RekNepZ
GMC Historian
So I made a few topics on the old site with the history of Game Maker and GMC, so I figured I'd put them all together here (and make a few updates).
Also, here's a timeline of every moderator this site has had
Old topic (including More fun factoids + quiz from user NakedPaulTost): https://web.archive.org/web/20191207060224/https://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=644590
-1999. Mark Overmars, a professor at Utrecht University in The Netherlands, begins developing an animation designer called "Animo", which later becomes "Game Maker"
-15 November, 1999. Game Maker 1.1 is the first version to be released to the public, shortly followed by 1.1-1.4 .
-February, 2000. Game Maker reaches 1000 downloads.
-September, 2000. Game Maker 2.0 released.
-Early 2001. Game Maker 3.0 released. Popularity increases.
-July 2001. Game Maker 4.0 released. GM4 was a complete re-write featuring a multiplayer system and a new red logo
-2003. gamemaker.nl released as the program's first website dedicated entirely to it.
-April 2003. Game Maker 5.0 is released and includes timelines, data file resources, and a complete facelift to the interface.
-September 2003. Game Maker 5.1 released as the first version to include feature restricted to a registered version of the game (such as the new particles system). Game Maker Community released around the same time.
-Sometime in 2003. Game Make reaches 1 million downloads.
-October 2004. Game Maker 6.0 released. 6.0 introduced the first d3d functions, as well as the fonts resource and a re-written sounds system
-2005 Game Maker is featured in several TV programs and competitions, increasing it's popularity. GM6.1 is also released.
-June 2006. The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners is released as the first book for Game Maker.
-January 2007. Development of the program is turned over to new company YoYoGames, though Mark Overmars is still a lead developer
-February 2007. Game Maker 7.0 is released, though features few major changes to the actual program.
-April 2007. The official Game Maker website is moved from gamemaker.nl to yoyogames.com. YoYogames.com includes a way to upload your games, as well as a way to play, rate, and comment on games by others, as well as including it's own forums.
-November 2007. Yoyogames hosts it's first major competition with the theme "winter" and a 1st-place prize of $1000. five similar competitions follow throughout the next few years.
-September 2009. YoYoGames announces a contest to design a new logo for the upcoming Game Maker 8. We don't like to talk about this part...
-December 2009. Game Maker 8.0 is released and includes numerous fixes and improvements to the previous versions, as well as a new logo
. December also saw the launch of competition 5 where contestants were asked to create a handheld game, particularly for the PSP. This marked the start of Game Maker being used for systems other than windows. While the PSP connection eventually fell through, it lead to the creation of Game Maker Studio several years later.
-July 2010. Nal becomes the first of many people from the Game Maker community to join the YoYoGames team.
-August 2010. GM4Mac is released as the first public Game Maker version to allow exportation to a non-Windows platform. It did not include a free version like the windows version did.
-October 2010. YoYoGames releases SkyDiver Match II, it's first game to be released for iPhones. October 2010 also saw the release of The Game Maker's Companion, a more advanced squeal to The Game Maker's Apprentice.
-March 2011. Game Maker 8.1 is released and includes an improved room and various other improvements. It also required users who had bought Game Maker before the release of GM8 to re-purchase the paid version for $25.
-July 2011. New YoYoGames website is launched under the same domain. the previous site is changed to "sandbox."
-September 2011. Game Maker for HTML5 beta is released, allowing for development of in-browser games.
-May 2012. After a long wait, Game Maker Studio is finally released. Studio allows for exportation to multiple platforms, as well as multiple updates to Game Maker itself. Also in late May, the YoYoGames forums had a severe hacking, requiring them to be shut-down. In responce, Game Maker Community adds an Off-Topic section to accommodate YYGF users.
-October 2014. YoYo Games releases the Beta version of Game Maker: Player. Player allows people to play games by others and is intended as a replacement to the Sandbox.
-September 2015. Undertale is released and quickly becomes Game Maker's most popular game
-15 November, 1999. Game Maker 1.1 is the first version to be released to the public, shortly followed by 1.1-1.4 .
-February, 2000. Game Maker reaches 1000 downloads.
-September, 2000. Game Maker 2.0 released.
-Early 2001. Game Maker 3.0 released. Popularity increases.
-July 2001. Game Maker 4.0 released. GM4 was a complete re-write featuring a multiplayer system and a new red logo
-2003. gamemaker.nl released as the program's first website dedicated entirely to it.
-April 2003. Game Maker 5.0 is released and includes timelines, data file resources, and a complete facelift to the interface.
-September 2003. Game Maker 5.1 released as the first version to include feature restricted to a registered version of the game (such as the new particles system). Game Maker Community released around the same time.
-Sometime in 2003. Game Make reaches 1 million downloads.
-October 2004. Game Maker 6.0 released. 6.0 introduced the first d3d functions, as well as the fonts resource and a re-written sounds system
-2005 Game Maker is featured in several TV programs and competitions, increasing it's popularity. GM6.1 is also released.
-June 2006. The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners is released as the first book for Game Maker.
-January 2007. Development of the program is turned over to new company YoYoGames, though Mark Overmars is still a lead developer
-February 2007. Game Maker 7.0 is released, though features few major changes to the actual program.
-April 2007. The official Game Maker website is moved from gamemaker.nl to yoyogames.com. YoYogames.com includes a way to upload your games, as well as a way to play, rate, and comment on games by others, as well as including it's own forums.
-November 2007. Yoyogames hosts it's first major competition with the theme "winter" and a 1st-place prize of $1000. five similar competitions follow throughout the next few years.
-September 2009. YoYoGames announces a contest to design a new logo for the upcoming Game Maker 8. We don't like to talk about this part...
-December 2009. Game Maker 8.0 is released and includes numerous fixes and improvements to the previous versions, as well as a new logo
-July 2010. Nal becomes the first of many people from the Game Maker community to join the YoYoGames team.
-August 2010. GM4Mac is released as the first public Game Maker version to allow exportation to a non-Windows platform. It did not include a free version like the windows version did.
-October 2010. YoYoGames releases SkyDiver Match II, it's first game to be released for iPhones. October 2010 also saw the release of The Game Maker's Companion, a more advanced squeal to The Game Maker's Apprentice.
-March 2011. Game Maker 8.1 is released and includes an improved room and various other improvements. It also required users who had bought Game Maker before the release of GM8 to re-purchase the paid version for $25.
-July 2011. New YoYoGames website is launched under the same domain. the previous site is changed to "sandbox."
-September 2011. Game Maker for HTML5 beta is released, allowing for development of in-browser games.
-May 2012. After a long wait, Game Maker Studio is finally released. Studio allows for exportation to multiple platforms, as well as multiple updates to Game Maker itself. Also in late May, the YoYoGames forums had a severe hacking, requiring them to be shut-down. In responce, Game Maker Community adds an Off-Topic section to accommodate YYGF users.
-October 2014. YoYo Games releases the Beta version of Game Maker: Player. Player allows people to play games by others and is intended as a replacement to the Sandbox.
-September 2015. Undertale is released and quickly becomes Game Maker's most popular game
Late 2000/early 2001: The first version of Game Maker Community is created as a single-board forum. The only staff at first is Mark Overmars (creator of Game Maker for you noobies), but he soon promotes Andrew Gilbert (known there as StudiosOfAndyG) as the site's first moderator.
March 16th, 2001: A new forum is created powered by EZBoard with such amazing features as multiple boards and the ability to remove posts.
September 17th, 2001: Mark O. posts this message about the 9/11 attacks;
August 12th, 2002: DT becomes the first user to be promoted to administrator.
October 6th, 2002: A new forum is started using Invision Power Board (IP.Board) due to an increase in popups and other improved features.
January 15th, 2003: The forums are moved back to EZBoard due to issues with the IP.Board site. The site gets a reskinning.
October 4th, 2003: The forums are moved to IP.Board again, this time permanently, under the address "forums.gamemaker.nl". This is the base for the site used today.
October 2003 - December 2004: GMC goes through a "dark period" in which very few topics or archive.org snapshots exist. Somewhere in this time, DT steps down as admin and is replaced by Richard and Chronic. At the end of this time, the forums are upgraded at IP.Board2.0 and a majority of topics are removed.
Winter, 2005: Damaged is promoted to admin.
August 27th, 2005: Much like Blue's Clue's "Mr. Steve", Richard steps down from his post as admin to go to college. He is replaced by Jodder
January 13th, 2007: Jodder is replaced by Smarty as an admin.
January 26th, 2007: Game Maker is taken over by YoYoGames, causing much controversy. Various YYG staff members pop in and out as admins for the next few years, YoYoJim being the most prominent.
April 15th, 2007: Following the creation of yoyogames.com as the new Game Maker website, the GMC's domain is changed to the current one; "gmc.yoyogames.com"
November 8th, 2007: YYG hosts the first of 6 official competitions. The first one's theme is "winter" and is won by 2Dcube with his game "Frozzed."
April 1st, 2008: Frustrated with the attitudes of some people on the site, Smarty resigns from his post as an administrator. He's later replaced by KC LC.
April 22nd, 2008: For YYG's third competition, the community gets to chose the theme. The winner is Qwertyman's nomination, "cooperation".
December 2nd, 2009: Due to the massive uproar against a new logo chosen for Game Maker (aka: Smileycog), FredFredrickson leads an effort to redesign it, eventually coming up with the logo used for GM8 (
)
August, 2010: KC LC resigns for "personal reasons" and is never seen again...
She is later replaced by FredFredrickson and Xot.
January 4th, 2011: Frustrated by the end of official YYG competitions, dadio suggests a community-led one that eventually turns into the first GMC Jam.
February 17th, 2012: Nocturne joins the YYG staff and begins his "reign of terror" as admin.
May 30th, 2012: After an attack on the 23rd, the YYG forums are shut down. Because of this, GMC gets an off-topic board, something that had been out of the question since after the EZBoard days, and the YYG mods join the GMC staff. Despite what many predicted, GMC kept its name.
Early 2013: Admin status is reduced to be only YYG staff, ending Chronic's nearly-10-year time as an admin. FredFredrickson, Trollsplater, and xot are also demoted.
June 2016: Nearly five months after the original planned date, and after two months of complete downtime, the site is finally moved from IP.Board to XenForo
December 17th 2019 The old IP.Board GMC is deleted
March 16th, 2001: A new forum is created powered by EZBoard with such amazing features as multiple boards and the ability to remove posts.
September 17th, 2001: Mark O. posts this message about the 9/11 attacks;
Dear forum users,
Although I fully understand peoples feelings about what happened in the US I would like to ask you all to stop using this forum to post your opinions about it. There are other forums and places where you can ventilate your sorrow, anger or fear. Let us keep this forum to a forum about game maker.
Mark Overmars
August 12th, 2002: DT becomes the first user to be promoted to administrator.
October 6th, 2002: A new forum is started using Invision Power Board (IP.Board) due to an increase in popups and other improved features.
January 15th, 2003: The forums are moved back to EZBoard due to issues with the IP.Board site. The site gets a reskinning.
October 4th, 2003: The forums are moved to IP.Board again, this time permanently, under the address "forums.gamemaker.nl". This is the base for the site used today.
October 2003 - December 2004: GMC goes through a "dark period" in which very few topics or archive.org snapshots exist. Somewhere in this time, DT steps down as admin and is replaced by Richard and Chronic. At the end of this time, the forums are upgraded at IP.Board2.0 and a majority of topics are removed.
Winter, 2005: Damaged is promoted to admin.
August 27th, 2005: Much like Blue's Clue's "Mr. Steve", Richard steps down from his post as admin to go to college. He is replaced by Jodder
January 13th, 2007: Jodder is replaced by Smarty as an admin.
January 26th, 2007: Game Maker is taken over by YoYoGames, causing much controversy. Various YYG staff members pop in and out as admins for the next few years, YoYoJim being the most prominent.
April 15th, 2007: Following the creation of yoyogames.com as the new Game Maker website, the GMC's domain is changed to the current one; "gmc.yoyogames.com"
November 8th, 2007: YYG hosts the first of 6 official competitions. The first one's theme is "winter" and is won by 2Dcube with his game "Frozzed."
April 1st, 2008: Frustrated with the attitudes of some people on the site, Smarty resigns from his post as an administrator. He's later replaced by KC LC.
April 22nd, 2008: For YYG's third competition, the community gets to chose the theme. The winner is Qwertyman's nomination, "cooperation".
December 2nd, 2009: Due to the massive uproar against a new logo chosen for Game Maker (aka: Smileycog), FredFredrickson leads an effort to redesign it, eventually coming up with the logo used for GM8 (
August, 2010: KC LC resigns for "personal reasons" and is never seen again...
She is later replaced by FredFredrickson and Xot.
January 4th, 2011: Frustrated by the end of official YYG competitions, dadio suggests a community-led one that eventually turns into the first GMC Jam.
February 17th, 2012: Nocturne joins the YYG staff and begins his "reign of terror" as admin.
May 30th, 2012: After an attack on the 23rd, the YYG forums are shut down. Because of this, GMC gets an off-topic board, something that had been out of the question since after the EZBoard days, and the YYG mods join the GMC staff. Despite what many predicted, GMC kept its name.
Early 2013: Admin status is reduced to be only YYG staff, ending Chronic's nearly-10-year time as an admin. FredFredrickson, Trollsplater, and xot are also demoted.
June 2016: Nearly five months after the original planned date, and after two months of complete downtime, the site is finally moved from IP.Board to XenForo
December 17th 2019 The old IP.Board GMC is deleted
Also, here's a timeline of every moderator this site has had
Old topic (including More fun factoids + quiz from user NakedPaulTost): https://web.archive.org/web/20191207060224/https://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=644590
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