This article is written by (Wreckedarzz) from DC.
First of all, I would like to apologize if this guide is somewhat sketchy. I tried to make it as simple as possible,Onward and upward!
Step 1: Open up Game Maker!
The first thing you will notice is that you may not have all the options I do. I also have Game Maker Pro, available for $20 (and WELL worth the money!). To get the additional options, go to File ? Advanced mode. Take note that this is NOT required, and I myself rarely use the Advanced options. Additional options can be daunting, so keep what your comfortable with.
Step 2: Make your first sprite
A sprite is a representation of an object. Like if you draw a stop sign, you are showing a visual representation of that object (the stop sign). Same idea.
Go ahead and make your first Sprite. Do this by clicking the little “red pac-man” at the top of Game Maker. You should get a screen similar to the one below:
What you want to do here is go ahead and give your Sprite a Name. Just name it something meaningful that you can look at and instantly know, “oh that is my <whatever>”. Trust me, proper naming now can save you extra time and frustration later.
After doing that, click on the Load Sprite button. You should be dropped in the Game Maker bundled images folder by default. Select any image you like to represent your new Sprite; NOTE that this will be the Object’s image (the Stop sign again: if you want it to look like a stop sign, you need to draw a stop sign (or in this case, select the stop sign image)).
After that, your screen should look like this:
I named my Sprite “MyBall” and chose the Maze Craze 3.0 default ball image to represent it. Go ahead and click the confirmation checkmark & “OK” button in that mini-window.
Step 3: Make it real
So you have a nice little sprite… but it doesn’t represent anything yet! You need to link it to an Object! Fear not, it is as simple as the last step, but can eventually become a very fun step (and several) once you play around with the various Events. Enough big words, more objects!
Now, click on the New Object button – the blue ball at the top. You should get a new mini-window again, and your screen should now look like this:
Notice how it looks similar to the New Sprite window. But there are all these funky buttons and tabs on the right! Gasp!
For the time being, ignore them. We are focusing on making the object, not making the object’s Events. Go and Name your Object (using the same name as the sprite can be very effective at keeping things clean). Then where it says Sprite, click that little menu icon and select your Sprite. Yay! Your done now!
If it is, click OK and proceed to the next step!
Step 4: Roomy is good
Alright, you have your Sprite (visual representation) and your Object (computer representation). Good. Now we need a place to put them (they are now linked, so you will only see the visual representation- the sprite). Go up to the top of the Game Maker window, like so…
And click the button that looks like a window (as in computer program window, not a building window). That is a lot of stuff for such a small space, huh? Lets make it bigger, shall we?
Ah, thats more like it. Now notice the grid there in the main portion of the window, and your sprite is appearing there on the left sidebar. If you create multiple objects, clicking the sprite will show a list of all of them. You can also click the small menu icon below to see the same list. There is a list of key shortcuts and commands as well.
Lets go ahead and place the Object into the Room (the grid there- by the way, the grid can be toggled AND resized to your needs). Do this by simply clicking where you want it to go!
Game Maker should look similar to this::
Step 4: 01101101010101
Alright, you are ready to test. Go ahead and click the OK checkmark there in the top left, and save your work. You should be back at the main Game Maker screen:
Now, click the Green “play” arrow at the top. (The Red arrow is used for debugging, when coding in the Game Maker Language (GML). Most users will not need it, and if they do, only later on with a lot of experience. It can be noted that Maze Craze, the popular game I made with Game Maker Pro, uses NO GML code.)
Your game should compile, and a loading screen appear. Wait for it to load, and you should get your Room, with your Sprite representing your (not visible to you) Object.
Congratulations! Thats it! Tinker with the Events (the buttons on the right of the Object window) and the Room options to get your Object moving. Double clicking items in the left side of the Game Maker window will bring up their Properties windows, allowing you to edit them easily anytime. Almost everything can be customized, including that Loading screen. Enjoy!