We'll create a simple demo to showcase the swipe movement. To do this, you'll need a simple room and two objects. The first object should be called obj_target and requires a sprite; I chose a simple green box. The second should be called obj_control_swipe and requires no sprite. Based on the name, I'm sure you can guess what this second object does.

How to do it…

  1. In obj_target, add a Create event to a code block containing the following code:

    x = room_width/2;
    y = room_height/2;
  2. Add a Step event to the code block where you'll enter this code:

    if (x < 0) or (x > room_width...