Chapter 16

Ten (Or So) Frequently Asked Questions about GameMaker: Studio

In This Chapter

Getting more tips and tricks

Looking at different types of games to make

This whole book is devoted to demystifying GameMaker: Studio, but you may have a common question and need a quick answer. And if that’s the case, you’ve come to the right spot!

What Types of Games Can I Make with GameMaker: Studio?

The answer to this question is: It’s up to you. Within the software, you find tutorials for several types of games — including scrolling shooters, top-down shooters, breakout games, Angry Birds–style games, and platformers. You could make a classic game such as Asteroids or whatever you dream up.

Whatever game you decide to make, whatever Sprites you decide to use, whatever mechanics you want to develop, GameMaker: Studio provides you the means to make your game, your way.

Can I Run GameMaker: Studio on a Mac?

GameMaker: Studio currently does not run on a Mac. I’ve been told that it’s in development and has recently been accelerated, but in the meantime, you can use a Windows emulator on a Mac to install GameMaker: Studio. For more about Windows emulators, go to http://windows-emulator-software-review.toptenreviews.com.

How Do I Recover My License Key?

When you first boot up GameMaker: Studio, you’ll be asked to enter your license key. But what happens if you lose your license key? Don’t worry, you can always retrieve it from the License Recover page: www.yoyogames.com/support. Simply enter your email address, click the Recover button, and YoYo Games will send you your license key.

How Do I Include Advertising in My Game?

At first, while you’re just starting, you’ll be thinking primarily about making the game itself. However, there will come a time when you’re ready to publish your game. If you’re independently wealthy and you have no desire to make money with your games, you can skip to the next section. But if you’re like most of us, and you have dreams of making a free-to-play game that will be installed a million times over, then you’re going to want to include advertising in your game.

When you start designing your game, think about where you’re going to place your ads within the game. Also think about which advertising platform you want to use. Luckily, YoYo Games has an entire page full of options for your advertising and analytics needs; just go to http://help.yoyogames.com/forums and scroll down to the Ads and Analytics section.

How Do I Activate In-App Purchases?

If you think advertising within a game is pretty hideous and only serves to muck up the game, but you still need to make a living, activating in-app purchases (IAPs) may suit you better. For example, if you make a role-playing game (RPG) full of knights and dragons, and you want to enable the player to purchase horse armor, that would be an IAP. Typically, for the better games, IAPs give the player a chance to buy decorative extras for the game. If you make players pay for items they need to advance in the game, they may not like you very much. Whichever way you want to go, you can find a great online resource for IAPs at http://help.yoyogames.com/forums/22944718-IAPs.

What’s Involved with Publishing My Game?

A topic I don’t go into detail on in this book is how to actually publish your game to all the different platforms available through GameMaker: Studio. Within the software, you can choose from several different Targets for your game. This includes Windows, HTML5, iOS, Android, and more. But what happens if and when you do get a game published? You may be wondering if YoYo Games gets a cut of the profits. Or you may ask whether YoYo Games can help get your game noticed. The answers are all online, my friend. Check out the answers to these questions and more at http://help.yoyogames.com/forums/22958768-Publishing.

When Is a New Feature Coming Out?

New features are added to GameMaker: Studio on a rolling basis. To find the latest new features, go to http://store.yoyogames.com/downloads/gm-studio/release-notes-studio.html.

Did you also know that you can download and install an Early Access version of GameMaker: Studio? That’s right, now you, too, can try out all the new features before they reach the stable build. Got to www.yoyogames.com/studio/download, and click the Download Studio Early Access link to download the Early Access version.

Where Can I Get More Game-Making Tips and Tricks?

This book is filled with tips, tricks, and tutorials for beginners, but a multitude of additional information is available to help you take your game to the next level as you become a Master Game Maker (I made that title up, but I’m sure someone somewhere has declared himself or herself a Master of Game Making). An excellent source for these tips and tricks can be found at http://help.yoyogames.com/forums/22669697-Tutorials-Tips-and-Tricks.

If you’re interested in learning how to make better Sprites, an article that you might appreciate can be found at http://help.yoyogames.com/entries/42578606-Skeletal-Animation-Sprites-Using-Spine-GMS-v1-3-. There, Mark Alexander (the technical editor for this book) discusses using the software Spine, which can be integrated for use with GameMaker.