Software's Information

Game Maker is a proprietary software application written by Mark Overmars in the Delphi programming language. Overmars released the first public version on November 15, 1999. It is currently at version 7.

Originally, Game Maker was named Animo as a graphics creation tool, and eventually was programmed into an Easy Development Tool for programming specifically for inexperienced programmers.


Game Maker's primary development interface uses a drag-and-drop system, allowing users unfamiliar with traditional programming to intuitively create games by visually organizing icons on the screen. Game Maker comes with a set of standard action libraries, covering such things as movement, basic drawing, and simple control structures. To extend the drag-and-drop functionality of Game Maker, users can use custom-built action libraries to add new actions (drag-and-drop command icons) to their games. These can be created (generally by more advanced users) using the official special library builder tool.


This program is designed to allow its users to easily develop computer games without having to learn a complex programming language such as C++ or Java. For experienced users, Game Maker contains a built-in scripting programming language called the Game Maker Language (GML), allowing the user to further customize their game and expand features. Games can be distributed under any license subject to the terms of Game Maker's EULA, in non-editable executable .exe files or as .gmk (Version 7.x), .gm6 (Version 6.x), .gmd (Version 5.x and 4.x), and .gmf (Version 3 and below) (source code) source files. Users of Game Maker are allowed to distribute and even sell their creations as long as they comply with the terms of the Game Maker EULA, which prohibits a number of illicit programs such as those which involve unauthorized use of copyrighted material or those which are unlawful in general.


Game Maker is becoming more widely known and used. It has attracted a substantial number of users; mainly because of the program's accessibility to beginners while still allowing complex tasks to be undertaken by more advanced users. It is not as narrow in game creation as some other programs, as it allows the creation of many types of games, including platform games, first-person shooters, third-person shooters, massively multiplayer online games and construction and management simulation games. It is also possible to create standard applications with Game Maker.

Features

As of November 2007, Game Maker is at version 7, released on February 28. It still incorporates the use of Direct3D, allowing the usage of limited 3D graphics, and adds limited support for simple 3D models. Converters make it possible to use more popular 3D formats such as .3ds, and .obj for use in a 3D project. It also supports the ability to create certain particle effects such as rain, snow, and clouds easily.

Game Maker is available in an unregistered version ('Lite') free of charge and a registered version ('Pro'). The registered version, which costs €15, $20, or £10, extends the features available in the program, such as the ability to incorporate DLLs, take advantage of Direct3D, use particles, and utilize advanced drawing functions. The free version displays a small Game Maker advertisement during the loading of the game, while the registered version removes the advertisement, giving a more professional feel to the finished game.

Game Maker's runner program has improved over the years and gained wider functionality, particularly in the graphics area, allowing for easy alpha adjustments and blending settings for sprites and other shapes. Starting with version 6, Game Maker has adapted to the use of DirectX 8, making some of these effects possible, though it has led to an increase in the minimum system requirements.

Game Maker itself is not limited to the functions and abilities included in GML (which is an interpreted language). Game Maker can load and utilize DLLs allowing it to perform tasks it otherwise could not. A number of DLLs have been created for the specific purpose of extending Game Maker, such as providing socket support and allowing MySQL connectivity. As of version 7, the new extension mechanism allows users to easily add dlls, gml scripts and action libraries in neat, pre-built packages.

There are many tools for Game Maker including the Library Maker, a program to create libraries of drag-and-drop functions, and the Extension Maker, which allows for the creation of scripts and functions in GML. Several resource packs can be downloaded on the website. The older versions are also available for download.

System requirements

The following specifications reflect the system requirements of Game Maker's exported executable files. The Game Maker tool has unspecified, but significantly lower requirements.[5]

System Requirements for Game Maker 7.x:

* Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista

* DirectX 8 or later

* DirectX 8 compatible graphics card with at least 32MB of video memory

* Pentium or equivalent processor

* DirectX 8 compatible sound card

* 128 MB of memory or greater (noted only in official Game Maker help file documentation)

* 800x600 (or greater) screen resolution with 16-bit or 32-bit colors

System Requirements for Game Maker 6.x:

* Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP

* DirectX 8 or later

* DirectX 8 compatible graphics card with at least 16MB of video memory (32MB or more recommended)

* Pentium or equivalent processor

* DirectX 8 compatible sound card

* 64 MB of memory or greater (noted only in official Game Maker help file documentation)

* 800x600 (or greater) screen resolution with 16-bit or 32-bit colors

System Requirements for Game Maker 5.x:

* Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP or Windows Vista.

* DirectX 6 or later

* Pentium or equivalent processor

* 800x600 (or greater) screen resolution with 16-bit or 32-bit colors

Note: Versions 6.x and the .exe files from those versions do not work with the Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System, due to an incompatible compression implementation in its creation of executable files. Version 7 of the program, however, works correctly with Vista, as well as most supported functions in versions 5.x and prior. As of June 24th, 2007, Mark Overmars made a program to convert .exe files created with version 6 to work on Windows Vista.

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