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 Which version should I buy for these platforms?

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cacklingpumpkins

Guest
Hi! I intend to purchase GameMaker Studio 2 to officially learn game development but I am having a hard time decided which one to get?

There are 4 options in "developer" Desktop, Web, UMP and Mobile. I know that UMP and Mobile are not my main interest but I am not sure if I should get Desktop or Web (or both) nor do I know if it really matters.
One thing that confuses me is if the versions are actually different or if they just export the files differently. I would hate to develop something for the Web version and have to start over on the Desktop version. Do the licenses really make a difference or are they the same program that just add different exporting options?

More specifically I wish to develop for Itch.io, Steam, Gamejolt and NewGrounds. Would Desktop work for all of them or do I need to get Web specifically for something like NG?

My apologies if this is a dumb question as I am just starting out. Any advice would be great!
 
Web is for HTML games (in-browser). They have a bunch of restrictions of their own, plus the networking on top of it.
Safest bet is to learn is go Desktop, you can export for Mac and PC, and not be hassled with the HTML restrictions from the start. You can export for Steam, Itch, etc.
Don't know about NG works nowadays, haven't been on there in decades, back in the day it was mostly Flash games... but if they host files, you're good there too with Desktop version.
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
To bring the answer to the question in the first post to a point: They're the same program, the only difference is the export targets and the platform-specific functionality you can only use for specific targets that they give you access to.
 
C

cacklingpumpkins

Guest
Web is for HTML games (in-browser). They have a bunch of restrictions of their own, plus the networking on top of it.
Safest bet is to learn is go Desktop, you can export for Mac and PC, and not be hassled with the HTML restrictions from the start. You can export for Steam, Itch, etc.
Don't know about NG works nowadays, haven't been on there in decades, back in the day it was mostly Flash games... but if they host files, you're good there too with Desktop version.
NewGrounds mainly supports both HTML5 and SWF these days for games would Desktop still work?
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
The Desktop license exports to neither of these formats.

If you want to export to HTML5, you'll need the HTML5 (Web) export. SWF export is not supported.
 
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