Game Maker
Use – Game making software
Cost – Free
Description:
Game Maker allows you to make exciting computer games, without the need to write a single line of code. Making games with Game Maker is a lot of fun.
Using easy to learn drag-and-drop actions, you can create professional looking games within very little time. You can make games with backgrounds, animated graphics, music and sound effects, and even 3D games! And when you’ve become more experienced, there is a built-in programming language, which gives you the full flexibility of creating games with Game Maker.
Developer: www.yoyogames.com > Make > Download Gamemaker 7 > etc… (7.6Mb)
Resources for school use:
***http://gamemaker.wikicomplete.info – the official help wiki for gamemaker eg. for help on sprites see create a sprite http://gamemaker.wikicomplete.info/tutorial:create-a-sprite#toc2
***http://www.iconarchive.com – lovely icons (already sprite sized) to choose from …
**www.spriters-resource.com/ – lots of sprites to choose from to create your own games. Sprites in gamemaker need to be 16×16, 32×32 or 64×64 pixels. Adapt any image you want in irfanview using Image>Crop and Image>resize/resample.
**www.rengels.de – warhammer sprites
http://glog.yoyogames.com/?p=403 – video of 100 best gamemaker games
http://www.yoyogames.com/make/tutorials
What makes a good game tutorial – http://www.yoyogames.com/downloads/tutorials/goodgame.zip
Links:
http://www.mindtools.tased.edu.au/gamemaker/default.htm
http://www.teach-ict.com/shop/index.html – £80 scheme of work – highly recommended/
www.mindtools.tased.edu.au/gamemaker/default.htm is Margaret Meijers’s marvellous introduction to GameMaker [thanks to Roger Davies for this link]
Associated game-playing links:
The Game Maker’s Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners book
http://www.gamelearning.net – a variety of game-making software options – some free..
www.gamasutra.com/features/2006 0807/habgood_01.shtml – Jacob Habgood discusses the educational benefits of teaching game design at [thanks to Roger Davies for this link]