Hello, I've been visiting this website a while now, mainly just to download and play the latest and greatest games.
Recently I decided to attempt to create my own so I looked into what kind of software was used by people here. I tried out The Games Factory and it didn't seem to be quite what I was looking for.
Multimedia Fusion on the other hand sounded great but I didn't even bother trying out the trial since it's a tad expensive for me, atleast for now that I'm not sure how far along I will go with this.
I then looked for alternatives and after a bit of searching I came up with this little gem of a software called Game Maker. It's been in development quite a long while now, I think by a single person (don't quote me on that), but its quality is excellent - as far as I can tell - and its price, well, cheap. It's very flexible since you can not only use the built-in features but also use the Game Maker Language to use your own code for more advanced things. It also has some limited 3D capabilities but 2D is its main attraction - though I imagine that 3D will be developed further in the future.
It's very simple for beginners assuming they do the tutorials. I've been making some OK - for my level - shmups with it (I won't release any as, well, they aren't anything different/worth a look) and will now concetrate on doing all the tutorials so that I can then get to creating the games I really want to do.
I strongly suggest to everyone that uses The Game Factory and thinks that MMF is too expensive to check this out. Maybe MMF users can also take a look and see what they think of it.
Of course since I haven't used any of the above software much it may end up being worse than both in the long term, I'm just loving it right now.
Unfortunately, the non-registered version of Game Maker has some important features (such as sprite rotation) disabled but there's a registered features demo available as well.
Now that I've introduced this piece of software I'd like to suggest for this website to also cover games created with that. There are some pretty great stuff out there, though not as many as with MMF since the community seems much smaller - or I haven't been to the right place.
Still, I'm sure the merging of the communities would benefit everyone since, for example, there are great artists in both which could make graphics available to everyone and not just users of one or the other program.
Anyway, if anyone tries out Game Maker please do the tutorials as the style is COMPLETELY different to clickteam stuff and so you may, at first, hate it expecting things to be in a certain way and not being able to find what you want. But really, it's extremely simple. Also, the tutorials are by far NOT a showcase of the program's capabilities, they are simply for beginners to manage and start up.
Peace, I hope this post will benefit atleast one of you guys. And hopefully, eventually, this website WILL cover Game Maker stuff and maybe I will be doing some decent stuff by then and be able to submit them! C ya either way.
mr for example, i've used many game development packages before, rpg maker, game maker, and of course tgf, and mmf, and out of them all i found game maker to be the worst, but of course that's my opinion
some people hve said that making rpg's are easier in game maker, but from my experiences, game maker is much worse for rpg games, the application itself has drawbacks from having button symbols, and without words i had no idea what they we're supposed to do, the whole thing just made no sense at all
Well, did you do the tutorials or just tried to learn the thing with messing around in it? I suggest that you download the tuts from the official Game Maker website, they are all great and so simple... Though again they don't show the full capabilities of the program. And best to do them all first as only one (for example the first) barely shows anything at all... I'd say you can start well if you do the "first game tutorial" and then do the shoot em up tutorial.
I'm talking about the program that is found here btw (just to make sure we are talking about the same Game Maker).
I don't think many people will convert to a another game making program after using TGF/MMF for a bunch of years. If I do convert to anything else, it'll be C++.
I wanted to edit my previous post but it said I cannot edit it so, I'll rewrite it here (feel free to delete the previous one mods).
Well, how long ago did you try it out, there usually are significant improvements in later versions from reading its history.
And, did you do the tutorials or just tried to learn the thing with messing around in it?
I suggest that you download the tuts from the official Game Maker website, they are all great and so simple to get you started with... Though, again, they don't show the full capabilities of the program at all. And it's best to do them all first as only one (for example the first) barely shows anything at all...
If you are bored of that, I'd say you can start well if you do the "first game tutorial" and then do the shoot em up tutorial and finally the platform tutorial.
Learning of each of the above should enable you to mess around in making a game you want...
I'm talking about the program that is found here btw (just to make sure we are talking about the same Game Maker).
I don't see how it can even be compared to the likes of RPGmaker when it's so flexible and not just for a certain type of games...
There's also a now out of print book available for download in PDF format which teaches you how to do "Arcade game graphics" so you guys can visit that site atleast for that reason. Though I think it's quite an old book it should still be useful for people starting out in the 2D deal.
Well I'm not saying it's better, but it's certainly different, it's all about finding a program you are comfortable with, no? Some people may find this comfortable that's all...
Either way, communities could expand even if the old members don't move on to the new things covered in it, I wasn't trying to convert anyone...
I just think the mentality is so similar, both cheap programs, both used by people to mostly make freeware little games... I think both would benefit from the expansion...
I'll be sticking around if just to play the games others make even if I don't end up using TGF or MMF (maybe in the future, when I'm more experienced I'll find GM limiting or whatever and end up trying other stuff, who knows).
It was just a friendly suggestion really, nothing more...
...right... I'll mention it whenever I see fit :> maybe if I make games with it I'll post about them in off topic section that will be a while though, I don't have too much time to devote to learning per day :>
To each their own. Your own ability is what will make your game maker games great.
Depending who is working on either, one or the other could make a better game depending on their skill.
Although, you shouldn't come into a community revolved around MMF/TGF and in some cases KNP and start preaching of the greatness of a program that most of us hate. Instead make a game that is great with it and prove a point instead of blabbing on.
thinking is like pong, it's easy, but you miss sometimes.
I wasn't preaching, was just saying what I thought... As I said I'm a beginner...
And there's no reason to "hate" a program either... Noone's going to force you to use it or something and if someone does you should hate that person, not the program lol... Kind of a waste of emotion if you channel it to something which is not, well, alive...
Anyway I haven't been into development in the past but I have been around various places to play games others make and I thought it's all a similar concept... Didn't know there's such hatred between people of one or the other side or whatever...
Anyway, kind of silly to ask a beginner to prove with his games that a program is good, after all if I just picked the game of a random newbie here to see if MMF is good, I'd end up thinking it's total shit... But I didn't do that because it would be, well, very stupid of me...
Feel free to promote such emotions to people that are into the whole hatred-between-whatever thing but I didn't do anything of the sort, so, yeah... It was just a friendly suggestion.
Well, a short reply now cos after re-reading some posts I'd like to say - in case it wasn't noticed by the guy who tried the program - that all the icons GM uses have very descriptive tooltips that explain what they do...
PS: Maybe you should stop reading this thread if it offends you so much - God knows why - rather than advice me to go away... Another friendly suggestion
Your so calm, I would be bleeping and boobopin around if I got that crap from them.
Never tried gamemaker. Never heard of gamemaker untill now. You should just look into the free copy of mmf. Or the trial whatever. It is really good. You can start with gamemaker and then move up to tgf if you like. But try the trial version.
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Edited by the Author.
that will be a while though, I don't have too much time to devote to learning per day :>
