Software overview: Evaluation - Game Maker Studio 2

Game Maker Studio 2

    GMS is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) platform for video game developers. It is perfect for small independent studios or single developers. This game engine is ideal for beginners.

    We can use GMS in two modes: Drag and Drop or regular programming. DND is a good choice for somebody who whats to learn how it works and create simple games.

    Programming mode is recommended for most programmers. Game Maker Studio has its own programming language, which is simple to learn, GML (Game Maker Language) is made for programming games and it is based on Java and C++. There are no useless functions, no technical things, and everything is meant to develop games. Easy to learn, there is great manual, just hit F1. In the manual there is every function or command in GML well explained.

    Game Maker has its limitations. It is created to develop 2D games, especially those low-resolution pixel art games. high-resolution sprites are very memory-consuming. RAM requirements rise exponentially to the resolution of bitmaps. So that may good engine for retro games. GMS allows developer to compile games on many platforms such as Windows, Linux, MacOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and OperaGX.

    It is possible to write a 3D game, however, the rendering engine is simple, lighting system is basic. If you want to create a 90s stylized game, that is possible however the project aims for photorealistic graphics think about Unreal Engine ( new post soon! ).

Example:

Code for object obj_player allows move in 4 directions:

if keyboard_check_pressed(arrow_up)==true

{

    //player moves up

    y--

}

else if keyboard_check_pressed(arrow_down)==true

{

    //player moves up

    y+

}

if keyboard_check_pressed(arrow_left)==true

{

    //player moves left

    x--

}

else if keyboard_check_pressed(arrow_right)==true

{

    //player moves right

    x++

}

Review

As my review this program receive 9/10:

Pros:

• simple to learn
• great for pixelart or simple games
• free

Cons:

• engine limitations
• poor 3d support

References:

• Adams, E. (2014). Fundamentals of game design (Third Edition). Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

• YoYo Games LTD, (2022), GameMaker Manual. . Available at: https://manual.yoyogames.com/ (Accessed: November 1, 2022).