• Hey Guest! Ever feel like entering a Game Jam, but the time limit is always too much pressure? We get it... You lead a hectic life and dedicating 3 whole days to make a game just doesn't work for you! So, why not enter the GMC SLOW JAM? Take your time! Kick back and make your game over 4 months! Interested? Then just click here!

Should I get prior experience first?

G

GameMakerGuy

Guest
Hello! I am irrelevant! I have decided to use GMS for my first journey into making games. I have NO prior experience and am wondering whether I should get prior coding experience or if I could jump straight into GML?
If I am able to do the latter, Could you provide good sources of learning?

Thanks.
 

Roldy

Member
There are plenty of tutorials on this site: https://www.yoyogames.com/learn

Both for DnD and GML. Nothing stopping you from going through those and learning what they have to teach.

Go through the Space Rocks tutorial. After it is complete come up with ideas and modify that game.
 

woods

Member
GMS is a great place to start ..and there are alot of helpful/friendly people here willing to lend a hand.
i would suggest starting out with learning the basic basic parts of game maker.. the manual is your best friend ;o) read that thing every time you open a project.. every time you come across a new function.

poke around and find some tutorials focus mainly on "how things work"... instead of "make this in x hours!" you will get more out of it ;o)
if you understand the logic behind something.. you can modify it or make similar that meets YOUR needs (every game is different)
if you find you dont know how to make a thing happen.. do some research, look up similar things and how its done.. then if you still cant get it, come to the forums and ask for some assistance.
if you show that you have put in some work, most people here will be glad to match you effort and lend a hand.

biggest piece of advice i can give, is start small and dont start on your "dream project" until you have a firm stance.
work on bits and pieces.. small demos/concepts and such.
when you get comfortable, then start making an actual game..

work you way up to it ;o)
ive found its alot easier than beating my head against a brick wall (which i still do from time to time)


and btw... welcome aboard
 

Kezarus

Endless Game Maker
Welcome aboard, me hearty!

Well, as stated above:
  • Do tutorials;
  • Change tutorials projects;
  • The manual is your friend, read it when in doubt;
  • If you need help, the GM community is here;
After that, if you want to make a game start VERY small. Plan it. Finish it. Publish it (itch.io is free). Rinse and repeat.

Good luck! =]
 

Toque

Member
Just jump into GML. Do some beginner tutorials. Start small. Make a fun little game. It’s a bit overwhelming at first. But it will slowly make sense.

Have fun. Celebrate small victories.
 

samspade

Member
Hello! I am irrelevant! I have decided to use GMS for my first journey into making games. I have NO prior experience and am wondering whether I should get prior coding experience or if I could jump straight into GML?
If I am able to do the latter, Could you provide good sources of learning?

Thanks.
I offer this: https://samspadegamedev.com/learn-to-code!

Going through both the space rocks tutorial and the GML Fundamentals tutorial (though I'm biased of course) I think is a great way to get a solid understanding of both how GameMaker and GML work. I'd probably start with the space rocks tutorial or at least do both together unless pure theory is your idea of a good time.
 
D

Deleted member 45063

Guest
I am irrelevant!
I disagree! Everyone is relevant in some way!

if I could jump straight into GML?
You can, GML is quite a flexible language and an easy one to learn. You can always fallback to the Drag and Drop interface if you don't want to venture to the coding part at first, as an alternative. However, there is an awesome manual, several good tutorials and more than enough people willing to help newcomers. The best thing you can do is have fun and tinker with any piece of game logic you can get your hands on, change it and keep changing until you understand how it works, how to make it do what you want and how to apply it in a different setting. Then take that knowledge and move on to the next project. From small to big, even just a Catch the Clown game can give a tremendous motivation for a game developer that's learning the ropes
 

Let's Clone

Member
Welcome to Game Maker!

I would strongly advise you to avoid using drag n drop. It can be used for making a game, but I personally think the joy of dev is in the absolute knowledge of how the game works.

When I started coded I immediately found joy in recreating classic games. So I've started a tutorial channel where I teach how to make clones of classics. If you're interested in that type of tutorial then please check out my channel: LetsClone
 
Top