Game Maker is a great tool that can do great things. It's been around for years, with each subsequent iteration becoming more and more powerful and versatile, allowing creators of all skill levels to craft unique and interesting game experiences themselves. Odds are, you find yourself aspiring to join this circle, to become a game designer yourself. And that's great! It really is. But there's a few things you need to take into consideration before you get started.

I've been using Game Maker since version 4, and I've seen a lot of new users come and go with varying levels of success over the years. Invariably, the people who struggle the most share some common traits, and it may be good to hear some of their shortcomings right away, so that you may avoid them yourself. And, just in case you think I'm just harping on everybody, I'd like to establish right away that I started out doing pretty much every single thing I'm about to warn you about.

That said, let's get started!

All too often new users get their hands on Game Maker and immediately start planning their magnum opus JRPG-RTS hybrid with zero experience or understanding of what they're getting themselves into. I know I did; I'd dabbled with RPG Maker, but I wanted more, and this Game Maker thing I'd found looked nifty. Certainly I could build my dream game with this!

The truth is, projects of all sizes take planning, and the larger the project, the more planning and skill it takes to execute. Jumping in over your head will, more often than not, just result in frustration and failure. It's a good idea to start small and learn what you're doing.

I'm saying this because my first project was a disaster - no established scope or even genre, an inexperienced "developer" trying to build something well beyond his means, and frankly just way too many bright colors, just in case you think I got anything right. It never got past the first stage (to even say it ran was a bit of a generous statement), and most of the projects that would come immediately after were equally overreaching and simply impossible with the knowledge I had at the time. If only I'd taken the time to learn.

You see, GM provides several tutorials of varying skill levels, and it's a good idea to start with those. Learn your basics, get a grasp of how the system works, and take some time to read up on GML in the documentation, because odds are you'll be using a lot of it. And hey, if that documentation outright intimidates you, don't worry! It's grown a lot over the years, and some of that stuff is a lot more advanced than writing words and pictures on the screen, I'll admit, but GM generally has one of the friendliest, most readable pieces of readme literature I've ever seen associated with code or scripting. Give it time, and if something is over your head, don't stress about it; focus on what you can understand, and build from there.

It's important to remember that with GM's veratility and freedom comes a higher degree of complication and a steeper learning curve than you'd find in a tool more tailored for a specific game genre or style (ie. RPG Maker or MUGEN), and as such it's very important to learn the basics and work your way up bit by bit instead of just trying to build the ultimate something and wondering what went wrong. You'll find a lot more success trying to build a simple arcade-style shooter or even a basic platformer than you will trying to develop your own complicated battle systems or inventory management from the word go.

Questions are essential to learning. Maybe you don't get something in the documentation, or maybe there's something specific you need help figuring out. Don't worry! GM has spawned several communities over the years, most of which are very helpful. The biggest is {LINK REMOVED}the GMC (the Game Maker Community), which has been merged with Yoyo as the official Game Maker forum. If that seems a bit daunting, no worries! The people in the Steam community are there to help too, and there are plenty of small communities out there. Don't be afraid to ask for help and make connections! Having peers is incredibly helpful!

That said, know what you're asking about. Don't go in asking a broad question like "Hey guys how do I build an MMO?" because you're likely just going to get a bunch of sarcasm and wit in response. That question is of ridiculous scope that covers way too broad a thing, and you're basically asking "Hey guys, tell me how to make my entire project from start to finish!" This will get you nowhere. Don't do it.

It's far better to ask specific things, like "How do I make something point towards the mouse?", or inquire about something you've already been trying to do. It's amazing how much more people will be willing to help you if you show a little code; it shows that you've tried to figure this out yourself, and that you're putting in the effort required to "deserve" assistance in the first place. Remember, you're not going to get anywhere asking people to build your game for you.

Which reminds me...

This one is so, so important, and huge, and common.

Fun Fact: Very few successful game studios start out with a bunch of guys in a forum. This is especially true if you decide to try and form a team immediately to make your dream project a reality. A bunch of people you don't know working under someone with no experience is asking for trouble. I'm not sure I've ever seen this work out, and I'm certain it never has on any project I've been involved in.

Far too often, you'll see someone start a forum thread looking to recruit a team for a project. It often looks something like this:

HEY GUYZ!
I'm new to Game Maker, and I'm looking to start a team! I'm looking for great, experienced people to help me build a game like Pokémon / Secret of Mana but with RTS elements like Starcraft! It's a great idea but I need some help!!!

So I obviously have this great idea, but I'm looking for someone who can do the graphics, and someone else who can do the programming. Being able to create music and other stuff like that is a plus.

Oh, also, I can't pay anyone, but I'm sure with the right people this will be a huge success!

(Spoiler Alert: They won't be and it won't be.)

The problems with forming a team, especially online, are many.

First of all, if you're going in with just an idea expecting everyone else to do all the work for you, you're operating under some horrible misconceptions of the value of a mere concept. (Alternatively, if you're sane enough to realize that's a ridiculous thing to pull, congratulations, you're ahead of the curve.) Nobody wants to work for a guy who just has an idea, but no notion of how much work or effort that idea will entail. Having no experience with the tool in question, or even game design in general, means you're likely ill prepared to lead a team anyway. If anything, you should be the one doing the grunt work; leaders are typically very experienced with several aspects of game design and development first hand. Lacking any experience is a red flag to everybody, and you're either going to find yourself with equally unexperiened teammates (best case scenario) or completely ignored, which is the more common case.

Secondly, in the event you actually do form a team online and launch a proper product out to make money, the devil's in the details when it comes to dividing it, especially without a written contract (which, again, if you're inexperienced, trying to rope someone into a contract is going to seem really pretentious at best). You're dealing with a very low odds of success on any level - so much that an alpha from a hastily assembled online team is incredibly rare and impressive - but even an unexpected success can have some surprising consequences.

If you feel like you must have a team, find some friends offline; people you can meet with face to face, work in the same room with, etc. This tends to work out better. My honest recommendation, though, is that you wait until you have some experience going solo; your first game should not require more than just yourself to make. This will result in you being forced to dabble a little in every department, and that helps you communicate better in a proper team scenario down the line, and also, it's really, really just common sense.

Even if you follow these steps, you'll likely have a few games that end up being duds. It happens to the best of us; even the professional world is full of game concepts that just don't work out. It's okay. It's fine.

The most important thing is that you learn and grow somehow with every project. Try something new, learn a new approach to things, practice a new programming concept. If this ends up being your thing, odds are you'll enjoy the ocassional experiment with some new idea you've had just as much as you enjoy building proper games. In the event this ends up not being your thing, don't feel bad! You tried something new and learned a lot. Maybe you've found out that you're a graphics only kind of person or a rockin' composer, but your experience here will help you understand game design better and, who knows, maybe someday that'll come back and aid you.

Maybe you're starting out imitating an arcade classic like Asteroids or Breakout, or maybe you're off to make Mario fan games. There's the strong possibility, even, that you're going to ignore all of my warnings and jump right into making an RPG or RTS from scratch, and frankly more power to you. It's your choice. GM has the versatility, as long as you're willing to pursue the ability. It won't do everything for you, but it can be a useful tool once you learn how to weild it.

No matter what your goals, you're bound to come out of it having learned something. I would know, because to this day I'm still totally the exact sort of guy I'm warning you about; the guy who shoots for the moon, then crashes and burns. And if you intend to ignore my warnings, honestly, I would have too, probably. That's fine! Stick with it, and you'll be amazed at what you can do (once you reel it in a little, anyway, and work out a smaller project. If you hit that point, might I recommend you partake in Ludum Dare[www.ludumdare.com] or a GM competition? You could surprise yourself!)

Have fun, take your time, and do your best!



Zaron is an experienced blunderer who is trying to save you from his own mistakes, as well as those he sees all too often. His credits include Revival, Draliens, and Lost World Lucy. He tends to spit his games out here[hamstapowah.com].