What are the most succesful commercial games made with GameMaker?

Fern

Member
Both of my projects have earned revenue. Together grossing upwards of $60k over the course of two years and still growing.

The argument that there are no success stories for GM is so old it has its own memorial threads in the previous GMC.
 
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Misu

Guest
Some day, I will make a great game with GMS and release it for the Nintendo Switch and become one of the successful ones as well, sparkling a dim light of pride inside my dead body of depression. I still have faith this will become reality, I have faith it will... Y-Y
 

Fern

Member
Some day, I will make a great game with GMS and release it for the Nintendo Switch and become one of the successful ones as well, sparkling a dim light of pride inside my dead body of depression. I still have faith this will become reality, I have faith it will... Y-Y
A beautiful dream... but avoid HTML5 and Nintendo Flop. HTML5 is a buggy mess for any game that has depth and effort put into it. And Nintendo Switch isn't an indie friendly platform for new comers.
 

dadio

Potato Overlord
GMC Elder
"Jonatan (from Dennaton games) has years and years of experience working with GameMaker so it made sense for him to keep working in that environment. Also our tools don't offer much in the way of authoring the game itself, they're merely designed to create a runtime environment for the converted GameMaker game to run in."

Nice post here by Bml.

I'd just like to add that I always find it odd those people who attempt to tear down GM with the "As soon as x had the resources they moved away from GM, so GM sucks." argument.
It's likely those games would never have existed in the first place without GM. It's not just down to lack of resources that people use GM. I would guess there are far more "creative/designer" types using GM than true "coders". People for whom GM was really their most viable way forward into the whole game making business. GMs easy learning curve, visual workflow, objects/rooms set-up gives creatives/designers the chance to make their ideas reality in a reasonable timeframe. Whatever you may argue GMs shortcomings may be, as a powerful/flexible rapid prototyping tool, and for fast 2D level design out of the box, it towers above pretty much anything else on the market.

There are many GM game success stories, and it can certainly be used to make big commercial games.

If you're looking for a regular 9-5 in the games industry, I would say it depends on what area specifically you were going for. GM (with a few exceptions) isn't so widely used in the bigger studios. If it's a Coder/Programmer position you want, GM is useful to learn the fundamentals, but you would be better served moving into other languages (C etc.) If the position you are targeting is more creative (Game Designer, Level Designer, UI/UX etc.) then GM is a rock solid choice for building a foundation in those areas and getting a portfolio of demonstratable content together. I know plenty of people whose use of GM has landed them industry jobs (myself included.)
 
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0.Bytes

Guest
Hotline Miami is one of my favorites made with game maker, and I guess one of the most successful either
 
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Rukiri

Guest
I consider that a challenge, mister!
I personally think HTML5 is a waste of time for any game that actually has some length to it... html5 games are generally just meh anyway, there are good ones but they're always short.
 
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Misu

Guest
If the position you are targeting is more creative (Game Designer, Level Designer, UI/UX etc.) then GM is a rock solid choice for building a foundation in those areas and getting a portfolio of demonstratable content together. I know plenty of people whose use of GM has landed them industry jobs (myself included.)
Pretty much me on that spot. Even if I recognize myself mostly as a game developer, Im actually in for the creativity only. I just love creating stuff.
 

Juju

Member
I personally think HTML5 is a waste of time for any game that actually has some length to it... html5 games are generally just meh anyway, there are good ones but they're always short.
Is that inherent to the platform? It's, for example, absolutely possible to recreate Link's Awakening in HTML5 and have it playable across desktop and mobile (and console? not sure of the state of HTML5/WebGL support), even using the same save files stored on the server. That it's been the realm of some thoroughly average games is undeniable... but I don't think that's a reason to dismiss the entire platform.
 
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Rukiri

Guest
Is that inherent to the platform? It's, for example, absolutely possible to recreate Link's Awakening in HTML5 and have it playable across desktop and mobile (and console? not sure of the state of HTML5/WebGL support), even using the same save files stored on the server. That it's been the realm of some thoroughly average games is undeniable... but I don't think that's a reason to dismiss the entire platform.
It's a very limited platform, if you're targeting desktop why bother with html5? Consoles the same reason.
 

Juju

Member
It's a very limited platform, if you're targeting desktop why bother with html5?
Because a single game is not just limited to one platform, because there's no friction for installation, because monetisation strategies fit into well-established systems (selling ad space on websites and in-game) - if that's your goal with the game. The technical limits are still a consideration versus dedicated applications, but they're a lot lower thanks to WebGL (and WebASM in the future?).
 
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Fern

Member
Any time there is a Nintendo switch anywhere I've gone (mostly retail stores), I see that game about slinky arms, the new Zelda, and that's about it. Nintendo DS has loads of indie titles on the other hand, same with the Wii U.
 
So you're saying the Nintendo Switch is unfriendly to indies because demo kiosks are showing the incredible Breath of the Wild instead of some random indie games that 90% of the population wouldn't care about? That doesn't make any sense, Sebastian! :p
From what I've seen, Nintendo is happy to scoop up anybody with a good looking game.
 

JackTurbo

Member
Nintendo are being pretty Indie friendly with the switch in general, the one major thing tho is that they show preferential treatment to indies who are making their console debut on switch. They've stated that theyre less interested in titles that have already been out on PS/Xbox for while, but dont mind steam releases porting over.
 
Nintendo are being pretty Indie friendly with the switch in general, the one major thing tho is that they show preferential treatment to indies who are making their console debut on switch. They've stated that theyre less interested in titles that have already been out on PS/Xbox for while, but dont mind steam releases porting over.
I can see that being true, yeah. Makes sense, though. They only have a limited number of devkits to hand out, so of course they'd rather have new games rather than ports, at least for now.

Unlike Microsoft's old mandate (current too, maybe? Kind of?) which was "release on Xbox first, or we won't take your game, period." that was insanely indie unfriendly, haha!

If Nintendo rejects my game, I of course reserve the right to do a complete 180 on this and b*tch about it in my status updates and stuff - Don't put this post on the record, haha. :^)
 
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Fin

Guest
My favorite Gamemaker game to date is Crashlands. Your same save file can be played on both the computer and phone. Plus the creators have a podcast that is super funny
 

COWCAT

Member
Dunno if that counts as "successful", but I've been able to release my game Demetrios on PC and PS Vita, and PS4 + Xbox One versions are coming next month :)

Nothing amazing when it comes to sales (~3000 units so far) but it's good enough to make a small living and keep on making games full-time for a solo dev like myself!
 

WarpDogsVG

Member
I'd say there is zero correlation between a game's engine and whether it's successful or not. Don't worry too much about specific success stories, and instead know that GMS can pretty much handle whatever you're looking to do
 
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greyzeb

Guest
Has anyone here played Nuclear Throne? That game is very good and I played since it was still Wasteland King on the Humble Bundle.
 
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