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Even though Game Maker is very easy to use, getting the hang of it might be a bit difficult at first. It is important that we first write a brief description of the game we are going to make. Because this is going to be our first game we better design something simple. It should
keep the player interested for just a short time.Always try to come up with a nice name for your game.
The second step in creating a game is to write a more precise design document. You are recommended to always do this before making your game, even if it is very simple.As the game design document describes we will need two images for the two game objects. Such images are called sprites in Game Maker. There is a lot to know about sprites but for the moment, simple think of them as little images. So we need to make or find such images. For making the images you can use any drawing program you like, for example the paint program that is part of any Windows system. But Game Maker also has a simple built-in drawing program for this purpose. Creating nice-looking sprites is an art
that requires a lot of practice.
Having created the sprites and sounds does not mean that anything is happening. Sprites are only the images for game objects and we have not yet defined any game objects. Similar, sounds will only play if we tell them to be played.But before we will do this you will have to understand the basic way in which Game
Maker operates. As we have indicated before, in a game we have a number of different game objects. During the running of the game one or more instances of these game
objects will be present on the screen or, more general, in the game world. Note that there can be multiple instances of the same game object. So for example, in out Catch the
Clown game there will be a large number of instances of wall objects, which surround the playing field. There will be just one instance of the clown object.
Instances of game objects donât do anything unless you tell them how to act. You do this by indicating how the instances of the object must react to events that happen. There are many different events that can happen. The first important event is when the instance is created. This is the Create Event. Probably some action is required here. For example we must tell the instance of the clown object that it should start moving in a particular
direction. Another important event happens when two instances collide with each other; a so-called Collision Event. For example, when the instance of the clown collides with an instance of the wall, the clown must react and change its direction of motion. Again other events happen when the player presses a key on the keyboard or clicks with mouse on an instance.
Now that we have created the game objects there is one more thing to do. We need to create the room in which the game takes place. For most games, designing effective rooms (often also called levels) is a time-consuming task because here we must find the right balance and progression in the game.From the Resources menu choose Create Room.Select the objects tab. Enlarge the window somewhat such that you can see the complete room area at the right. At the top, change the value for Snap X and Snap Y to 32. As the size of our sprites is 32, this makes it easier to place the
sprites at the correct locations.
You might not have realized it but our game is ready now. The sprites and sounds have been added, the game objects have been designed and the first (and only) room in which the game takes place has been created. Now it is time to save the game and to test it.