I'm learning GML. Anybody else use Game Maker Studio?
Game Maker Studio 2
- Thread starter DJ StoopNig
- Start date
sxng9
Trustee
It's been years since I've messed around with Game Maker Studio. These days, most people are more focused on 3D games and having created 2D games in the past, I don't think I want to go back to pixel art or drawing sprites anymore. I guess it depends on the type of game you're creating, but given that I'm way past my teen years, I don't have that kind of time or luxury to spend months doing pixel or sprite artwork.
If I find the motivation for creating game characters, I'd rather just take a 3D modeling software and just sculpt the characters in something like ZBrush, Blender or 3D Coat. Then create a 3D game. There's no need to worry about hand-drawing different character angles as you would a 2D game.
Anyways, if you're interested in Game Maker Studio, another runner up 2D game making software you can try is Construct 3. The only downside with Construct 3 (or maybe an upside, depending on your preferences), is that Construct 3 is entirely web-based. For 3D game engines, just stick with either Unity or Unreal Engine. Technically, you can use Unity for 2D games as well, but there's a steep learning curve.
If I find the motivation for creating game characters, I'd rather just take a 3D modeling software and just sculpt the characters in something like ZBrush, Blender or 3D Coat. Then create a 3D game. There's no need to worry about hand-drawing different character angles as you would a 2D game.
Anyways, if you're interested in Game Maker Studio, another runner up 2D game making software you can try is Construct 3. The only downside with Construct 3 (or maybe an upside, depending on your preferences), is that Construct 3 is entirely web-based. For 3D game engines, just stick with either Unity or Unreal Engine. Technically, you can use Unity for 2D games as well, but there's a steep learning curve.
I wanted to start with 2D just to make some games for this site. I'll work my way up to 3D in time. This is just for fun; I don't expect to make any money at it.
sxng9
Trustee
How you liking Game Maker Studio so far? I assume you gave it a test drive?
As for me, I'm feeling a bit motivated to go back to sculpting 3D characters again. I work 40+ hours a week and can't seem to feel motivated for anything after work. I have several unfinished projects (not all of it is in 3D artwork or gaming). I have some unfinished projects in personal full-stack web sites and so forth. I've just dug out two of my unfinished 3D characters out of the depths of my computer's hard drive (probably been maybe 8 years since they were last touched). Depending on how far I get, I may decide to re-purpose these 3D characters into a 3D apocalyptic game using Unreal Engine, where the game setting is probably a future time and humanity is in the brinks of total population collapse, as the world is overtaken by niggers. You can think of it similar to The Last of Us, but with the zombies as niggers and during this period, some niggers have even mutated into even more vicious monsters.
I'll see where this goes. If I start losing interest again, I may just have the satisfaction of doing nothing, but 3D character artwork.
OpenPeanut
Trustee
I never finished a computer game because I always get lost in details, and have to reinvent every screw there could be and often I fail at it too :)
First I suggest you try 2D games, perhaps even a 1D zeroD text-adventure or simple "click picture game" to learn the basics of control structures & event handling (depending how your engine works). From what others do and say, the "natural" first steps would be to re-create old classics clones or variations of snake, arkanoid and side scrollers. The first steps the toddler should do so to say.
sxng9 is right, 3D models are the best way to go. You can render them as 2D sprites and they look like 3D if you do it right because it keeps "unlimited details" and they can be drawn cheaply (in performance/energy terms).
Side-scroller (or top/down scrollers) have the advantage that you need to draw only one or two directions for each animation. Other perspectives and 2,5D/3D you will have to draw 4,8,16 etc. times depending on how the character is rotated or tilted, and how many angles you want to "allow". First space shooters like Wing Commander also used sprites, but they had only few angles because of memory consumption so there could be big jumps in the angles when you approached your carrier or other ships.
That's why side-scrollers aka platformer games are recommended to be one of the first things to try out: less animations and a few basic challenges. I haven't made it that far yet 😔
All that drawing can be easier and better done when using 3D models that get rendered into sprites, but it is an art for itself, as is drawing sprites by hand. Snake and Arkanoid don't need "complex" animations like a walking dude. The better you pre-calculate and exactly know what you want the better it will become and that you will reach your goal. Calculate how many animations you want, how many directions and if you want to mirror left/right in a side-scroller (or so) and perhaps how many frames they should be, in advance. The bigger the sprite the more frames you need or the animation may start "flickering" or so. In fact it doesn't make sense to animate things above 25 fps, since that's what the human eye can see. But 15 fps can still look great and you have get an oldschool movements feel.
The experience you gain from this will be of valor for later more time consuming projects, with more caveats and blind spots and challenges and problems. I personally have only little experience with 3D modelling, I believe drawing in 2D is still a little easier than sculpting in 3D, but it's all a matter of technique and repetition and taking lessons. Once you have a 3D model you can render it as a sprite from any angle.
Peek into MagicaVoxel, it's a free voxel editor and that would be something "between" 2D/3D. I think it could be excellent to construct good looking buildings rather quickly (I hope so because the results look great). Maybe they can be used in a side-scroller's background with "classic" parallax scrolling. Or you can build your brick sprites for your "Arkanoid" clone in it first, since I guess playing architect is a little more time consuming.
First I suggest you try 2D games, perhaps even a 1D zeroD text-adventure or simple "click picture game" to learn the basics of control structures & event handling (depending how your engine works). From what others do and say, the "natural" first steps would be to re-create old classics clones or variations of snake, arkanoid and side scrollers. The first steps the toddler should do so to say.
sxng9 is right, 3D models are the best way to go. You can render them as 2D sprites and they look like 3D if you do it right because it keeps "unlimited details" and they can be drawn cheaply (in performance/energy terms).
Side-scroller (or top/down scrollers) have the advantage that you need to draw only one or two directions for each animation. Other perspectives and 2,5D/3D you will have to draw 4,8,16 etc. times depending on how the character is rotated or tilted, and how many angles you want to "allow". First space shooters like Wing Commander also used sprites, but they had only few angles because of memory consumption so there could be big jumps in the angles when you approached your carrier or other ships.
That's why side-scrollers aka platformer games are recommended to be one of the first things to try out: less animations and a few basic challenges. I haven't made it that far yet 😔
All that drawing can be easier and better done when using 3D models that get rendered into sprites, but it is an art for itself, as is drawing sprites by hand. Snake and Arkanoid don't need "complex" animations like a walking dude. The better you pre-calculate and exactly know what you want the better it will become and that you will reach your goal. Calculate how many animations you want, how many directions and if you want to mirror left/right in a side-scroller (or so) and perhaps how many frames they should be, in advance. The bigger the sprite the more frames you need or the animation may start "flickering" or so. In fact it doesn't make sense to animate things above 25 fps, since that's what the human eye can see. But 15 fps can still look great and you have get an oldschool movements feel.
The experience you gain from this will be of valor for later more time consuming projects, with more caveats and blind spots and challenges and problems. I personally have only little experience with 3D modelling, I believe drawing in 2D is still a little easier than sculpting in 3D, but it's all a matter of technique and repetition and taking lessons. Once you have a 3D model you can render it as a sprite from any angle.
Peek into MagicaVoxel, it's a free voxel editor and that would be something "between" 2D/3D. I think it could be excellent to construct good looking buildings rather quickly (I hope so because the results look great). Maybe they can be used in a side-scroller's background with "classic" parallax scrolling. Or you can build your brick sprites for your "Arkanoid" clone in it first, since I guess playing architect is a little more time consuming.
I'm still reading and watching tutorials. Four of the five books I ordered have not even shipped yet (it's been two weeks!), so I won't be purchasing Game Maker until I have read them all.
Right now I'm learning what it can do and it has quite a few built in functions which will come in handy when I start making games. Already, I look at existing games and I understand how they accomplished everything. Tonight, I learned how to make path finding enemies.
I'll keep you all posted on my progress and maybe the trustees can be beta testers for early games?
Right now I'm learning what it can do and it has quite a few built in functions which will come in handy when I start making games. Already, I look at existing games and I understand how they accomplished everything. Tonight, I learned how to make path finding enemies.
I'll keep you all posted on my progress and maybe the trustees can be beta testers for early games?