The Game Maker's Apprentice

322 Pages·2011·63.28 MB·English

by  Jacob Habgood

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION™
The
Game Maker’s
Apprentice
Game Development

for Beginners
Create PC games the easy way using
Game Maker’s simple drag-and-drop interface
Learn essential game design theory
Make your games more fun!
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Praise for The Game Maker’s Apprentice:
Game Development for Beginners
“Clearly written and illustrated—a superb introduction to interactive
entertainment for our future generation of game creators.”
—Ricki Martin
World Art lead, electronic Arts
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d
e
w. “Provides an excellent first step into game development; teaching game
a
es
nn concepts, terminology, and logic.”
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@k —Mark Swinhoe
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ort
by sn Senior Programmer, Sony computer entertainment europe
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urc “A wealth of game creation know-how, presented in a fun and
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was interactive way.”
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bo —James graves
his
T game Programmer, circle Studio
“A fun and accessible guide to design and programming for gamers who
want to develop their own ideas.”
—Dr. Judy Robertson
lecturer in game Design, glasgow caledonian University
this print for content only—size & color not accurate trim size = 7" x 9.125" spine = 0.78125" 336 page count
For your convenience Apress has placed some of the front
matter material after the index. Please use the Bookmarks
and Contents at a Glance links to access them.
Contents at a Glance
Foreword .......................................................................xiv
AbouttheAuthors ................................................................xvi
AbouttheTechnicalReviewer .....................................................xvii
AbouttheIllustrator .............................................................xviii
Acknowledgments ...............................................................xix
Introduction......................................................................xx
PART 1 ■ ■ ■ Getting Started
■CHAPTER 1 WelcometoGameMaker .......................................3
■CHAPTER 2 YourFirstGame:DevilishlyEasy ................................9
PART 2 ■ ■ ■ Action Games
■CHAPTER 3 MoreActions:AGalaxyofPossibilities .........................41
■CHAPTER 4 TargetthePlayer:It’sFunBeingSquished .....................65
■CHAPTER 5 GameDesign:InteractiveChallenges ..........................85
PART 3 ■ ■ ■ Level Design
■CHAPTER 6 InheritingEvents:MotherofPearl ............................101
■CHAPTER 7 MazeGames:MoreCuteThingsinPeril .......................127
■CHAPTER 8 GameDesign:LevelsandFeatures ...........................149
iv
PART 4 ■ ■ ■ Multiplayer Games
■CHAPTER 9 CooperativeGames:FlyingPlanes ............................169
■CHAPTER 10 CompetitiveGames:PlayingFairwithTanks ..................191
■CHAPTER 11 GameDesign:BalanceinMultiplayerGames ..................211
PART 5 ■ ■ ■ Enemies and Intelligence
■CHAPTER 12 GML:BecomeaProgrammer .................................225
■CHAPTER 13 CleverComputers:PlayingTic-Tac-Toe ........................245
■CHAPTER 14 IntelligentBehavior:AnimatingtheDead ......................259
■CHAPTER 15 FinalWords ..................................................291
■BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................297
■INDEX ......................................................................299
v

P A R T 1
Getting Started
W
elcome to the world of game development. Playing games can be a lot of fun, but
you’reabouttodiscoverwhymakingthemissomuchbetter!
C H A P T E R 1
Welcome to Game Maker
I
fyou’relookingforanenjoyablewaytolearnhowtomakecomputergames,thenthisisthe
bookforyou.Youdon’tneedadegreeincomputerscienceandyouwon’thavetoreadabook
thesizeofatelephonedirectory—everythingyouneedisrighthere.Aslongasyoucanuse
Windowswithoutbreakingintoacoldsweat,youhaveallthequalificationsyouneedtostart
makingyourowngames.Inthechaptersahead,we’llshowyouhowtomakeninecomplete
gamesandpassonsomeofourhard-earnedprofessionalexperienceingamedesignalongthe
way.Already,youarejusttwochaptersawayfromcompletingyourfirstgameandhavetaken
yourfirststepalongthepathofthegamemaker’sapprentice!
Everytradehasitstools,andeverytradesmanknowshowtochoosetherighttoolforthe
job.InthisbookwewillbecreatingallthegamesusingasoftwaretoolforWindowscalled
GameMaker.GameMakerisidealforlearninggamedevelopmentasitallowsyoutostart
makinggameswithouthavingtostudyacompletelynewlanguage.Thismakesthewhole
learningexperiencealoteasierandallowsyoutoconcentrateoncreatinggreatgamedesigns
ratherthangettingboggeddownwiththetechnicalitiesofprogramming.Nonetheless,pro-
gramminglanguagescanoffermanyadvantagestoexperiencedusersandsoGameMaker
alsoincludesitsownlanguage,whichisthereforyoutodiscoverwhenyoufeelreadytouseit.
You’llbepleasedtohearthatthefreeLiteeditionofGameMakerisincludedontheCD
accompanyingthisbook.Allthegamescanbemadeusingthisfreeedition;however,thereare
somespecialeffectsinthelaterchaptersthatwillonlyworkwiththeProeditionofGame
Maker.Ifyouwanttoupgradeyourcopyforthese,oranyoftheotherextrafeaturesthatit
unlocks,youcandoitdirectlyfromwithintheprogramforaverysmallfee(currentlyUS$25).
Installing the Software
Youcan’tbeginmakingthegamesinthisbookuntilyouhavetheGameMakersoftware
installedonyourPC.You’llfindtheinstallprogramintheProgramfolderontheCD,soinsert
thedisc,navigatetotheProgramfolder,andstarttheprogramcalledgmaker_inst.exe.The
formshowninFigure1-1shouldthenappearonthescreen.
3
4 CHAPTER 1 ■ WELCOME TO GAME MAKER
Figure1-1.InstallGameMakerbyfollowingtheinstructionsonthescreen.
ClickNextandfollowtheinstructionsastheyappear.Westronglyrecommendinstalling
theprograminthedefaultdirectory.
■Note GameMakerrequiresafairlymodernPCrunningWindows2000,XP,Vista,orWindows7.You’ll
needaDirectX-compatiblegraphicscardwithatleast32MBofmemoryandDirectX8orlaterinstalledon
yourmachine.ADirectX-compatiblesoundcardisalsorequiredforsoundandmusic.Ifyourmachinedoes
notmeettheserequirements,youmighthaveproblemsrunningGameMakerorthegamescreatedwithit.
Don’tworryifallthistechno-babblemakesnosense—justtryitoutbecauseyou’renotlikelytohaveany
problemsunlessyourPCisveryold.SeethereadmefileintheProgramfolderontheCDforfurtherdetails.
GameMakershouldstartautomaticallyoncetheinstallationhascompleted.Youcanalso
launchitdirectlyfromtheWindowsStartmenuorbydouble-clickingtheGameMakericon
onyourdesktop.ThefirsttimeyourunGameMakeronanewcomputer,youwillbeaskedif
youwanttoruntheprograminAdvancedmode(seeFigure1-2).ClickNoasitwillbeeasier
tostickwiththeSimplemodeforthetimebeing—we’llshowyouhowtoswitchtoAdvanced
modelateron.
Figure1-2.ClickNoattheprompt,aswewanttostartbyusingSimplemode.
CHAPTER 1 ■ WELCOME TO GAME MAKER 5
Upgrading
ThefreeLiteeditionofGameMakerprovidedwiththisbookisfineforlearninghowtomake
allthegamesinthisbook,butsomeofGameMaker’smoreexcitingfeaturesaredisabled
unlessyouupgradetheprogramtotheProedition.Upgradingwillalsoallowyoutocreate
moreprofessional-lookinggamesbyremovingtheGameMakerpop-upmessagethatappears
atthestartofthegames.Untilyouupgrade,aremindermessagewillappeareachtimeyou
runGameMaker,liketheoneshowninFigure1-3.ClickingContinueUsingtheLiteEdition
willmakeitdisappear,butifyouuseGameMakeralot,westronglyencourageyoutoupgrade
it.UpgradingwillsupportthefurtherdevelopmentofGameMakerandensuresthateveryone
whousesitcancontinuetoenjoymakinggamesforyearstocome.Upgradingisveryeasy.
SimplyclickthePurchaseProEditionOnlinebuttonontheremindermessageandfollowthe
instructions.
Figure1-3.SelectContinueUsingtheLiteEditiontostartworkingwithGameMakeror
PurchaseProEditionOnlinetoupgradetotheProedition.
The Global User Interface
Ifeverythinghasgoneaccordingtoplan,thenyoushouldnowbelookingatthewindow
showninFigure1-4.Ifnot,consultthereadmefileintheProgramfolderontheCDforpossible
causesandfurtherinstructions.Ontherightsideofthemainwindowyouwillseeatutorial.
Thereisnoneedtoworkyourwaythroughthistutorialasyouwilllearnallimportantaspects
ofGameMakerinthisbook.SoclicktheHidebuttonbelowthetutorialfornow,andifyou
don’twanttoseethetutorialagainthenremovethecheckmarknexttoShowthetutorialsat
startup.ThefirsttimeyoustartGameMakereachdayyouwillalsoseetheGameMakerNews
windowappear.Thisprovidesinformationaboutnewversions,resources,orcompetitions
andsoisdefinitelyworthkeepinganeyeon.