Adding more levels in Game Maker
In the last year I have had almost a hundred questions on how to add more levels to your games. I am hoping to do a video tutorial on this but until then you can use the following hint.
I will asume that you have been following the Breakout tutorial and you want to add a new level. The example needs a working score system.
First you need to use the Test Score action. Find it under the Score tab in actions and create an object with an End Step event and insert the Test Score action. Now define a score that needs to be reached (set it to Larger than) and then let the following action be a Next Room action (found under the main1 tab). Insert this object into your first level.
Now create a new Room with your level content and test the game. Whenever you reach the set score the player moves forward one Room.
To add even more levels you can create a more objects similar to the first and set higher score targets. Insert these objects in your levels so that the player needs to reach higher and higher scores.
Adding sound and music in Game Maker 8
If you have gone through the many Game Maker tutorials on YourGameDesign you will probably have noticed that none of them contain guides on how to add sound or music. This video tutorial here will focus on exactly that problem and show you how to easily add audio to your games.
In the video a Breakout game from an earlier tutorial is used as an example game. As always it is recommended to watch the video in full screen mode.
The tutorial uses sound effects included with Game Maker 8. Remember that you can personalise your game better by creating your own sounds. Use a audio editor and recorder like Audacity to create your own sound effects.
Breakout in Game Maker 8 tutorial
If you completed the Pong tutorial then it might be time to move on to a new game. Breakout is an excellent game to create in Game Maker since it builds on what you have learned from the Pong game and introduces a basic use of Timelines, changing objects during play and animated sprites.
This Breakout tutorial is divided into two parts. It is recommended to view each part in full screen mode.
Remember that you can improve the game with your own ideas, graphics and sounds etc. once you complete the tutorial. You can also add more levels.
Pong in Game Maker 8 video tutorial
The game Pong is an ideal game for starters wanting to learn how to make their own games in Game Maker. Pong is a small and classic game that uses all the basic concepts of the Game Maker engine like sprites, objects and rooms and the best part is that no coding is required.
The following video tutorial is also available as a written guide or a printable PDF e-book. Chose the format that suits you. It is recommended to watch the video tutorial in full screen.
To use the guide you first need Game Maker 8 installed and running.
Remember that you can always add your own graphics and sound after going through the tutorial. Changing the speed of the bats and the ball is also just a matter of change a few values.
Animated menus in Game Maker 8 tutorial
All games have menus so here is an easy to follow tutorial on how to add animated menus to your games in Game Maker. You can use this guide for any type of game and learning how to create your own buttons only takes a few minutes.
For this tutorial some stock sprite graphics are used but for the result you should design some custom button sprites in the graphical style of your game. Adding a background image and sounds also creates a great impression.
Animating sprites in Game Maker 8
If you are well into making your games in Game Maker you probably want to have some animation for your characters and environments. To do this you need to use animated sprites and this is quite simple to setup really.
The first thing you need is a comic strip styled sprite and the import it to Game Maker using the built in tool for this. The short video tutorial will show you an example of how easily a simple animation can be done in Game Maker.
If the animation is too slow or fast you can change this. In the Create event for the object with the animated sprite add the action Execute Code (found under the Control tab). In this enter this line:
image_speed = 0.5
After this save and test your game. Adjusting the value up will make it faster and lower makes it slower.
