TABLE OF CONTENTS
GameMaker Overview ........................................................................................... 3
Loading GameMaker ............................................................................................. 4
Using the Joystick or Keyboard ............................................................................. 5
Getting Started/Creating a Simple Animation Program ......................................... 6
The GameMaker Editor ......................................................................................... 17
SceneMaker .......................................................................................................... 26
SpriteMaker ........................................................................................................... 36
SoundMaker .......................................................................................................... 44
MusicMaker ........................................................................................................... 52
Advanced Game Design ....................................................................................... 60
GameMaker Commands ....................................................................................... 72
GameMaker Helpful Hints and Cautions ............................................................... 93
Saving and Loading ............................................................................................... 96
Printing Your Program ........................................................................................... 98
Error Messages ..................................................................................................... 98
Games, Scenes, Sprites, Sounds
and Music Included on your GameMaker Disk ...................................................... 100
Color Chart for SceneMaker/SpriteMaker .............................................................. 104
Note Chart for SoundMaker ................................................................................... 104
Instrument Chart for SoundMaker ......................................................................... 105
GameMaker Positioning Coordinates .................................................................... 105
GameMaker OVERVIEW
Now you can create your own animated computer graphics and games just like the best professional designers with GameMaker by Garry Kitchen.
It’s an easy to use tool that lets you create background scenes, design characters, create music and sound effects and put them all together in a program. Or you can choose from backgrounds and characters already created and saved for you, plus a great selection of pre-programmed music and sound effects.
Everything you need to put together your animation programs or games is included in GameMaker. We’ve also included several pre-programmed games – Chopper, a brand new game designed with GameMaker by John Van Ryzin, and two old favorites -- MegaMania™ and Pitfall! ™, adapted by Dan Kitchen using the GameMaker program. Plus there are many more games and surprises included in GameMaker that guarantee you hours of playing and programming fun. (You will find a complete list of all the pre-programmed game elementsat the back of the manual.)
This manual is organized into several parts. We recommend you begin by learning how to load GameMaker into your computer in the Loading GameMaker section. Then read Using the Joystick or Keyboard to learn how to use the joystick controller with GameMaker.
Next, go through the Getting Started/Creating a Simple Animation Program section. This section takes you step-by-step through creating your first program. Once you’ve gone through this section, you’re on your way! The rest of the manual can then be used for more advanced programming ideas.
The GameMaker Editor section discusses the commands you’ll use to put your program together.
The SceneMaker section tells you how to create computer graphics for scenes.
The SpriteMaker section explains how to create characters and objects and how to make them animate.
The SoundMaker section describes how to make and use a variety of sound effects.
And the MusicMaker section explains how to arrange creative musical scores for your programs or games.
The section on Advanced Game Design describes the various commands you’ll use to connect all the parts of your program together. In the introduction to the section, Garry Kitchen offers some valuable ideas concerning what goes into designing a game. By looking at each of the commands used to create a game called Archer™, you will see how a complete game is created using GameMaker. For a description of all the commands available in GameMaker, consult the GameMaker Commands section. A GameMaker Reference Card is included in your GameMaker package for handy reference to all the programming commands
We recommend you play with GameMaker. It’s a program designed for experimentation, creativity and fun.
LOADING GameMaker
· Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set up your computer system.
· Insert the GameMaker disk into your disk drive and turn the drive on. Then turn on your computer.
· If using a Commodore 64, type:
LOAD ” * ”,8,1 and press RETURN.
· If using a Commodore 128, type:
--GO64 and press RETURN.
--Then type: Y and press RETURN.
--Then type: LOAD “*”,8,1 and press RETURN.
When the program loads into your computer, you’ll see the GameMaker Title screen.
To start the program:
· Your joystick should be in the first joystick port.
· Press the joystick button. The GameMaker Editor screen will appear.
USING THE JOYSTICK OR KEYBOARD
GameMaker uses a joystick plugged into the first joystick prot for programming. In the games you create, however, you can use two joysticks. (We’ll explain more later in the Advanced Game Design and GameMaker Commands sections.)
Selecting Commands
To execute and command with GameMaker, you must first select it. In this manual, whenever you’re instructed to select something, it means:
1) Move the joystick until the pointer is on the object to be selected. This can be a command or an area on the screen.
2) Press the joystick button.
Try it out! Move the arrow to the menu command at the upper right corner of the Editor screen. Now press the joystick button. You’ve just told GameMaker you want to go to the Main Menu by selecting the command. The Main Menu is now on your screen.
You don’t need to type ormemorize any programming commands. Using GameMaker is simply a matter of selecting commands or areas of the screen.
NOTE: You can use the function keys on the right side of your keyboard instead of a joystick. The space bar substitutes for the button. For a complete explanation, see GameMaker Helpful Hints on page 94.
GETTING STARTED/
CREATING A SIMPLE ANIMATION PROGRAM
Designing a program is like building something: a model plane, a house, a chair—any object that must be designed and constructed in pieces, then put together. It involves having an idea of what you want the final product to look like, then putting the pieces together to make it look like you want it to look.
Let’s create a simple animation program using GameMaker. If you’ve followed the instructions to the end of Using the Joystick or Keyboard section, you should be at the GameMaker Main Menu. If you’re not there, use the joystick to move the pointer to the menu command. Press the button. The Main Menu will return to your screen.
To begin:
· Use the joystick to move the pointer to the editor command.
· Press the button. (Remember, this is called selecting a command.)
· You now see the GameMaker Editor screen. The program that you see listed on the screen is the program that makes the Title Screen of GameMaker.
Let’s clear the screen. To do so:
· Select the clr command at the right of the screen.
· At the top of the screen, you’ll see the message:
clear the program area?
[yes] [no]
· Move the pointer to yes and press the button.
The first thing we’ll do in the program is use a “scene”. Scenes are explained in detail in the SceneMaker section of the manual. For now:
· Move the pointer until it points to the small tab at the bottom right corner of the Command Window (where you see add 0000 to score 1).
· Press the button. The tab will start flashing.
· Pull back on the joystick until you see four or five commands displayed in the Command Window at once.
This will make it easier to find the commands you’ll need for creating your animation program.
· Press the button again. The Tab will stop flashing.
· Move the pointer to the small arrow at the bottom left of the Command Window.
· Press the button. You will see the commands scroll up into the window, one at a time. (Push up or pull back on the joystick while pressing the button to scroll quickly.)
NOTE: To scroll in the reverse direction, point to the arrow at the top left corner of the Command Window and press the button.
· Scroll through the commands until you reach the command:
scene 1 is [ ]
NOTE: The commands in the Command Window are listed alphabetically , so you always know in which direction to scroll to find a particular command.
· Release the button to stop scrolling.
· Use the joystick to move the pointer until it points to the beginning of the command.
· Press the button.
The command will appear in the Program Area of the screen. You’ve just written your first programming command.
The pointer will be pointing to the 1 in the command. Notice that the 1 is highlighted.
· Press the button. You’ll notice a message at the bottom of the screen that says:
loading catalog
GameMaker is now loading all of the scenes that were previously created and saved with SceneMaker on this side of the disk. When the catalog is finished loading, you will be pointing to the name Archer.
· Move the joystick forward. You’ll see the next scene in the catalog. Keep pushing up on the joystick until you reach jungl2.
· Press the button to load jungl2 into your program.
There! See how easy it is! You’ve just completed your first programming instruction.
NOTE: If you select the wrong command by mistake, you can correct it in one of two ways. First, point to the beginning of the command in the Program Area and press the button. (If you’re too far to the left of the command, you’ll see a label number appear—l001. Don’t worry about this for now. Move the pointer just to the left of the beginning of the command
and press the button. You know you’ve “selected” a command when it becomes highlighted.) Now, you can either 1) find the correct command in the Command Window, point to it, and press the button; the new command will automatically replace the old one. Or 2) Point to the del command at the far right of the screen and press the button; the command will be deleted from the Program Area.
Let’s run your program. To do so:
· Select the run command.
You should now see a picture with three trees on a grassy plain on the top half of your screen and a black cavern on the bottom half. You are running your program, even though it has only one programming instruction!
· To get back to the Editor screen, press the button.
NOTE: From now on, we will be “selecting” various commands. Whenever we use the word “select,” this will mean:
· Find the correct command by scrolling through the commands in the Command Window until the one for which you are looking appears.
· Point to the command you want.
· Press the button, thereby adding the command to your program at the location of the blinking cursor in the Program Area.
Now you’re ready to add some characters or “sprites” to your program. You’ll want your characters to appear in your scene.
The “catalog” of sprites that have already been created with SpriteMaker and saved for you are on the reverse side of the GameMaker disk. Before
proceeding, take out the disk, turn it over and insert the disk, label down, in your disk drive.
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