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welcome Thank you for waiting as long as you have for this issue. Near the completion of this issue the file corrupted itself, this would have been no problem if my backup of the issue wasn’t over a month old. It was an important lesson learnt and I my apologies got to all the readers and GMTECH itself as it suffered greatly from this loss. Some of the content may be slightly out of date now, but we have adjusted a few things so they weren’t. So if you have any complaints about this issue, please direct them at me. We’ve also been working hard on issue 14 which is not too far away from this release so be sure to check that issue out when it comes out because it contains the exclusive interview with YoYo Games. We’ve been working on the way we prepare and build our issues, so we should start delivering more on a regular basis. On another note, we are all preparing for the time of the YoYo Games Competition 3 results. Who will claim the first prize? That’s what we at GMTECH are looking forward to. But for those you didn’t enter or know that they will lose, you can start getting prepared for the next competition with the “Save the Planet” theme. Funny thing is, when I first saw this announcement of the “Save the Planet” theme, the first game idea to come to me was: “Pollution Busters” which would be based off the old movie: “Ghost Busters”. But for this game you go around sucking up pollution and toxic waste. Feel free to take this idea if you wish because I’m not going to make it. Anyway, it will be interesting to see what people come up with. I’ve got a feeling that there is going to be a lot of games based on war or alien invasions. However, I hope people will try something completely different. As for issue 13, it is a bit smaller then some of the previous issues but it has some really good articles in it. We recommend you check out these particular articles: Starting a Team (Part 2), Developing for the Casual Gamer and Design a Website for Your Games. In addition, we’ve got a bonus comic for you made by minga, so check that out on page 32. The “Targeting Age Groups” article is also a great article to read. It help you to choose an age group for your game as well as showing you why games are rated as they are.
contents NEWS 03 03
WHAT’S GOING ON STAFF SAY
ARTICLES 04 06 07 08 09 10
STARTING A TEAM - PART 2 DEVELOPING FOR THE CASUAL GAMER MAKING GAMES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS TARGETING AGE GROUPS GM ON CONSOLES - SHOULD THEY BE? SHOULD I CHOOSE 2D or 3D?
GM DEV 12 14 15 16 17 20 20 21
DESIGN A WEBSITE FOR YOUR GAME VISUAL COLOR CUT SCENES IN GAMES ICE LEVELS TUTORIAL: 3D REAL TIME STRATEGY - PART 2 FAQ: SLOW MOTION TUTORIAL: PICK OUT THE NEAREST PIXEL ART TUTORIAL: SHADING
EXCLUSIVES 22 24 25
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: HOTSHOTSCOTT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: HOMEBREWPC INSIGHT INTO: OUT OF THE PAST
REVIEWS 26 27 28
CRYSTAL UNIVERSE - AFTERMATH LITTLE FRED QUICK VIRUS REMOVER
EXTRAS 29 31 32 33
FREE APPLICATIONS COMIC BONUS COMIC CLOSING
That’s all from me, Gmjab Editor
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online
what’s going on
Website:............................................www.gamemakertech.info Forum:..................................www.gamemakertech.info/forum/ Wiki:............................................www.gmtechwiki.wikidot.com Email:..........................................support@gamemakertech.info
GMT: Wiki Going Back Online YOu may have noticed that the wiki has been showing a ‘website down’ page for a while now. Well we have good news, the wiki will be going back only shortly and all the latest articles will start arriving in it’s pages.
staff gamez93 ESA GM Tech Owner Rixeno tomrussell gmjab Timoi Editor RoboBOT RedChu Rup13 Assistant Editor Reviewers: Writers Mediocre Rhys Andrews Xantheil skinnyeddy
Comic Artist: Bob–11500K Proofreaders: NAL eagleprof Special Thanks: Alex Schyler hotshotscott digitalblasphemy
staff say by gmjab
From the complaints, rants and posts that have come about a while ago one might ask “Has YoYo Games’s website and instantplay feature become a necessity for Game Maker users?”. Does this mean the anti-YoYo Games people complaining are actually enjoying the use of the website and its features so much so that they must rant about them not working when something does happen? If they were true to their anti-YoYo Games stand, would they not stay away from YoYo Games and be happy that something went wrong ranting and saying “I told you so...”? I have not yet seen a single user act in this way. So does this mean that really, deep down, everyone believes that YoYo Games was a move for the better and cannot doubt their ability to bring Game Maker to the next level. Isn’t it time that the staff at YoYo Games received some commendation rather then continual rants about how YoYo Games is not serving their needs? Really, if YoYo Games closed what would be left? I doubt Mark Overmars would continue the development. It’s food for thought... Now, YoYo Games has brought new service after new service and still people are not yet satisfied. So the question that is raised here is what does the community really want? And what has YoYo Games truly done for us? Trying to answer these two questions is near impossible unless proper research has been done. The next issue of GMTM will feature the truth about YoYo Games and the real facts that everyone should know.
YoYo Games Competition 3 Over The user generated co-operative competition has now ended. The judges, Mark Overmars and other YoYo Games employees, will now begin playing the roughly 280 games that have been submitted. Despite YoYo Games warning against it there appears to be a few MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online) entered. Many well known developers have also put in a game for the competition, such as RhysAndrews, KCLC, RedSystem and a surprise late entry by 2Dcube. Next Competition Theme YoYo Games has posted of the next possibel compition them: Save The Planet. As stated by YYG: “We decided this time to go for a green theme: Save The Planet. Of course there are many (environment-related things) you can save the planet from: pollution, rising sea levels, hurricanes, poisonous slime, too much garbage, war, too many people, bad politicians, over-fishing, etc.” YoYo Games Hits Record Vistor Numbers! YoYo Games has reported a massive average of 250,000 visitors per day. YoYo Games has encouraged all to increase those number even more in the future. Blogs Merged The official YoYo Games blog and Mark Overmars blog have been merged into one now (glog.yoyogames.com). Users will have to re-register to post comments. Cage Match The age-old GMC head-to-head challenge is back. Organised by Ablach Blackrat many battles have already been fought and is into full swing. GM Wiki YoYo Games have launched a refurbished wiki which anyone can edit (wiki.yoyogames.com). It uses the same software that is used by Wikipedia albeit with a YYG themed skin. At the time of writing there are just over 200 pages, over 20,000 page views, and more than 30 registered members. Apart from the main page the most viewed page is ‘Old Game Maker Versions’. New GM Magazine A new Game Maker related magazine has been released. It aims to follow the news and has set itself the ambitious target of being a weekly magazine. GMWeekly is scheduled to be released every Friday and has so far kept to it. Whether it manages to run consistently remains to be seen.
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Starting a Team - Part 2
Excellent games have been created by teams of people. RedChu provides insight into how to setup your own team. This issue I’m back for the continuation of the Starting a Team article. First up we will start with advertising.
Advertising your demo Now that you have your demo ready and hosted on a website, you need to get the people to play it. How? By advertising it! There are many places you can advertise your demo, one good place to start is the GMC there is a forum call “Works in Progress” where you can start a topic to advertise your demo. You must remember to post all of the necessary items when posting the topic, such as the name of the game, the name of the team who developed it, the file size, the direct download link and a description of the game, along with some screenshots if you have any. If you’re lost about what to post, here is an example; Games Name: <game name here> Development Team: <your teams name here> File Size: <file size here> File Type: <file type here> Download: <download link here> Game Description: <description of your game here> If you are unsure about what to say in your description, you could tell the general story for the game, the controls, or anything you want about the game. It is always best if you post real screenshots taken of your game if you have any, you can use the <print screen> key on your keyboard, or use a built-in function from Game Maker. Another way is if you have Microsoft OneNote, hold the <start> button on the keyboard then press the <S> key, the screen should turn a little white and your cursor will turn into a crosshair, from here, you can press the left mouse button to cut a box, the image will then be sent to OneNote where you can retrieve it. You can also advertise your demo by putting a link and short description of it in your signature, you can do this at any forum you wish, not just the GMC.
Setting up a website Once you feel you are ready enough to start becoming more professional, you should consider setting up a website. There are many free website hosting sites out there, none of them provide a stand-alone .com name, or any other dot name unless it’s a redirect. To find free web hosting companies, you should Google it, or ask around a forum for some information. You may need to know HTML to design your website using some sites, while some sites offer an HTML editor which you can use without using any code unless you absolutely need to.
If you want a .com or similar name, you will need to shell out some cash to get both the domain and hosting, some websites offer a free domain name with the purchase of a year of hosting, while some actually offer a free domain name and hosting with the choice of a sponsor offer, the sponsor will then pay for your domain and hosting when you try out their product. You can also purchase a domain name as a redirect to another website, possibly if you already have a free website, you can purchase a .com domain and have it redirect you to the free website. One thing you MUST remember is that nothing is truly free, there is always a catch.
Beta Release Beta releases are different than demos, demos aren’t full versions of the game, while Betas are; they just have bugs that need to be ironed out. Beta testing is used for people to find bugs and errors that are hiding in your game, the players will be prompt to contact you with bug and error information so that you and your team can fix them. Not always will all the bugs and errors be found in the Beta release, and some may actually find their way into the final release of the game. If you don’t want the public to see your game yet, there is an alternative; testers. You can assign any team member to the position of a tester, all testers do is test out the game to make sure there are no bugs or errors anywhere, even you can test your game, rather than the public doing it for you. If you do decide to publicly release a beta version of your game, you should do the same thing you did when releasing a demo; advertise it. As I said before, you can advertise your game just about anywhere, but a good place to start is the GMC in the “Beta Release” forum. Why is the GMC always a good place to start? The number of members it has and how many are always on. Once you receive word on any errors or bugs, you should try your best to resolve the problems, if not, just take out the source. Sometimes you won’t be able to fix all the bugs and errors, so this option may come up a lot when the beta testing period rolls around.
The final release After all of the beta testing is done, it is almost time to release your final outcome. It’s not time yet, I said almost. There is still stuff that needs to be done, checking the scripts, smoothing out the animations if needed, making sure everything is there, all of this and more needs to be done before you release the final version of the game. Here is a checklist you can use for this.
Article continued on the next page.
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Starting a Team - Part 2 (Continued) □□ All scripts checked and working properly. □□ Game Information updated and contains all the information needed.
□□ All character movement smooth and working properly. □□ Objects checked and everything is there and in the correct place.
□□ Credits added and everybody happy.
Advertising is the key to getting downloads. Consider advertising again on the GMC, and on other websites, maybe you could advertise on the YoYoGames forums, you probably won’t get as many downloads from advertising on YYG than you would on the GMC, but every little bit helps. As I have said before, you should consider placing a link and short description of the game in your signature.
You don’t have to use that checklist, it’s just an example of what you could do, everything that needs to be checked varies from game to game, so you may have to add things or take away things from the example. You are advised to actually make your own checklist rather than using the example, and adding things you see fit that you need to do and the rest of the team needs to do. Just make sure everything works as you won’t be able to change anything after you release the game unless you have people download it again, which may not go over to good.
Also note, you shouldn’t host the game before the release date, as the link may leak and early downloads may occur, not that that’s a bad thing, but you wouldn’t want some people getting angry, would you?
When you feel you are ready to release the game, you should settle on a release date that works for you and everybody else, if you want a bigger download count on the first day, you should try to release it on a busy day, such as a weekend. But first, you have to find a file host. You can use the same file host as you did for the demo and beta releases, but you should also consider multiple file hosts to increase download speeds. You can also host it on your website directly if you want to, it doesn’t matter, as long as you like it.
Conclusion
Once you finally release the game, the downloads will start flowing in and your hard work (or not) will start paying off, hopefully your game will be a great game so I can play it and like it as much as the rest of the world.
Now that your team has its first game under its belt, you should take a short break, then come back and start on another project that will hopefully be better than the last! If it isn’t, that’s fine, third times a charm, right? Hopefully you have found this article helpful and that you make a successful team and make fun and successful games. Written by: RedChu
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Developing for the Casual Gamer Do you plan to make your game for the casual gamer? Then bendodge will show how. Before you draw a single sprite or type a single line of code, you should carefully plan your game. An important part of the planning stage is defining your audience. Most Game Maker users are designing games for the so-called “casual gamer”. Today we will outline this audience and some guidelines for creating games that target it. First and foremost, the casual gamer is busy. He does not have the time required to conquer the world or rescue the princess in one sitting. Therefore, casual games must be easy to start and stop. Make levels only a few minutes long, say three minutes, or you risk losing interest. If possible, you should also save progress often, because you want to give your players incentive to come back later. Casual games should avoid complexities that make it hard to quickly pick up the gameplay, although you do want to make it hard to quit (and no, I don’t mean nearlyimpossible-to-kill processes). Another thing to keep in mind is that casual players are reluctant to read bulk text. This has several implications. For one thing, you cannot require the player to read and instantly memorize a list of controls. A much better method would be short, on-screen prompts in a tutorial level. You also cannot use a monster storyline, like the text scrolling into the horizon at the beginning of Star Wars. Compactly introduce the plot and build later. Try some in each level or no storyline. Another thing to consider is that a sizable chunk of casual gamers are girls. According to presentations at this year’s SXSW, females make up 62% of the casual demographic, spending 14% more of their game time on computers than guys (who tend to prefer consoles). John Welch (PlayFirst CEO) even says 90% of Diner Dash’s purchasers are females. I’m not exactly sure what this means for game design, but I’d say you should make sure some girls test out your games. (I was able to get near enough to one to convince her to be a permanent beta tester, so you should be able to too.) Consider also that most casual gamers do not have an aftermarket GPU. They almost always use whatever came with their computer. This is unfortunate for us as designers, especially
Frozzd is a great example of a game that appeals to the casual gamer.
considering Intel’s pathetic 950 graphics chipset, but there isn’t much to be done about it. A pitfall of many GM games with great potential is requiring too much processing power. The gorgeous Conflict: Arcade comes to mind. I gave a copy to a friend who loved it on my rig with a modern GeForce, but it was almost unusable on his computer. Since developers tend to invest in nice computers, and since determining system requirements is rather nebulous, you must again rely on testing. I find that school computers (which the majority of my target audience has access to) tend to be underpowered and excellent candidates for determining minimum specs. Most teachers don’t mind you testing a game off a USB drive after class, and the worst they can say is “no”. It’s also not a crime to learn from others’ successes, so be sure to play some popular casual games and pay attention to the elements used. Also, do not be reluctant to make puzzle and card games: they actually have more casual market share than action-based genres. POINTS TO REMEMBER 1. Keep the game easy to start and stop at any time. 2. Levels should only take a few minutes to complete. 3. Save the user progress through an auto-save feature. 4. Game controls should be easy to use and remember. 5. Avoid bulky message. 6. Only base your game on a short storyline. 7. Design the game for both males and females. 8. Avoid hardcore graphics and effects. 9. Thorough BETA testing is required. 10. Learn from successes and failures of other similar games. Overall, just keep in mind who will be playing your games. Designing games is a lot like writing; planning is just as important as drafting. And as any Composition teacher will tell you, you must understand you audience in order to appeal to them.
Easy to read messages inform casual gamers better then large ones.
Written by bendodge
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Making Games for Boys and Girls Designing a game for both boys anf girls is no easy task. RedChu will provide some advise. Problems with today’s games are that some people consider them sexist, which is sometimes true, most games in today’s industry (and back when video games first came out) have male characters as the main character, which some girls may not like the idea of playing as a guy (unless of course the game somehow fills the gender gap), but then again, some guys might not want to play as a girl (again, unless the game fills the gender gap). So the big question is, how exactly do you make a game for both boys and girls? Doing so isn’t always easy, but I’ll try my best to come up with the answers.
at a popular racing series that Nintendo has continued to bring on nearly every new game console they make: Mario Kart. Mario Kart appeals to both girls and boys, why? It may have something to do with the characters. They aren’t depicted as a sex symbol, and they are generally famous characters that generations of gamers have came to know and love. So maybe you should consider a fantasy styled racing game.
The genre
Another genre that appeals to both genders is the simulation genre. A lot of boys and girls tend to play ‘The Sims’, which is a life simulation game. The success of these games are because of the unique features that they hand out to the players. Controlling what the “people” do and sometimes making the player feel like God can appeal to both boys and girls. However, some religious groups may not like the idea that simulation games allow the player to act as God, which may cause you to lose some players.
Sometimes, genres that appeal to guys may not appeal to girls. Take a first person shooter: guys usually like to blow the heads off aliens, while girls may think it is gross and disgusting. However, this doesn’t apply to all girls. Some guys also consider first person shooters to be violent and avoid them, so if you want to make a game that will appeal to both boys and girls, you should pick a genre that both boys and girls play. But what genres are good for this? One genre is the platformer. Most guys that play video games also play platformers, along with girls. If you notice, girls like Mario (not always, though), which is a platformer (except for the newer games, they’re more adventure but still keep the platforming aspect). So overall, the platforming genre appeals to both boys and girls, but what about another genre?
Racing games generally appeal to both boys and girls. While some racing games (Need for Speed) generally were designed for guys, girls tend to play these type of games too. The question is, what can you do to balance the racing game for both genders? One thing is not to use any suggestive themes. In case you don’t know what suggestive material is, I’ll tell you. Suggestive themes is when a game, such as a racing game, puts in elements that suggest a certain theme, in this case, we are about sexual oriented material, such as girls in bikinis or something similar. So when trying to make a game appeal to boys and girls, don’t put suggestive themes in the game, as some girls may not like it and they may not play your game. But generally, this doesn’t matter, but you should still avoid it as a precaution. Let’s look
The main character The character the player plays as sometimes plays a role in whom the game will appeal to. You may want to consider having the player select who they will play as. This is good for a customization aspect as well as appealing to both girls and boys. But sometimes you can get away with one character, be it a boy or a girl; take Tomb Raider for example: the main character, Lora Croft, is a female, and guys play this game along with the girls. Also, in the Mario games, the main character is a guy and both girls and boys play the game. Other games have allowed for character creation, allowing the player to create their own character that can depict themselves or somebody else. This makes a wonderful addition to some games, but other games can get away with one character with the game still appealing to both boys and girls. So when choosing the main character, you should first decide what your game is going to be about. Some games can get away with a specific gender for the character while still attracting everyone.
Conclusion We have established what types of games appeal to both boys and girls, and what you can do to make the game even more appealing using the main character. I hope this guide helps you when trying. Written by RedChu
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Targeting Age Groups
When designing a game, you should pick your target audience first. Redchu will help you choose. Most of the games in today’s market are targeted towards a specific age group; in America, we have the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) to rate them, their ratings are as follows: E/C (Early Childhood), E (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10 and up), T (Teens), M (Mature) and AO (Adults Only). The biggest majority of games today are rated E, why is this? Some people prefer a nice variety of games, sports, action, adventure. Almost every genre has at least one E rated game, some people don’t like violence crammed in every single moment in a game. So what do we do? We can’t satisfy everyone with a single game, but we can satisfy some. I’ll show you what games are good for which age group and help you decide on your target age group.
Early Childhood There really aren’t many games that the ESRB has rated for Early Childhood. This means that smaller children are neglected by the gaming industry, unless they use V-Smile or other educational gaming consoles. But what about the computer? Most developers stray away from the Early Childhood rating, but since your game will most likely not be rated by the ESRB, their ratings don’t matter. However, for reference, I’ll use them anyway. When targeting the younger gamers, make sure that the game has cute and cuddly characters, uh, some kind of kiddy music and other things you think a small child would enjoy but you wouldn’t. Violence is a big no-no for these types of games, therefore your game shouldn’t have any element of violence in it, or language for that matter. Honestly, these games should solely be designed to be educational and nothing more. The typical age group for an educational game is around 3 to 6. If you’re thinking of making a game for small children, it must be strictly educational. Consider putting math or spelling into the game, don’t make it for fifth graders, though, make it between kindergarten and second grade level.
Everyone The majority of games released are rated E by the ESRB. Games rated E usually contain some sort of lite violence other material. These type of games usually generate the most money, in this case, it’ll probably be downloads. Common genres include, adventure, action, RPG’s, racing and arcade. Adventure is probably the most popular of these genres, but the other genres are good, too. Let’s take a look at some commercial games. Take Mario for example: nearly everybody loves Mario, all the Mario games are rated E. Try to see what Nintendo has accomplished with these games and make your game similar to achieve a massive amount of players like they do. Or you can look at the Sonic the Hedgehog games, see what Sega has done to achieve their players.
Teen Teenagers are probably the ones that play the most games. Some of the more popular genres among teenagers are racing, shooter, adventure, RPG and MMO’s. Of course, not all teenagers will play these types of games. Teens will also play games that were designed for everyone, and will also play games geared towards more mature players. But usually teenagers play more violent and racing games games than anything else . Let’s look at some examples. The Need For Speed series generally does well among teenagers, be it cruising through a race track at high-speeds or through the streets of a big city, however, these games have real vehicles and most indie developers don’t want to hassle with license agreements. Since you don’t want to break the law, you might want to draw up your own vehicles or better yet, let the players create their own vehicles. As for shooters go, you can pretty much choose any place or any time to set it in; some of the most popular shooters are Call of Duty and Medal of Honor.
Mature What makes a game mature? It may be the sexual content, the intense violence or just what it is about. When making a game for mature players, put things in it you think that mature people will find most mature games have intense violence in them, some of them are shooters, while surprisingly enough, sports games can be rated as a mature game, too. Take Blitz: The League for example, it’s a football (American) game, but with a twist: drug use, excessive violence and language, even sexual themes are in the game. Why is this in a sports game? The answer lies within the players. They want an exciting new twist on an old aspect. While a 6 year old shouldn’t play the game, a 20 year old would most likely enjoy it, thus making it marketed towards mature players. When making a game for mature audiences, you should probably use the same aspect other developers have used. Hack and slash can go a long way from The Legend of Zelda. If we look at Assassins Creed, we will find a wide-open area for you to explore. It’s basically an adventure game, but it has a lot of violence, blood and gore, which is why it is considered a mature game.
Conclusion Hopefully this has helped you with deciding on who you should market your game to, be it a 4 year old girl or a 25 year old man. Oh, and be sure you use this information wisely; you wouldn’t want to make an educational first-person shooter now would you? That’s just wrong. Written by RedChu
Try to keep your games fun for everyone and not for just one specific age group to get a lot of downloads, but again, not everyone will be happy.
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GM on consoles -Should They be? Does your game have a theme? Do you follow the theme throughout the game? It has come to my attention recently that more and more people would like to see Game Maker on consoles and other Operating Systems. This article will discuss the possibilities, merits and disadvantages of Game Maker on consoles and other Operating Systems.
The Possibilities are Endless The Idea of Game Maker being on consoles and operating systems other than Windows (using emulation on Mac and Linux, technically, doesn’t count) has long been a popular idea and is soon about to become a reality. The Mac beta is approaching and when Game Maker is re-written in C++, porting to other platforms could become a possibility. At the moment it appears that ‘main’ game consoles such as the Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP have taken a back seat as on the YoYo Games Glog, however Sandy Duncan (CEO of YoYo Games) has expressed quite an interest in Game Maker for the I-phone “…with having the runner ported to C++ as this will be the first step towards getting Game Maker games running on I-phone.” And Linux “…I said recently that we may well get a Linux version this year. It would be based on the Mac version, so the decision to do or not to do will be based on how well the Mac version performs.”
Reasons For Here is a list of reasons why Game Maker on consoles and other operating systems is a good idea: 1. It will introduce more people to Game Maker and the whole Game Maker community meaning more people to play your games. 2. There is a large homebrew community on consoles such as the PSP, DS and Wii who would gladly use a free, easy to use Game Creation tool such as Game Maker. 3. People making Game Maker for consoles will find it easier if they decide to start a career in Video Games as they will have a good idea of how the console works. 4. The Mac gaming market is small in comparison to the PC game market and could therefore be expanded with Game Maker Games. 5. Talented developers who previously used other Game Development Programers to make games on Mac, Linux or consoles may move over to Game Maker due to its ease of use.
Reasons Against Here is a list of reasons why Game Maker on consoles and other Operating Systems is a Bad idea: 1. The Increase in user numbers will mean that there could be an influx of bad games from new inexperienced users which could drown out the better games. This happens to an extent already. 2. The standards of the forums could decrease. More users mean that the forums would be harder to moderate. Many people think that the YoYo Games forums are bad now. They could get worse. 3. Some people think that Game Maker will become too ‘commercial’ and ‘distant’ from what it was originally meant to be. 4. More popularity could mean more spam and more bad ratings. Many games are already rated badly for no reason, some without even being played. This could be averted if Moderators were given the option to ‘delete’ wrongly given ratings. This could cause disputes in the Community so it would have to be done properly.
Personal Opinion My Opinion is that putting Game Maker and Game Maker games on consoles and other operating systems is a great idea because it will expand the number of users and mean that people are no longer limited to playing Game Maker Games on PC. I know for a fact that some GM games would be perfectly suited to, for example, the DS and PSP. Several such games are Ark 22 (a fantastic RPG which should be played) and Frozzd (another good game and the winner of the YoYo Games Winter Competition). Ark 22 would be suited to either console whilst Frozzd would most likely be suited to the DS as touch-screen controls would enhance the game greatly. I also believe that putting Game Maker games on other consoles is good because it will increase the number of people who can play your games. And there you have it, clear, detailed article on the good, the bad and my opinion of Game Maker on Consoles and other Operating Systems. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Written by skinnyeddy
6. Putting an easy-to-use Game Development Program on Mac and Linux may unearth new talented developers who have not previously been able to make games without coding.
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Should I choose 2D or 3D?
Stuck trying to choose between 2D and 3D for you next game? Here some help... Although Game Maker is a predominately 2D game creator, it still has 3D functions which a surprisingly large amount of people use, Possibly due to their experience with Game Maker and GML making it easier than other 3D game creation software. Admittedly I have little expertise in creating 3D games but I still know enough to be able to acknowledge the differences and benefits of using either 2D or 3D. 2D can be used for almost any genre except of course, genres such as First person shooters (games like duck hunt are an exception), third person shooters and flight simulators. 2D can be used for such genres as Puzzle Games (Karoshi), Platformers (Hanrahan), RPG’s (Ark 22), Top Down Shooters (Conflict: Arcade), Racing Games (Monster Truck Mania!) and even Sports Games.
2D Pros • It is easy(ier) to make sprites for the Game as you only need to worry about the view from one direction. • It is easy to give 2D graphics distinct artistic styles like, for instance, Sin City. • 2D graphics can easily look 3D depending on how your draw and move your sprites. • Two dimensional movement (X and Y) makes collisions easy. • There is no need for 3D modeling software and the need to create textures for the 3D models. • In general, 2D games run faster then 3D games do. So there is less speed issue to worry about.
2D Cons • 2D games can never be as ‘realistic’ as 3D games because although they can look good, real life isn’t 2D.
In contrast to this, 3D can be used in ANY genre because although some genres may not have 3D movement (x, y, and z) they can still have 3D graphics. Examples of 2D games with 3D graphics (sometimes called 2.5D) are Donkey Kong Country on SNES (the first ever 2.5D game), Little Big Planet coming out soon on PS3 and Viewtiful Joe on PS2, Gamecube, PSP and DS. On home consoles, games are predominantly 3D as almost no one will pay £30-£40($50-$60) for a 2D game unless it is really, really good. Examples of commercial 2D games on Home Consoles are Mario and Sonic although they both star in predominantly 3D games now. On Portable consoles such as the PSP and DS, however, there is a larger amount of 2D games compared to 3D games. The PSP has mainly 3D games (Monster Hunter: Freedom, Pursuit Force and Grand Theft Auto) but quite a few 2D games as well such as Castlevania X and Bomberman. The DS is the opposite as it has mainly 2D games (Super Mario, Pokemon and Advance Wars) and a few 3D games (Metroid Prime: Hunters, Brothers in Arms DS and Mario Kart DS). In contrast to most consoles, commercial PC games are mainly 3D whereas ‘indie’ games and free games are mostly 2D. This is because 2D games tend to be cheaper and easier to make than 3D games and whereas big developers on consoles have money to spend on expensive 3D engines, ‘indie’ companies and single developers have to either make their own 3D engines, use cheap or free ones (like Game Maker) or use 2D.
• Some Gaming genres such as 3rd and 1st person shooters are not best suited to 2D. In fact 3rd person shooters are practically impossible to do in 2D. 1st person shooters are still hard but can be done. Doom and Time Crisis are examples of 2D first person shooters.
3D Pros • If used properly 3D graphics can easily surpass 2D graphics in terms of looks. • 3D graphics are best suited to 3rd and 1st person shooters and car games. Mainly because 3D guns and cars can look a lot better than their 2D counterparts.
3D Cons • 3D games can be difficult for single developers to make as they have to do the models, environments, sounds and programming. 3D models are harder to do than 2D sprites because they have to be able to be viewed from more than one angle. • Collision detection in 3D can be difficult as you have to make sure that the character stops when it touches the object or environment from almost any angle. In my opinion, 2D is better than 3D. Not for most commercial games (Halo and GTA just would not be the same in 2D would they?) but for developing games. At this level of development (using tools such as Game Maker) 2D is the best option because it is easy to do and in Game Maker can be done just by using D&D or GML if you prefer. Written by skinnyeddy
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Designing a Website for your Game RhysAndrews provides some excellent guidelines for building a website for your game(s). Hi, guys! This is my first article writing for the GM Tech since I left somewhere around Issue 4. Firstly, let me just enlighten you on some of my history of websites and web design. I made my first website in 1999. I was 7 or 8 then, and so clearly my websites were awful and somewhat childish. But, I’ve made websites here and there since then. Today, I own a sole-trader business that specializes in web design and graphic design, as well as IT consultancy. And so, you want to create a website for your seemingly popular masterpiece, yes? Or, you just feel like reading. None the less I’m going to give you the same response (this article can’t really customize itself for each viewer).
Reasons for Designing the Website You can’t go designing a whole, community-fuelled website complete with forums and opinion polls and registrations etc for a piss-weak Tetris game. You need to know what your reasons are for designing a website, what the website will actually include (it may include a series of games, it may include all your games, or just one), and what you want to get out of it. You also want to be sure that you’re going to benefit from having the site, and not just going to enjoy the thought of having a website all about your game. Ask around! Do some market research and see if it’s worth doing – valid reasons on their own aren’t enough.
Another reason is that your game requires a community response that is different or larger than what the GM communities support. A custom content management system. This may include polls, registrations, online high-scores / statistics, or a forum dedicated to tips/tricks and servers and so on. Obviously, the game would need to be large and played very often, and so most of these I’d expect would be online-based game play.
Planning what Information your Website Needs After you declare what your reason is for the website, you need to think about what you need the website to do, and what it needs to inform the viewers of. Here are some examples of forms I’d expect you to want on your website: • • • • •
Latest News Screenshots Downloads About / FAQ Contact
Some other examples that depend on your game itself: • • • • •
Opinion Polls A forum Custom Content Page (level editor etc) Registration / Logins Statistics Page (may be for the site OR game)
You don’t want to go over the top. When I and the rest of GameCave were planning a new website, many of us wanted to go the full mile… team members logging in, adding games themselves, updating it…. It was almost another YoYo Games but for team members only! I requested we built a bridge website that was a simplified version, and have that up asap before we considered something bigger, and we went with that. So make sure your website only includes what it needs.
One big reason is that with a website, you can centralize all the updates, informa- t i o n , downloads, and so on, in one host that is unleashed just by entering a simple URL. Any smart game developer will release their game in multiple places. For Game Maker, lots of communities – the GMC, YoYo Games, 64Digits, and so on. And when you update your game or make any form of changes… you need to go to each and every one of those communities and modify the information. That is unless you have a central place for all the information and link the viewers to the website. Of course, you don’t want to be too dependant on the website, and have a topic with: “My game: www.mygame.com. All info in there. Thanks.”.
Now you need to consider whether you want a static or dynamic website. A static website has content, images, and so on, and doesn’t change unless you edit the HTML code and re-upload it. A dynamic website has logins, and automatic adding of content (such as news articles). To do this, find out what content will need to be updated over time and how often. A game that just updates less than once a month doesn’t really need anything special for its website. Though a dynamic website can always benefit you somehow, you don’t want to waste the extra time sorting that out. Find out what web languages and structures you need to implement… PHP, mySQL, etc.
Designing and Developing your Website Here comes the exciting part. You need to make your website look like it’s about the game that it really is about. Unfortunately, this comes down to your personal talent and practice so there’s not much I can suggest other than the following warnings.
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Designing a Website for your Game (Continued) •
Don’t make the website look cluttered. Categorize all the forms of information into navigation items, having as few as possible.
grow into dynamic websites, try PHP and mySQL. www. w3schools.com/html/default.asp here is a nice place to start for HTML, and www.w3schools.com/css for CSS.
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For goodness sake, CHECK YOUR SPELLING. Or I’ll vomit all over the page and you won’t have any dessert.
Publish and Maintain
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Don’t use a template unless completely necessary. A fresh custom look is always best.
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Look at some commercial game sites, and see what they have for their links. Though, in saying this, it seems that most games nowadays LOVE having websites that are impossible to navigate – with just an overload of flash animation.
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Make sure it is compatible with all popular browsers. Now, you might not be on good terms with Internet Explorer 6 but the baby-boomer Dell users still blindly use it. I think that IE6, IE7, Firefox, and Opera are the best 4 browsers to test on. You can get softwareetc off the net that allows you to use both IE6 and IE7 on one computer, which is great for testing your website. And I can only hope you have Opera or Firefox or something alike on your PC already. A great website I was recently introduced to, browsershots.org, allows you to receive screenshots of your website under different scenarios (Browsers, resolution, JavaScript setting, etc).
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Also make sure it is compatible with all common resolutions. Aim for your website to work with any resolution from 800x600, but if you must, 1024x768 is an ok minimum too.
After you design your website, put it together. I’m not going to go into detail, the main issues we have are what and why, not how. However, if you don’t know where to start for web design, I’d suggest look up some tutorials in HTML and CSS. As you
Though most of this is needless to say, you need to get a good host and a good domain name in order to have your site running well. Hosting is very cheap, and in some cases free. I’d recommend www.freehostia.com – though you can’t store files larger than 1,500kb, so if you want to store your game on the same host as your website (which of course is a good idea), try www.frih. net. Now, you can use the domain names that these sites offer (www. yourgame.freehostia.com , www.yourgame.frih.net) or you can spend a few bucks a year for a good looking domain such as www.yourgame.com or www.yourgame.net. After your site is up and running well, make sure you maintain the website as much as possible. I feel lonely when I go to a site that has its latest news article published back in 2006.
Final Tips •
The best tip here is to write things down. Don’t just go “I want a website for my game” and go start to finish. That is unless you want a static website with all the basic info like download links, screenshots, about, contact, and news. But if you’re going for a dynamic site or something with a bit more umph, log it and write proposals etc for it. Even if you go a bit over the top, it’s good practice for IT jobs in the future… if you’re heading that way. This is especially important if you’re getting somebody else to develop the site for you, or design it.
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Nothing like a bit of feedback. Listen and consider what people say, no matter how much you disagree. If everyone says your favorite teddy bear that’s been with you through thick and thin is butt-ugly, you just need to face the fact you need a new one. Ok, bad analogy.
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Use http://validator.w3.org/ to make sure your HTML code meets a good standard. Sure, if you’ve tested it on all common browsers and resolutions you’re likely to have a website that’s fairly consistent between PC’s, but it’s nice to have a cute ‘w3c validated’ image on the bottom of your site. Written by Rhys Andrews
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Visual Color
Is a color really just a color? or can it be more? turvas explains. Is water blue? Is grass green? Are shadows black? What makes a scene happy? It’s what seems and is quite comfortable for the mind, that we are most surprised by when proven wrong.
lighter colors in lighter and happier scenes and darker water in more shadowed and creepy styled scenes. One last thing before moving on: No fills. Water is not a single color, as it constantly moves and reflects.
Example B: Grass Onto grass. Is grass green? In general, yes. We mustn’t forget, though - every single blade of grass is very thin and therefore somewhat transparent with light it’s revealed to. On a sunny day the grass seems lighter and more yellowish, due to both the shine through and general add of light from the sun. On a cloudy day grass is more blueish due to the increased amount of shadows, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Example A: Water Is water blue? It might be, but also might not be. The first thing to remember, is that water is both a transparent and a reflective material. Water responds to all it’s surrounding real-time and actively. What tone the water average color is (what color people see water is usually an average combination of the colors water reflects) depends on all the surroundings. Two of the main keywords are the sea floor and sky. Reflections from the sky blending with the color of the sea floor and mixing through a complicated process of light-play give the water it’s fundamental colors. Based on the knowledge we have on the surroundings it is not a very complicated task to build a color scheme for your water - you just have to think it through well. Think of all the surrounding aspects and what color they are. Firstly think of the sea floor. If you want the scene to appear clean, pure, sunny and etcetera it would be a good idea to imagine a simple light-sand floor. On the contrary, a darker sand with lots of extra elements like plant growth and such can give the water a much darker, creepier look. Other main aspect in producing good water color is also one of the most important aspects in the scene in whole - the sky. The sky can literally make or break a scene, so take your time and think it through. Rule number one: No fills. Never fill. Sky is not a single color. Sky always gradients, getting lighter towards the horizon. Don’t get me wrong, this effect should remain subtle and not overdone. A light blue sky also makes the water appear light and blueish, while a dark and cloudy sky has the reverse effect on the water. Water color depends on all the surroundings and needs lots of practice to get right, so take your time and work on it. If you’ve thought the whole scene through well, you should have little problems working on your water colors. In general you use
Shadows and black is a pair of words that should never be used together. Raise your arm. Do you see a solid black fill under it? Didn’t think so. The first thing we need to think about while making shadows is the scene in general. On warm and sunny scenes shadows are blue. Yes, blue. Because the rest of the surrounding gets more sunlight and heat than the shadow, which is covered from both, shadows are colder and are represented by blueish shades. On cold days, on the contrary, shadows are redish, counterbalancing the cold around it. One important thing to keep in mind though, is that this effect should be kept subtle, as all good adjustments ever. Due to the lack of light shadows are close to grayscale and the color overlays should be fairly tangible, blending the scene in whole. There are a few basic guidelines to remember while building the scene: First, decide what mood the scene should represent. Everything else will be built off of this basis. A happy scene uses a bright, warm lighting with many reflections and horizontal subjects to spread the emotion. A cold/creepy scene uses little light with many shadows and shadow-play, combined with vertical lines to build up the emotion and tense. These referrings should be subtle and a guideline, not certainly an anchorpoint for your scene layout, but it’s good to take note, because all in all, it isn’t what an average person notices that matters, it’s the emotion that is important.
Conclusion So are the things we are so used to thinking about one way, really what we think they are? The color we think they are? Quite often, no. To get used to this and to improve your scening abilities it is good to stop and examine a random object every once in a while. Take a look at it and make it a proper investigation. What color is it? What material is it made of? How does the material response to light? What shape is it and how does it affect lighting and shadowing? Texture and how it affects both the color and lighting? Working with ourselves helps improve the graphical eye and helps us see things the way they really are, which is what we are really after, after all, isn’t it? Written by turvas
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Cut Scenes in Games
Can cut scenes be used in Game Maker games? Rhys Andrews investigates. Cut scenes are great ways of stitching together non-playable parts of a game’s plot with those that are playable. By nonplayable, I mean that the same effect would not be given to the player, or it would not be as enjoyable, if it were controlled by the player. We all know about them, though today, you may have noticed that they are gradually being twisted and modified to show off how “free” a game can be. Commercially, cut scenes are used in a lot of plot-based games. Though lines have recently been blurred between what is a cut scene and what is interactive gameplay. Developers are always adding new ways of merging cut-scenes with input from the player (And then marketing it to death, proclaiming that it allows the player to modify the gameplay based on their personality, and blah blah blah). Tomb Raider: Anniversary uses cut scenes as a sort of minigame, where you need to press the right buttons at the right time. Whether you press the button or not alters the ending of the cut scene. For instance, in one cut-scene you need to press the DOWN arrow to dodge a swing from a dinosaurs tail, and if you don’t do it in time, you go smashing into the wall.
may not make that effect. Smooth actions scenes where everything works timely, and with a theatrical camera view, may be an advantageous decision with cut scenes. Obviously, an action that you don’t usually carry out in a game would fit into cutscenes too. To me, games can be very theatrical. Especially games like F.E.A.R and Half Life 2, where a major factor of game play is walking through a situation or atmosphere in a somewhat camouflaged cut-scene. Right at the start of Half Life 2, there’s not much you can do other than walk from place to place, where triggers activate various discussions, commands, and so on. Or in F.E.A.R, where you just need to have the bladder capacity to walk from one side of the corridor to the other. You can’t “lose”. You can’t really choose what to do. You just use a linear sequence of actions. The enjoyment comes from the theatrical, ‘movie like’ experience.
If you want to be really picky, games such as Gears of War use mini-cuts, where you are still in full gameplay, but general actions are blocked until a conversation over the radio is completed. So while you can still walk around, you can’t attack or jump around like a lunatic while you are speaking through your ear piece to the ‘always-attractive smooth babe’ who sits in the office and works out possible alternatives for you. On the other side of the article, one must wonder, should cutscenes be used in my game? For the average GM developer, cutscenes are a bit tedious to create. It either involves producing movies that are loaded into GM, or using a hoob-load of triggers that rarely works in a smooth way. I think cut-scenes should be used in places where you want to emphasize a certain effect in a key event where interactivity or general gameplay
So to come back to the question, should cut-scenes be used in my game, other than the basic logic of when and where a cutscene should be placed, you need to wonder how important the plot and how important key events are in the game are. Are they important enough to be emphasized through a cut-scene, pure-blooded or blended with interactivity? Do you want that theatrical feeling to your game? I mean, I never felt like I was watching an epic movie by playing Tetris. But I did in playing Half Life 2. Written by Rhys Andrews
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Ice Levels
Ice levels insulting human itelligence? Tom Russell explains why. I don’t like ice levels. There’s two reasons for this.
To be blunt, ice levels are prime examples of arbitrary difficulty. Let’s say, for example, that you have designed a level for a platformer. You scatter in a few enemies, a few power-ups, a few jumps, and then you play it through. You discover that the level is easy-- too easy. Boring, in fact. How can you solve this problem?
The first reason, which one could call the “silly” reason, is that ice, as presented in video games-- particularly platformers-does not conform to my normal, every-day experience with ice. Residing in Michigan, I’m very familiar with ice, and the last time I checked, running across a patch of ice does not make me accelerate; it makes me bleed profusely.
Well, you could do a redesign from the ground-up. Or, you could spend time tweaking things here and there-- you can remove a power-up or two, you could add a couple more enemies. You could ensure that each level has a theme-- some special activity that the other levels don’t-- in order to stave off boredom. Any one of these methods would work, and any one of these methods require care, thought, and time; any one of these methods would qualify as purposeful difficulty-- as good game design.
This is a silly reason because, while technically accurate, it’s not exactly fair to chide a platformer for not correctly representing reality. The last time I checked, I was also unable to make leaps several times my own height, blocks did not suspend themselves in mid-air, and I did not come back to life upon death.
Or, instead, you could make the screen lousy with enemies. Double them, triple them, give the player no place to rest or catch his breath. That makes the game harder, right? Or you could eliminate all the power-ups and health items-- give ‘em the ol’ endurance test! That’s the ticket! Give them a few really, really hard jumps in a row-- those impossible sort of jumps that have to be timed just right-- and give ‘em a few fireballs to dodge while they’re at it! Why, the level’s so hard now that you can’t even beat it!
It’s a silly and irrational reason to dislike ice levels and, since it does not hold up to logical scrutiny, I usually did not give voice to my opinions regarding this subject when in the company of my peers. All these long years, regardless of the game-- yes, even Super Mario Bros., which otherwise can do no wrong-- I have hated ice levels, silently seething inside whenever they reared their ugly head.
Or, how about this-- ooh, this is a good one, and, hey, here’s a way to give the level a theme!-- change the way all the platforms work. How about, when a character lands on them, you dial down the friction like crazy? If they try to walk, they’ll go really fast and it’ll be really hard to stop. Hey, if they’re not careful, they’re end up sliding right off the platform and into the bottomless pit! Yes! Ice levels! Instant difficulty!
But then, as I’ve gotten older and became more capable of thinking seriously about games and game design, I’ve come up with a second reason why I hate ice levels.
And that’s why it’s arbitrary difficulty: it just makes things harder without making them better. It requires no imagination and no work. It’s not the kind of challenge that needs a specific level design, but rather one that can be applied arbitrarily to any layout in order to increase the frustration factor.
If you remember the first issue of my own magazine, Russell’s Quarterly, I talk about the difference between purposeful difficulty and arbitrary difficulty, “... the difference between a hard game and a cheap one, a punishing boss and one that is janky... Purposeful difficulty is the result of a finely-tuned and well-balanced game mechanic. Arbitrary difficulty is the result of bad game design, and thus is arbitrary.”
I think that’s a much better reason for me to hate ice levels: they’re lazy and insulting. Even worse than that, they have become obligatory. Practically every platformer has at least one ice level. They’re to be expected, and thus they are tolerated by most gamers. The time has come, I think, to stop tolerating things that insult our intelligence. Written by Tom Russell
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Tutorial: 3D Real Time Strategy - Part 2 This issue we are back with part 2 of Schylerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s huge 3D RTS tutorial. Well Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m back with part 2 of the 3D Real Time Startegy tutorial. I will be continuing exactly where I left off from the last part, so it may help if you have a quick look as to where I finished off in Issue 12. Now that we have explained the easy snippets in the previous issue, lets look at the rest of this code. Because we are using GM7 most of the global variables are initialized using the globalvar function. This means they can be called LIKE local variables however they are actually global variables. Here is the snippet; globalvar terrain_model, terrain_prec, terrain_height, terrain_segment, light_color, ter_h, ter_w, terrain_imod, use_lights; terrain_imod = 4; terrain_prec = argument2; // change this via script arguments, the precision terrain_model = ds_grid_create(argument0/ terrain_prec,argument1/terrain_prec); terrain_height = ds_grid_create((argument0/ terrain_prec) + 1,(argument1/terrain_prec) + 1); light_color = c_white; // change this to alter the light color use_lights = true; // lights add nice shading to terrain ter_w = argument0; // save terrain width (w) ter_h = argument1; // save terrain height (h)
What we do here is simple. On the first line we declare some variables. On the second and third lines we set them to values. When we create the grid; terrain_model; we are making a massive data structure to store models. To save speed we use a technique that was implemented in an editable engine called Strangeland 3D. They split every piece of terrain into a separate model so that different parts of it could be draw without the entire terrain being drawn. This saves speed because if you are using a precision of 16 and a width and height of 512: (512/16 = 32) therefore 32 multiplied by the number of vertex per square of terrain is ((32 x 4) == 12) multiplied by 16 means that the piece of terrain has 2048 triangles. If we only draw the parts that are on the screen we save about 1500 triangles. The technique really counts when we use a larger piece of terrain with a finer precision value. Onto the next line. We create another grid full of values. This grid is called terrain_height. It uses a technique similar to the DTM (Digital Terrain Model) examples for Game Maker. Instead of calculating the positions of each point on the terrain, or using a fancy time consuming script, we save them at creation in a grid then we simply refer to them later (like an array). The variables following that are self explanatory. We have variables to do with the lights then the variables ter_w and ter_h (terrain width and terrain height). Let me introduce you to the following snippet.
for(i=0; i <= ds_grid_width(terrain_model); i+=1) { for(n=0; n <= ds_grid_height(terrain_model); n+=1) { // sets the number of texture repeats for each ter-block ds_grid_set(terrain_model, i, n, d3d_model_create()); // set 1 (vertex 1) tex1[i,n]=(i*terrain_prec + 0)/128; tex2[i,n]=(n*terrain_prec + terrain_prec)/128; // set 2 (vertex 2) tex3[i,n]=(i*terrain_prec + 0)/128; tex4[i,n]=(n*terrain_prec + 0)/128; // set 3 (vertex 3) tex5[i,n]=(i*terrain_prec + terrain_prec)/128; tex6[i,n]=(n*terrain_prec + terrain_prec)/128; // set 4 (vertex 4) tex7[i,n]=(i*terrain_prec + terrain_prec)/128; tex8[i,n]=(n*terrain_prec + 0)/128; } }
What we do here is we loop through the grid adding the models to the terrain_model grid. We also calculate the amount of times the textures should repeat on each vertex of the 4x4 sqaure (which becomes relative to the variable terrain_imod later). The values are stored in the variables tex1, tex2, tex3, tex4, tex5, tex6, tex7 and tex8. The next snippet is easy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just generally calling variables; // now we have created all the models for the terrain globalvar regen_pos, camera_obj_var; // regen_pos is the regenration points in form [x,y] // to prevent regenrating the entire terrain we do a little each time regen_pos[0,0] = 0; regen_pos[0,1] = 0; regen_pos[1,0] = (ds_grid_width(terrain_model) + 1); regen_pos[1,1] = (ds_grid_height(terrain_model) + 1); // the main camera for the terrain (an object) camera_obj_var = argument3; // set correct depth depth = -102; // finally, generate the terrain terrain_initialized = true; rts3d_regen_ter(); globalvar tex; tex = background_get_texture(GRASSTEXTURE);
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Tutorial: 3D Real Time Strategy - Part 2 (Continued) What happens here is that we set some more global variables using the globalvar function (these include regen_pos and camera_obj_var). Then we look at an interesting way of regenerating the terrain using using an array. Here we have regen_pos which we have turned into a 2 dimensional array (contrast to a single dimensional array). There are two points stored in this entire array. There is a x position in the first part regen_pos[0,0] and a y position in the second part regen_pos[0,1]. The next part is similar (almost exactly the same). The array regen_pos[1,0] is the x component and regen_pos[1,1] is the y component. An easy way to remember each part is that the x component always comes before the y component (even in math, tables and graphs). In the next part we set camer_obj_var to argument3. As explained earlier argument3 is actually provided by the user. In this case we use obj_camera as our argument3 value. We need to set the depth of this object to -102 so the next line handles that for us. The next few lines do the final parts of the terrain (including setting the texture and setting the variable terrain_initialized to true). Notice how on the last line there is a variable GRASSTEXTURE. Replace that with your own background. You’ll have to find a nice one on the internet. The one used in this tutorial was from Rise OF Nations and fits with the shading of the terrain perfectly. Notice there is another script there. It is called rts3d_regen_ ter();. This is short for regenerating the terrain. This script is very long so let’s finish our camera object before we go back to it. Exit the script (saving changes) and in the create event of obj_ terrain make it execute the script rts3d_init_ter. Switch back to the camera objects (obj_camera) and then make sure everything is right (by now there should be a single event, the create event. In the create event it should execute the script rts3d_camera_init().). Now, create a new script called rts3d_camera_update. This script needs to be called in the Begin Step event of obj_camera. Here is the first parts of the script rts3d_camera_update; /* RTS3D_camera_obj_var_UPDATE <no arguments> */ var len_dist; // the length we reach out into len_dist = 7.5; // pan left across the screen if(mouse_x < 2 || keyboard_check(vk_left)) { camera_obj_var.xto += lengthdir_x(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction-90); camera_obj_var.yto += lengthdir_y(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction-90);}
// pan right across the screen if(mouse_x > (1024-2)|| keyboard_check(vk_right)) { camera_obj_var.xto += lengthdir_x(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction+90); camera_obj_var.yto += lengthdir_y(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction+90); } // pan up the screen if(mouse_y < 2|| keyboard_check(vk_up)) { camera_obj_var.xto += lengthdir_x(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction+180); camera_obj_var.yto += lengthdir_y(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction+180); } // pan down the screen if(mouse_y > (748-2)|| keyboard_check(vk_down)) { camera_obj_var.xto += lengthdir_x(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction); camera_obj_var.yto += lengthdir_y(len_dist, camera_obj_var.direction); }
What these lines do is move the view around (using the arrow keys or by using the mouse against an edge of the screen like most popular RTS games). In case you are wondering the two lines upwards actually mean OR however they are bitwise operators. There is much more information on bitwise operators in the Game Maker Manual (as there is anything else). Lets look at the next larger snippet of the script; // xto/yto calculations xto = min(max(0,xto),ter_w); yto = min(max(0,yto),ter_h); // turn to meet the direction we need to view in var notequal; if!(mydirection == wish_direction) { // if we need to turn, turn, otherwise don’t shake the view notequal = true; mydirection += turn_direction; // larger if (mydirection > wish_direction && sign( turn_direction) = 1) { mydirection = wish_direction; turn_direction = 0; } // smaller if (mydirection < wish_direction && sign( turn_direction) = -1) { mydirection = wish_direction; turn_direction = 0; } }
Code continued on the next page.
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Tutorial: 3D Real Time Strategy - Part 2 (Continued) // set the main direction, used later direction = mydirection; // zoom in (add on numpad) if(keyboard_check(vk_add)) { dist -= 5; // subtract five from dist to terrain dist = max(min(dist,max_dist),min_dist); } // zoom out (minus on numpad) if(keyboard_check(vk_subtract)) { dist += 5; // add five to dist to terrain dist = max(min(dist,max_dist),min_dist); } // look calculations x = xto+lengthdir_x(dist*0.8,direction); // xto; the same as in d3d_proj_ext() y = yto+lengthdir_y(dist*0.8,direction); // yto; the same as in d3d_proj_ext() z = dist; // prepare the looking (this also allows us to use mouse_selecting prepare_look(x,y,z,xto,yto,zto,0,0,1,45,1.33333);
All of this is heavily commented so it shouldn’t take too much to figure out how to use. The first bit handles the xto and yto variables. It keeps them inside the view of the map (so we don’t stray off to infinite darkness). The next larger block of code checks the direction you WANT to go in and then adapts you current direction to give a smooth transition. After all the code we finally use the calculations and use the prepare_look() function we made earlier. Now, on to the drawing of the camera. Add this script to execute in the Begin Step event of obj_camera (if you haven’t already) and make a new script. Don’t forget to save your game so far. The new script should be called rts3d_ camera_draw. The contents of the script are; /* RTS3D_CAMERA_DRAW <no arguments> */ d3d_set_projection_ext(x,y,z,xto,yto,zto,0,0,1,45,1 .33333,dist*0.2,dist*2);
The script uses the d3d_set_projection_ext() function to look at the world. The script takes no arguments (like the previous camera scripts). Exit the script saving changes. Add it to the Draw Event of obj_camera. Before you continue make sure there are three events in obj_camera. A begin step event, the create event and the draw event.
If this is correct you are ready to continue. Lets start with the script I mentioned earlier. This script is called rts3d_regen_ter(). Create a new script and call it rts3d_regen_ter. The script itself is very complicated. Before we start I’ll explain a bit about normals and vertex. The vertex we are using be made of four points (which amounts to two triangles at drawing time). We need to normalise the vertex so that the light is cast upon the terrain correctly and so the drawing takes place correctly. Before we add a snippet to the rts3d_regen_ter script create a NEW script and call it rts3d_calculate_normals. The contents of the script are; /* RTS3D_CALCULATE_NORMALS <no arguments> */ // a xa=i*terrain_prec; ya=n*terrain_prec; za=z1; // b xb=i*terrain_prec+terrain_prec; yb=n*terrain_prec; zb=z2; // c xc=i*terrain_prec+terrain_prec; yc=n*terrain_prec+terrain_prec; zc=z3; // component cpx=((za-zb)*(ya-yc))-((ya-yb)*(za-zc)); cpy=((xa-xb)*(za-zc))-((za-zb)*(xa-xc)); cpz=((ya-yb)*(xa-xc))-((xa-xb)*(ya-yc)); // r r=sqrt((cpx*cpx)+(cpy*cpy)+(cpz*cpz)); nx=cpx/r; ny=cpy/r; nz=cpz/r; // get normals normal_x[i,n]=nx normal_y[i,n]=ny normal_z[i,n]=nz
Obviously there is lots of math involved so I won’t explain it all here. Certain members of the GMC (such as Yourself, a member) has explained how this works. Close the script and saving your changes. Thats it for the second part in this issue. Next issue we will continue building the engine in part 3. Written by Schyler
DLL Quick Look
Max WinAPI 2.0 Have you ever wanted to create a game/program which uses the standard Windows API? If so, MaxAPI 2.0 is the ultimate solution. It features hundreds of functions and many controls and forms. So download it today!
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GM DEV
FAQ: Slow Motion
Calle provides an answer to all your slow motion needs. I recieved a very intresting question today, it is as follows: “I was wondering if there is a way to make the game go in slow motion.” - and of course there is a solution to this. What we want is to make everything go proportionally slow, for an example, it won’t do to decrease the speed with 5 for every object, no. We must decrease the movement of things proportionally, such that speed becomes speed/5. But if you actually try to do this in a game you will encounter a lot of troubles; because sometimes a movement can be defined simply as x+=4, or y-=5, and then you’ll need to change the 5 and the 4 and this is a lot of work. Even though it can be done, it is absolutely not effective. Not to talk about the scripts you would have to write to determine all the moving objects etc... no, you must find a general solution to the problem, and luckily there is one. And that is also why the question is intresting...
Solution: Open up a room and go to the settings tab.. You there see something called “room speed”, default set to 30. This indicates how many steps is taken each second. There is a variable the corresponds to this value, called room_speed. It can be altered during game play. If you take less steps per second then everything will automatically be slower; for an example a bullet moving with speed five when room_speed equals 30 will move 150 pixels per second, but if you decrease room speed to 15 it will only move 15*5=75 pixels a second, half the number. This is what can create a slow motion effect. room_speed /= 3; //Slow-motion room_speed *= 3; //Restore
Play around a little with the values, and hopefully you will find what you are looking for. Written by Calle Ekdahl | Provided by: gmtutorials.com
Tutorial: Pick Out the Nearest This issue’s tutorial by calle show how to make a sorted list of the nearest instances. Often in many types of games you will find yourself with lots of instances of the same kind of object. It might be tricky to compare them, as you can’t do it manually with individual code you must find a mechanism which can do it for you. This script which I am about to show is customizable so that you may check all different values and sort them in all kinds of ways, which might be very useful in advanced games like RTS and MMORPG where a lot of instances exists. My example script picks out the ten closest instances of one type of object. This code could for an example be put in a character to sort out which enemies are the closer ones. //Initializing i = 0; obj_distance[instance_number(object0)] = 0; //Order by distance while(i<instance_number(object0)) { inst = instance_find(object0,i); dist = distance_to_object(inst); obj_distance[dist] = inst; i +=1; } //Does a bit intializing i = 0; nr = 0; list[instance_number(object0)]; inst_f = instance_furthest(x,y,object0); dist_f = distance_to_object(inst_f);
//Arranging it into a list while (i<dist_f) { if (obj_distance[i]>0) { list[nr] = obj_distance[i]; nr +=1; } i+=1; }
Now as you can see this is done in two steps. First arrange them by distance, which will create spaces in the array, and then remove the spaces. The final product is a list kept in the variable array list. The higher the index number, the further the object is. List[0] returns the closest instance of type object0 and list[instance_number(object0)] returns the furthest. You must understand the code piece by piece, so that you may construct your own conditions next time. To help you out; first code creates an array with the distance linked to the instance ID. It basically looks like this obj_distance[245] = 100034, obj_ distance[355] = 100036 etc. now the next loop goes through that array and puts them after size: list[0] = 100034, list[1] = 100036 etc. You may ask questions by commenting and you may use this code as it is, but we’d be happy if we got credits for it. Written by Calle Ekdahl | Provided by: gmtutorials.com
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Pixel Art Tutorial: Shading
There are the right ways and wrong ways to shade in pixel art. RoboBOT will show you the correct ways. Shading sprites and other pixelart is a daunting task for a beginner pixel artist. However, a few simple tips and techniques will improve one’s shading skills. When shading pixelart, the most important thing to notice is how light hits the object that you are drawing. Light is important in pixelart because light decides exactly how everything looks: the same object in darkness will look different during the day, and it will look different when the light is the left or to the right of the object. Respecting the source of the light will lead to more realistic pixelart. The practice of pillow-shading--that is, the shading of the edges of sprite darker and the interior of sprites lighter--should be discouraged. This implies that the source of light is between you and the object.
Instead, you should define where the light is coming from. Imagine a bright light bulb is somewhere relative to the object-where it’s placed decides the bright spots and shadows of the object. A common light source is to the left of the object and a little bit in front. This makes the left sides of each part of your object brighter than the right part, without putting anything in extreme darkness. Next, you must think about the shape of the object. A flat object will be a solid color with a lighter highlight on one side and a darker one on the other. However, a curved object requires some more involved shading. A metal pipe, for example, should neither be pillow shaded nor filled with a gradient from one side to another. Instead, the highlight should be off center towards the light. Then shading down to the darker colors on both sides gives it the curved look.
Once you know where the light will be hitting the object, and how you should shade the shapes, then you can begin using a shading technique. A very common and useful technique is dithering. Dithering tricks the eye into seeing more colors by interlacing colors with each other.
How you dither represents the texture of the surface. Very regular dithering will produce a relatively smooth but not quite shiny surface. Dither a little less and include a much brighter highlight color, and suddenly the surface is smoother and shinier. Make your dithering more random to produce a rougher surface.
How you pick your colors affects how the surface looks. First, pick a base color that is mid-range luminescent (how bright it is) and mid-range saturated. A very low saturation looks gray, while a high saturation looks bright in its color. High saturation colors tend to look unnatural. From here, adjust the brightest higher and then lower to pick your shading colors. Contrast is important, so don’t be afraid of big differences between the colors. There are other ways to pick colors schemes, such as with hue shifting, but that is beyond the scope of this tutorial. Most of the skill in shading sprites cannot be taught, it must be practiced. Look around your home and examine where light hits various shapes. Try to reproduce these in your shading. You will make some awful sprites before you create something you like, so have patience, and have fun.
Written by RoboBOT
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EXCLUSIVES
Exclusive Interview: hotshotscott Timoi talks to the creator of one of the most popular Game Maker fan games around. GMT: Could you tell us a little about yourself? HSS: “Hey guys, my name is Scott Strickland and I’m from Australia. My GMC username is hotshotscott (Because I use hotshotscott for all online usernames) and I have been using game maker since mid year of 2007. I’m 16 years of age, turning 17 in december (2008). Game making is something that I’ve always been interested in, but it was only until i found ‘game maker’ that i got to try ‘Creating Programs/Games’ out. I also have many other interests but my main one is playing sport. (Mainly Basketball)” GMT: How does Halo Revolution currently play? HSS: “Halo Revolution is a project that I started by myself back in June, 2007. The name ‘Halo Revolution’ was actually founded by another GMC member, but throughout all of the releases of Halo Revolution, none of them have actually been a revolution to the previous ‘Halo’ games, made by Bungie. Halo Revolution is just a name, it doesn’t mean that it will follow up from the other Halo games. Anyway, back to original question. At the moment in Halo Revolution, there are 2 versions. Version 1 has a storyline, with roughly 6-7 missions. Version 2 however does not have a storyline, but it’s graphics and sound effects are totally redone, and the engine is far more advanced then Version 1. The Halo Revolution Team have been working mainly on Version 2’s engine, and once it is a little more complete, we will begin working on a fun and thrilling storyline. Although Version 2 does not have a storyline, it comes with a level editor, so you can still try out all of the features. You can easily build levels, placing weapons, slopes/terrain/water, enemies, alley’s, vehicles, equipment and scenery objects. You can then play the level, and once you’re happy with it, save it and send it to a friend for them to play. I am planning on releasing another update for Version 2 in maybe a months time (could be longer, not promising anything), with many MANY more features, such as new vehicles, all weapons completed, fixed bugs/errors, new equipment, improved alley and enemy AI, better sound FX and gameplay objects.” GMT: When and how did work on HR start? HSS: “I started working on HR (Halo Revolution) at around June 2007, and have been working on it ever since then. It’s a funny story how i started this project. I was just chatting to another GMC member and i asked him if he could show me any of his work that he had done. He sent me a gm6 file which was a game where you were Masterchief, and you shot big red things at these targets. The graphics, gameplay and engine was shocking, and as for sounds, well there were none. But that project was only made to test something for the guy I was talking to. I then decided to continue on with it, and from then on, I’ve just been working on it, making it bigger and better.” GMT: How much has the game changed since it first started? HSS: “The game has changed an ENORMOUS amount since I first started creating it. As I said above, when i started, it had poor graphics, the gameplay was no good, and the engine was
also not good. Since then, I’ve gotten a team together and we’ve added every weapon that exists in the original Halo Games, 4-5 Vehicles, Marines/Johnson, all of the covenant enemies, a pretty fun storyline and heaps more. We then redid all of the graphics into 1 style, and have just continued to build on the engine. Once the engine is more complete (a month or so), we will release another version with the storyline started. I have kept all of my first version of HR, and let me tell you, when you play the first version, and then you play the latest version (not released yet), you WILL be amazed at the changes. I’m quite proud of what me and my team have done with HR, and i look forward to seeing how far we actually take it!” GMT: And what did you hope for it to end up like then? HSS: “I really don’t know. I was very inexperienced when i started on HR, and the main purpose was to learn GML (code) and to get better at game making. I did get far better at programming and I have never decided to give up on HR. I really didn’t think I’d still be working on the game nearly a year later.” GMT: What are you most proud of in HR so far? HSS: “Hmm that’s a tricky one. The only major thing that we’ve really done with Halo Revolution is working on the engine. We did redo all of the graphics, but that comes down to engine as well. I am very proud of how well we’ve re-enacted Bungie’s Halo games into a 2D game. I have had many people tell me that it’s the best 2D Halo Clone game they’ve ever seen and played, so I’m very proud of that. To be more specific, im most proud of how the Halo Revolution team has re-made Halo, into a 2D world.” GMT: Apart from you, who else is involved in making the game? HSS: “I will start with the team. Firstly, there is myself. I’m the lead, and only programmer for HR. I program everything that you will see move or do in the game. Next is James, who’s name on the GMC is jwheeler. James created the entire HUD (The new one, not in version 1) and is also in charge of creating background music. He is extremely talented when it comes
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Exclusive Interview: hotshotscott (Continued) down to making background music, and he is also very good at graphics. Then there’s Sketti. Sketti is the lead graphics person on the HR team. He has created a lot of sprites that you will see when playing HR. He can do pretty much any sprite that i ask for, whether it be small/large, a single image sprite, or an animation. He has adapted to the style we’re trying to achieve in HR and has stuck to it very well. Nick, who is known as t2vanden on the GMC forums. Nick has been putting a new storyline together, and apart from that, he helps out with the graphics. He is also quite talented at graphics, and tries to help out wherever he can. Last, but not least, is our newest team member, I*Monkey. He’s so new, that i don’t even know his real name (I*Monkey only joined the HR team a few hours ago). I*Monkey is in charge of sound effects, and any sound that we don’t have, and need, he is able to get them for me. He has demonstrated his work to me, and i am very happy to have him on the team. That’s all of the team! James, Nick, Sketti, I*Monkey and Myself. Members of the GMC have also helped out a lot in the making of HR, and they are currently very involved with our latest feature, customizable MC. I have asked the members of the GMC to come to the HR website, where they can create their own helmet for MC, and also their own emblem for MC to wear. We currently have 30 helmets, and I’m expecting many more to come. In the next version of HR, you are able to change the helmet, emblem and armour colour for the MC that you will play as. So far, this feature is working great, but i must admit, it’s not 100% finished. There are a number of members from the GMC (icuurd12b42, templargfx just to name a few) that have helped with programming. Although I’m the only programmer for HR, they have helped me to achieve certain things in HR (Some InGame Physics etc).” GMT: What do you now hope HR will become?I HSS: “I’m hoping that HR will continue to grow and grow, and even if I give up on this project before it’s finished, I’m sure I would come back to it, or make a second version of it. But for now, I’m hoping that we will keep working on it, and we’ll finish it’s storyline, as well as having a strong and large engine. Hopefully one day HR will be the 2D Halo Clone that every halo fan loves!”
GMT: It’s been in the WIP forum for quite a while now, do you hope to eventually release a full final version, or will you continuously add to it? HSS: “Tell me about it ha ha (Being in the WIP for a while). Well i do plan on finishing this game, but finishing is a weird word, as could finish it tomorrow, or I could finish it in a year. It just depends how much I want to add. I know that I definitely would like to finish a strong campaign mode with no bugs, as well as having all enemies/vehicles/weapons etc. After that, depending on whether I’m sick of working on it, i might add in online multiplayer. At the moment, i just want to continuously build onto it, but yes, I’m hoping to release it in the Completed Games Section one day.” GMT: HR is undoubtedly a big project compared to most other GM games, what have you learnt about managing a team and a project this large? HSS: “Good Question. I only started getting a team together at the end of last year, and it is very different then working solo. I did find another programmer to help out, but i soon learnt that, that was a bad idea. We had different ways of programming things, and he would program things that i would want differently. I then learnt that when in a team, it’s best to only have 1 main programmer, and the others can help with codes etc if you’re having trouble with specific problems. Although I am the team leader for HR, I like to think that I’m fairly laid back about it. HR isn’t a huge commercial game that we have a set date for, therefore I don’t push my fellow team mates to complete things in certain times. They all do a fabulous job, so it’s only fair to give them weekly/fortnightly breaks every so often. If someone cannot draw for me, or get sounds for me because they’re going away for a month or so, that’s fine. I have learnt that if you do push them too far, you end up building a bad relationship with that person, which can lead to bad situations in the future.” GMT: Some people may avoid HR and dismiss it as a simple fan game, what would you say to them? HSS: “I would tell them that HR is no ordinary Halo Clone game. HR has so many more features that other halo clone games offer, and you can’t go and give a bad opinion on the game until you’ve at least tried it out. ” GMT: Is there anything else you’d like to say? HSS: “I’d just like to thank you for allowing me to talk about HR. Hopefully people will read this, and they’ll get a better idea of Halo Revolution. Thank you, and let’s hope HR will continue to grow much larger!” Interview conducted by Timoi
Links - Halo Revolution GMC Topic - Halo Revolution Forum
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EXCLUSIVES
Exclusive Interview: homebrewpc Timoi talks to the creator of a website that could rival YoYo Games. GMT: Could you tell us a little about yourself? HBPC: “My name is Matthew Kremer, and I’m a Junior in High School. I am also going to college for programming two nights a week. On the side, I like to build and fix gaming computers. When I’m not doing school or working, I like spending time with my girlfriend of three years, and play Gears Of War.” GMT: What is GMArcade? HBPC: “GMArcade is a file host for Game Maker games, where users can upload their games. Their games can be played online via our JAVA applet, and downloaded.” GMT: Why should developers use GMArcade as opposed to YoYo Games which has similar facilities? HBPC: “Hmmmmm...this is a tough one. Well, there is always the rebel that is anti-YoYoGames because they’re taking over the earth and own your game (but not really), so I provide an alternative service. Also, once our forum kicks up it’s going to be a lot less formal and more open in terms of rules It’s more of an alternative to YoYoGames than a better service, however I hope to introduce some features that YoYoGames doesn’t have in the future. GMT: And from a gamers point of view, what advantages does GMArcade have? HBPC: “From the Gamers point of view, you have all of the top games on the main page separated into categories. It’s very easy to navigate. Also, you can play online or download it for later just like YoYoGames.” GMT: Why did you decide to start GMArcade? HBPC: “I wanted to offer an alternate to YoYoGames. Some people still don’t like YoYo just because they think they’re taking over the world, and others would just like to use a different host. I also liked AddictingGames.com and thought I would make a Game Maker host that is more similar to it.” GMT: How does GMArcade work? HBPC: “It uses a Java Web applet to temporarily store and play the game on a person’s computer. Uploads are automatically added to our online games database, and are automatically compatible with our Java Online Play.” GMT: Is it just you that works on the website, and are you looking for more people to help? HBPC:“At the moment, I am the only one working on the site. Mostly we are looking for more people to support the site in two different ways. First off, join and upload your games, then provide the GMArcade.com link as your main download in your GMC topics. Secondly, we need monetary donations! Our server currently costs $30/month. If you donate $5 via PayPal to mattk@homebrewpcgaming.com and then post in our GMC topic saying you did, I will allow you to put the Java Online Play button on your own website!”
GMT: How secure is it? Is there the possibility that people may upload viruses to the website? HBPC: “Users could upload viruses to the site, and at this point in time, it would not be possible for us to create an automatic virus scanner like YoYo Games unless we bought a dedicated server, which costs $100-$200+ per month! Unless GMArcade got a lot bigger, this would not be possible.” GMT: Is there much of a community based around GMA? HBPC: “Currently, our forum just started, but we are trying to grow. If you’re reading this, why not come and hang out at our forums? Were not all that strict, and you can just come out and hang in the Off Topic section if you like.” GMT: Can you give us any statistics for GMA, such as hits/ downloads? HBPC: “Three months ago we had 3385 unique visitors, and so far this month we’ve had 2564 uniques. We’ve had over 421,000 hits, and 3605 unique downloads (even if a person downloads “Game A” twice, it only counts as one download, “Play Online” included). Let’s make those numbers grow!” GMT: Is there much of a community based around GMA? HBPC: “Currently, our forum just started, but we are trying to grow. If you’re reading this, why not come and hang out at our forums? Were not all that strict, and you can just come out and hang in the Off Topic section if you like.” GMT: Are there any new features you hope to add in the future? HBPC: “Well, there are a couple of things I would like to add. One is online high score tables that can integrate directly with GMArcade.com and show up by the games description. I also hope to add some more paid members only features, so if you guys have any ideas, please drop by our forums and post a topic in ‘The Community.’” GMT: What do you hope GMA will be like in the future? HBPC: “I hope GMA grows to the point where we have an extremely active community of members, as well as getting nonGame Maker users to come to our site and play some of the games as well. Instead of being more like the file-host that we are now, I want it to be an arcade community.” GMT: Thank you for the interview, is there anything else you’d like to add? HBPC: “No problem, thanks for featuring me in your magazine! I’m looking forward to seeing some of your readers come on over to GMArcade and become active members.” Interview conducted by Timoi
Links - GM Arcade Website - GM Arcade GMC Topic
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EXCLUSIVES
Insight Into: Out of the Past This issue skinnyeddy looks into what Out of the Past is all about. In late 2005 both Drazzke and The Berryster found Game Maker. Since then they have been involved with several Games which include Zymo (A spin on conventional Platformers whereby you control your character by typing in the relevant word i.e. jump, duck etc) and Cellution (A life simulation in which you watch cells growing. Stupid cells die out but clever ones survive. You can also mess around with the cells by feeding or poisoning them). Their latest project is the brilliantly made (but not yet complete) Out of the Past. Out of the Past is currently at V0.27 and has been in development for just over 2 months. So far it has only a few minor bugs and no graphical glitches despite being incomplete. OOTP is a platformer inspired by the popular freeware game Cave Story (www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/). This is evident just by playing the game and from what Drazzke said in the interview “Cave Story inspired us to create Out of the Past. But, we had always loved games similar to Cave Story, so it just gave us the final push to actually attempt something like it.”. The premise of OOTP is that you, the protagonist of the game, are the only human to have survived a war between humans and Aliens one thousand years ago. During the war, all humans were wiped out but you managed to survive in an underground time capsule. To begin you must venture out of your time capsule and into the wild to try and find some form of civilisation. The first area you come across is a grassy cave which contains your first weapon, the ‘Arke Blaster’ and some enemies for you to try it out on. Next you come across a larger grassy cave and then Koros village which contains your first boss. This first boss (and the only one in the game so far) is quite difficult so you have to have your wits about you. After he’s killed you a few times, you quickly learn how to dodge him and eventually beat him. So far, OOTP looks like it’s going to be quite a tough game. I am only assuming this as the boss fight was tough and the common enemies are quite tough as well. Then again, you should be able to get better equipment which should make it e asier.
Graphics wise, OOTP looks very, very good as it has clear, crisp graphics which fit the mood of the game perfectly. For example, the main character and the enemies/aliens are simply drawn and animated but have enough detail to be good looking and pretty professional. This is especially impressive considering most of the graphics were made in Microsoft Paint and the built-in Game Maker Sprite editor rather than a fancy graphics editing program such as Photoshop. Sound-wise, OOTP has a happy, charming melody which is the anti-thesis of the overall tone and plays constantly during the game but never gets annoying. At the moment there are no sound effects in the game but these have been promised for later versions. Level design in OOTP is also very good as the enemies are well placed and it has areas which can only be accessed once you have certain abilities.
On a bit of a negative note, there are a few spelling mistakes but these can be easily ironed out for the next versions. Eventually Drazzke and The Berryster hope to have 4-8 (Large) Levels in the game. What these levels will be like we have yet to find out but they should be good going by the quality so far. In conclusion, this is turning out to be a brilliant game. It has come out of the past and it’s got a very bright future.
Links Game Website: www.outofthepast.890m.com Written by skinnyeddy
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REVIEWS
Crystal Universe - Aftermath Graphics: 2.5/5 • Gameplay: 3/5 • Audio: 3.5/5
Crystal Universe: Aftermath (here after referred to as Aftermath) is a decent platformer with RPG elements. As the game finished loading, I saw to my shock the menu screen. As you might have already guessed, it was no good. I might have not even played the game, had I not got it for reviewing. Needless say, my first impression was that it was seriously a dreadful game. Recovering form the shock I found the game play was a lot more satisfying. It reinforced my views of the person who had written in a previous issue of GMTech that if the graphics were bad, I won’t even play the game, but if even though the graphics are great and not so the game play, I would stop playing it. I couldn’t agree more. Definitely not! Aftermath is still a beta and so still has a chance to improve, which it certainly needs to do!
In Aftermath you start as a neum (awkward or maybe even imaginative choice of word, I know, but that’s what they are called) who has to stop some Mr. Evil from doing his evilness after the hero who was trying to stop him has disappeared into nothingness. I haven’t completed this beta because I couldn’t figure out how to kill the first boss (there are said to be four). I also got bored after a little time with my failure and left the game. The game was a little silly. Although all the graphics were made to look cute, they turned out to be annoying as I felt them to be more silly than cute. The story also had a major effect on me as it was same old boring stuff. It is not a great platformer considering all this. The graphics as I briefly mentioned earlier, were not very pretty. The player sprites seemed to miss a polished touch, making them seem more like ripped graphics. The menu seemed to be poorly made. It seems as if it was done hastily as it did not turn out to be pleasing. Maybe, it would have turned out better had it been given more time. The enemy sprites were also unpleasing. Not much to say about. Not great for sure. The backdrop level tiles were no better. The background also was awful. The only plus, I could gather is that it all seems to fit well. Since it is only a beta version, maybe the graphics can still be changed before the final version is out. This area certainly needs a lot of nurturing. The character moving animation was also not up to the mark.
Sounds are as important as any other element of the game. However, this has been clearly contradicted in the game. There were separate music for the menu and game, which was nice. The theme of music was also fitting to the graphics. However, sound effects were scanty. The sound effects are not enough detailed and the game can start to feel boring also because of this. Any gamer would have expected a lot more than what he got. The game had set high standards for itself to which it has not been able to meet. The game play may well be the best part of the three (graphics, sound and game play). The game was not as exciting but it was fine, really decent. There weren’t enough pickups which did affect the game play. Like pickups, there was also not enough variation in enemies. In fact, I could see only one sort of enemy, minus boss, till where I have played. The collision seems to be alright. However, I did encounter a sort of bug. Even, without talking to guard our hero can tell the shop keeper what he wants. Omniscient, huh? As, I mentioned earlier I wasn’t able to figure how to kill even the first boss. He did have a square, but I don’t think it was a health bar. What I liked, though, was the documentation of the history of the characters. Even game play is far from being great. Pro’s Attractive gameplay Imaginative storyline Documented characters Con’s Ugly, annoying and confusing graphics Scanty sound effects Lack of variation in enemies
Overall It may not be rich in gameplay, lacking variety of elements, have confusing graphics, scanty sound effects and an unpolished look. But the best thing it has is chance. That is, chance to improve, being only a Work in Progress (WIP). My final words to JMchaos would be…you can impove this. Written by Alexander Earl (Xantheil)
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REVIEWS
Little Fred
Graphics: 4/5 • Gameplay: 3.5/5 • Audio: 4/5
There are quite a few nice games out there about which we are quite unaware. One such game is Little Fred. It can be only described as splendid. Little Fred is a game (platformer) by Mordi made for the YoYo Games Winter Competition. It didn’t win, however, this game was what I personally feel a highly polished one, unlike others (except frozzd), but as hard as was tried to make the game funny, it didn’t have the excitement found in other games. That said, it’s a game worth playing. Maybe it would have fetched the fifth prize, had YoYo Games looked so far, but it’s certainly a gamer’s delight. Worth playing would be a little underestimating while must-play (I have not categorized any game in it, GMG or not!) might be overestimating it (or highly?). Had it been a little more exciting, I am sure it would have changed the result of the YoYo Games Winter Competition. This game can be fittingly described as amusing. Looking back, no, not fun, there was graphical enjoyment and a funny story, with funny characters but the game play was a little more serious (or rather more boring). You play as little Fred (who seems to be a boxer) fighting with an enormous enemy android, in return of the promise of getting all the candies of the world. I nearly laughed at this thought as you may have also, more so when my thought pondered to think of the poor little Fred’s teeth. It necessarily kept the light Christmas mood and the snowy graphical backdrop with enemy snowmen kept it true to its winter theme. It’s the kind of entertaining (actually funny) short game that seems to provide leisure. Open it up (unilaterally) and you will find what I have been chatting for so long. The graphics were brilliant, but very straightforward and combined with the rest of graphics seemed to look more incredible that wholesome. The character is decent, and graphical detail has been provided wherever necessary, the enemies (i.e. snowmen and the android) more cute looking than perilous but still fitting with the entertaining theme. The animations were luminous, found at the start of the game. No one could dare challenge the graphics of the game as unpolished. The other backdrop and pickups were also well made. The HUD which mainly consisted of hanging hearts were also nice. The graphics of this game were well… artistic. That’s quite lot of praise you would get out of me. I like the feel of the graphics and even any sane person would also find them likable as much as I do.
Quite a few people argue on whether graphics are more important than gameplay or the other way round relegating sounds and music to the background. However, I am relieved that such was not the case with this game (Little Fred). It has, in my opinion nice soothing music which is way (no, way way) better than any more adrenaline rusher. There was plenty of variation as well as detail in sound effects too (like the graphics) which made it better turned-out. Perhaps, its sound and music was even better than the eventual winners in the competition. After the high of graphics and music it hits a low (though not bottom low). The gameplay may be still amusing but it doesn’t have the thrill of the winners (and even some other unpolished games). It’s amusing and yet not. It’s exciting and yet not. There seems to be a missing part in this chain of connection, though what, I cannot comprehend. Perhaps, it is longer than necessary and doesn’t have a great story line. Perhaps. It’s easier for me to illustrate all the highs than wasting time in figuring out he lows. As expected (or was it?) the game is bug free and all other factors seem to be OK. The game also figures out a wonderful combination of reality with fantasy making it a treat to play. It’s trendy, funny, exciting, bug free… what else could you want from a Game Maker Game made in so short time? Pro’s Nice Creative Graphics Plenty of variation in the sound effects and soothing music Simple, amusing gameplay Con’s Misses the thrill (or excitement) of other games Although funny yet quite oxymoronic graphics Lack of variety in enemies and too long
Overall It’s trendy, funny, exciting, bug free; it has great funny graphics; fascinating story; nice soothing music; almost artistic gameplay; unorthodox; polished; no one can resist the temptation to play it (or so I hope). Once you start with it, definitely you will be unable to break away from it for a while (fortunately!). This review has merely been written on it (the game) yet I feel the excitement even as I write it. All this chatter might have just stopped you from experiencing the game. Now is the time to start playing it! Enjoy! Written by Alexander Earl (Xantheil)
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REVIEWS
Quick Virus Remover GUI: 3/5 • Usefullness: 3.5/5 • Audio: n/a
You don’t see these every day. Well.. maybe you do, but not Game Maker created ones. This is because programs like these are banned from the Game Maker Community no matter how helpful they are. I’ve been watching this program and its website and I’ve noticed it receives updates often. This is one of the first keys to creating a successful anti-virus program. I mean, who wants an anti-virus program which hasn’t been updated for a year? However I don’t agree with its nag screen that appears each time the program starts. The nag screen states that if you register you’ll get better help and support. While registering is free, users should be put first in providing the best help and support. You can’t say: “You are not registered so I can’t help you any more then I have until you register.” The GUI is fairly decent enough. But I think the amount of red is overkill. It would be nice to see at least different colours on the GUI or allow the user to change the colour scheme of the program. Also the buttons have
a nice little zoom effect when you hover your mouse over them. Now the scanner has its up’s and down’s. On the bright side it scans your registry and scans for over 2150 files pretty quickly. On the down side, it can produce false positives easily. When I scanned my PC it picked up 6 files which were not Viruses, Malware, Spyware or Trojans according to a number of other virus scanners. However this is not to say the program is in-effective. It will find real viruses. In addition, this program features Internet Explorer homepage protection and immunization which is excellent for IE users. Pro’s Regular Updates Good last resort to removing viruses Scanning is quick Con’s Can easily produce false positives Too much red Nag screen to register for support
Overall Overall, it is a great program. I recommend downloading it, giving you PC a scan and see what it comes up with. It shouldn’t interfere with any other anti-virus programs. I’ll be keeping this one because; you never know... it just might be the key to fixing a problem. Written by gmjab
SUBMIT YOUR GAME Do you want your game to be reviewed? Or perhaps you want your game to have more exposure? Then submit your game to the Game Maker Technology Magazine which is read by thousands of Game Maker developers. Submitting your game is quick and easy to do. You will also receive a fast and friendly reply from one of our staff shortly afterwards. Here is how to do it in 3 steps:
1 2 3
Visit the forum: www.gamemakertech.info/forum/ Go to the Submit > Preview/Review and create a new topic. You don’t even need an account. Provide your username, game name, download link, screenshot and some brief information.
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EXTRAS
Free Applications
Timoi believes these programs will help with your game development.
Extension Maker Homepage: www.yoyogames.com/extensions This ones a bit obvious but never-the-less it deserves a mention. The official Extension Maker (or GM Extension Package Builder to give it it’s full name) allows to you create proper functions that display within game maker without the need for loads of scripts cluttering everything up. It is pretty tricky to use and it would take a bit of time to become quick with it, but it’s something that every game maker should have, there’s simply no reason not to. There’s a wide variety of options, help files can be included with anything you make, and you can apply licenses to it if you so wish. It also comes with the official Library Maker too, nothing has been missed out.
Project Dogwaffle Homepage: www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/ Don’t be put off by it’s ridiculous name, this is another great freeware graphic design tool. If you feel overwhelmed by The Gimp, but think Paint.net is too simplistic, Project Dogwaffle should suit your needs. It contains many tools to touch up existing images, but also to create your own from scratch. Be warned though, you’ll need some knowledge of graphics terms and concepts as it does use slightly advanced language, buffers, composites, and sampling for instance. Another downside is that it doesn’t have very good exporting options, only .bmp, and .tga, but more plug-ins can be downloaded from the web to extend it’s possibilities.
FreeUndelete Homepage: www.officerecovery.com/freeundelete/ Ever accidentally deleted precious files and folders from your computer, and even from the Recycle Bin? Well you’ll probably be surprised to know that it’s possible they haven’t gone forever. When a file is deleted from the computer, it’s data doesn’t actually get destroyed straight away. Even formatting a hard drive sometimes doesn’t get rid of all the data! With FreeUndelete you can view all deleted files that still exist on a harddrive and restore them, but some files may already have been overwritten. It’s not always a certainty you’ll be able to find that funny picture of your friend that was taken 4 years ago, for example, but if you run this as soon you’ve realised they’ve gone, it’s very likely you’ll get your files back. Written by Timoi
Found a Program?
Have you found a program that may aid game development? Then submit it to the GMTM to make it more known amongst thousands of other game developers. For more information, checkout the forum.
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EXTRAS
Comic
Take a break from game development and have a laugh at this comic.
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EXTRAS
Bonus Comic
This issue we have a bonus comic for you to check out by minga
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EXTRAS
Closing
With every beginning there will surely be an ending. We hope you enjoyed yet another issue of the Game Maker technology Magazine. Be sure to checkout issue 14 because it will be a good one. I’ll leave it at that and thank you from all our staff for reading this issue. Next Issue Here is a sneak peak of 3 things that will be in the next issue: 1. YoYo Games Special 2. Making your game seen 3. Interview with YoYo Games If you wish to find out more or suggest something for the next issue visit out forums on: www.gamemakertech.info/forum/. Leave feedback Good or bad, we value your feedback. Your feedback lets us know how we should improve to satisfy all the Game Maker users. Your feedback can be about (although not limited to) articles, reviews, GM tips or the magazine in general. You can leave feedback in either our GMC topic or on our forum. Submit to the magazine Yes, we at GMTM will take almost any submission for a chance of it being published in the next issue. To submit to the magazine, simply go to our forum and submit in the “submit” section. Registration is not required and you will get a fast reply by one of our friendly staff. Here are three examples: - Submit your game to be reviewed - Submit an article/tutorial you have written - Submit exclusive information or request information
We only ask that you submit content for which you have permission. Do not submit things that are not your own unless you have permission from the owner and do not submit illegal content. At GMTM we take submissions seriously and we will do whatever it takes to keep our forum clean and friendly. Write for Game Maker Technology Magazine Some of you may not have time to join the Game Maker Technology Magazine team, however you may have great writing skills, and if this is the case, then we welcome you to write articles freelance (where you work independently and on temporary contracts) - so you can write articles when you want, and have no deadlines. View articles online and give feedback You can now view all the articles, reviews and other content in each magazine online. In addition to this you will be able to leave comments on articles/reviews and rate each article. This is all made possible on the Game Maker Technology Wiki. We look forward to your visit. Apply for a job Game Maker Technology Magazine is always looking for new fresh staff to write, research or review content for each magazine. If you think you have got what it takes to join us, check out the forum for more details as to what jobs are available. Creative commons The Game Maker Technology Magazine is licensed under the Creative Commons license. This means you are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work. This work is for Non-Commercial use only. You are NOT allowed to alter, modify or build upon the work contained in the magazine.
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