RekNepZ
GMC Historian
The year is 2006 and I'm 10 years old. My friend learns about a program that can be used to make games! We wait an hour for the download on the slow dial-up internet that was outdated even back then, and get started. We're both hooked and, after a few months and lots of pestering, we get the $20 for the full registered edition. This is how a lot of people first used GameMaker. Kids and teens getting their first start in game development with this simple free program.
Now, unfortunately, I feel such an experience is impossible for much of today's youth. Sure there is a one-month free trial, but after that you've gotta commit to $50 for a year. To adults that sounds like a pretty good deal, but that's quite a lot when you're a kid. If I were a 10-year-old today I probably never would have gotten started in this hobby, and I feel it's the same for many other people.
I will concede that having so many young people did give GM a mixed reputation. The sites for GM games were usually spammed with tutorial edits and the forums were often toxic. Yet, out of this came communities that still survive to this day; and also came some of the biggest names in Game Maker. If the program was priced like it is now, would we ever have seen people like Cactus, Jwaap, Messhof, or numerous other rising to stardom? I feel that with YYG's heavy focus on making things "professional" and making big profits we've lost something quite special; that may even come back to bite us.
YoyoGames has got to make profits somehow, and maybe it's all for the best, but I think we've lost the once-close community that made GameMaker special to me. By not having any sort of permanent free version; even with the severely-reduced functionality of older versions, I feel this has turned into just another group of 20-30-something year-old indi-devs focused only on their own success. Many may see this as an improvement, but I personally greatly miss what's been lost.
Now, unfortunately, I feel such an experience is impossible for much of today's youth. Sure there is a one-month free trial, but after that you've gotta commit to $50 for a year. To adults that sounds like a pretty good deal, but that's quite a lot when you're a kid. If I were a 10-year-old today I probably never would have gotten started in this hobby, and I feel it's the same for many other people.
I will concede that having so many young people did give GM a mixed reputation. The sites for GM games were usually spammed with tutorial edits and the forums were often toxic. Yet, out of this came communities that still survive to this day; and also came some of the biggest names in Game Maker. If the program was priced like it is now, would we ever have seen people like Cactus, Jwaap, Messhof, or numerous other rising to stardom? I feel that with YYG's heavy focus on making things "professional" and making big profits we've lost something quite special; that may even come back to bite us.
YoyoGames has got to make profits somehow, and maybe it's all for the best, but I think we've lost the once-close community that made GameMaker special to me. By not having any sort of permanent free version; even with the severely-reduced functionality of older versions, I feel this has turned into just another group of 20-30-something year-old indi-devs focused only on their own success. Many may see this as an improvement, but I personally greatly miss what's been lost.