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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1 star

Introduction

Even though they work mostly in the background, save systems play a huge role in games. Be it saving your game progress, tracking your object positions, or even keeping your high score, saving data is crucial to game development. It may not be exciting or glamorous but it's the truth. Would you keep playing a game in which you collect weapons, experience points, and artifacts, only to have them disappear when you go to the next stage? No, you'd likely shut it off and go back to playing something else. Keeping track of information can allow your players to save their progress and come back to it some other time, or even compete with other players for arcade supremacy (this means having the highest score). Let's see what it takes to build these systems and implement them in your game.

Background data

Okay, let's start with the boring, behind-the-scenes stuff. Here, we'll take a look at how to save and recall bits of information as they pertain to game elements and settings:

Creating...

GameMaker Cookbook

GameMaker Cookbook

Overview of this book

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GameMaker Cookbook

Introduction

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