Evaluating GameMaker...what would the workflow be like for making an adventure game?

[hathor]

My background is that I have published one game to the Windows Store that I built the engine from scratch on the Monogame framework. I started on this open source project, but it was mostly a learning experience rather than a serious venture http://ruge.metasmug.com/

I found that to be a bit too much work really.

I got the Clickteam software with all the extras from Humble Bundle, but it seems a bit limited. I am not scared scripting code and for certain things I find that preferable. But working with Monogame is an awful lot of work and I was using that more as an intellectual challenge than to start making decent indie games.

Anyway, I have been getting really inspired by this game Fran Bow, and I feel like the interface they created was quite good. I would love to make a point and click adventure game like that, and am wondering how complicated it would be to set up an inventory system like that; if anyone is familiar with that game.

My background is in programming and composing music, I am very new to creating digital art. However I managed to get a 19" drawing tablet monitor where I can draw directly on the screen, and I have Clip Studio Pro and Spriter Pro and Sprite Illuminator. I also have Adobe CC and have plenty of Photoshop experience and some experience with AfterFX which I used to make some music videos. I also played around a bit with Unity and Blender, but nothing really gelled.

Really I am looking for some kind of workflow so I can start on a project and figure out what I am doing. I have too much analysis paralysis and am scattered in way too many directions. I did full stack software development for a decade so I am used to end-to-end "build the kitchen sink" type stuff which is what's appealing to me about game development. But I also want to make some tangible progress by having a specific project to focus on for a few months.

I really need a clearer vision of workflow for how to make a game, starting from drawing backgrounds and characters, being able to rig them for animation, making the characters walk around and interact with hotspots and having some kind of inventory system. Just like the bare basics of workflow that I can start building on to eventually make a game on par with Fran Bow, which would probably take me like 3 years, but I am actually willing to put that into a project.

So I am just wondering if any of you can guide me in the right direction so I can start creating a project instead of bouncing around between learning various tools. If I have learned anything from music production, it is that a reasonably streamlined workflow is the most important thing ever if you are doing something creative and complicated.

Also I have limited income, I am not sure the most cost effective way to get going, like if I bought a 2 pro license, is there an upgrade path to get to Master Collection or am I better off finding someone on Reddit who bought the Humble Bundle and buying the full 1.x collection from them? I would rather learn 2 but I am not really sure how to afford the full bundle and I really would like to be able to export to mac and android at least without breaking the bank.

 

[rIKmAN]

With your previous experience something like this might be worth getting so you can have a look through the code and use it as a basis, or at the very least a learning tool to implementing your own engine within GMS.

I came from a pure coding background too, and I found the hardest thing in GMS was learning how it wanted me to do something that I already knew how to do (in code) that were hidden behind menus and tickboxes etc.

You won't have any trouble with GML either, other than learning the syntax.

I suggest following a few tutorials either from the help, or on youtube and following them through as they will give you a good grounding of the process GMS wants you to follow when going from start to finish.

If you Google around a bit there are loads of things similar to this:

 

[hathor]

Thanks. I don't mind building a game engine, I just don't want to have to completely start from scratch and reinvent the wheel to have a decent amount of flexibility. Monogame was a bit too tedious of workflow for me...I want to actually finish games in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[rIKmAN]

Thanks. I don't mind building a game engine, I just don't want to have to completely start from scratch and reinvent the wheel to have a decent amount of flexibility. Monogame was a bit too tedious of workflow for me...I want to actually finish games in a reasonable amount of time.

You'd be surprised how quick you can get things going once you know the workflow, that's why I suggested following a few tutorials to grasp how GMS expects you to do things, then apply that knowledge to building your own game.

I also forgot a link in my OP (added it now), but this might be useful for you to have a base to work from or expand upon: https://marketplace.yoyogames.com/assets/1810/point-click-adventure-game

 

[hathor]

Cool, I will grab that library and see what kind of ultra basic demo I can come up with to get a feel for the workflow. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it

 

[rIKmAN]

Cool, I will grab that library and see what kind of ultra basic demo I can come up with to get a feel for the workflow. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it

No problem, happy to help.

I would suggest following a few free tutorials and getting the hang of GML before you dive head first into that asset though, the scripts aren't too hard to follow syntactically, but without knowing how GMS expects the various parts to fit together it can be a bit confusing - I had the same issues coming from just pure coding.

 

[Rusty]

Your project's name (Ryoge) means "lazy" in Japanese. Not really relevant to the topic but I thought that might be something you'd really like a heads up about.

 

[Genetix]

I always recommend building a pong or brickbreaker clone from scratch to start off with. They are small enough that anyone can build one with a bit of work, but also cover many areas that are eventually needed when building a full game.

 

[dj_midknight]

Based on your needs Id say GMS is a solid tool with a reasonable workflow. Ive also built several from scratch game engines several other languages, and finally just wanted something simple that would give me all my tools in one place, and can hit multiple platforms.

I would suggest just start with the free version of 1.4 and run through a couple tutorials and make yourself something quick and simple from scratch. Then If your happy with it buy the pro license.