Claypool's Lectures at Osaka University, Summer 2010
Project 1: Making Games with Game Maker

Due date: Wednesday, July 7th, by 11:59pm

Objective: THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT, NOT TO BE DONE IN TEAMS!

This project is actually a series of three smaller assignments with the primary goal of introducing you to Game Maker. Each assignment works through a Game Maker tutorial with an additional custom piece on the end. Completing all three assignments will put you in good position to develop a game from scratch using Game Maker.


Details: First, download Game Maker 8 onto a Windows machine where you will be doing your work.

Upon completion of each tutorial, and before turning it in, you must extend the basic game you have made in some creative fashion. This means adding code or art to extend the game by 10%. The actual extension is up to you, and you will indicate what you have done with a short README document when you turn in the assignment.

The assignments are:

  • A) The first assignment is to complete the tutorial called "Your First Game" that appears in the right hand panel of Game Maker after you first install and run it (if you Hide it, you can always re-open it via Help -> Tutorial). Once done, you might consider extending the game by one or more of: additional goals needed to complete the game (such as time limits or scores), other types of fruit with different behaviors, or alternate rooms with the above. This list is by no means the only way of extending the game.

  • B) The second assignment is to complete a Game Maker game from scratch. The game to complete is a classic, Pong, chosen because of the simple art yet compelling game play. Refer to the Pong_2009.pdf file for the instructions. Since this game is from scratch, no additional external assets are needed. Once done, you might consider extending the game by adding more-complex ball behavior depending upon where it hits the paddles, or scoring mechanisms and increasingly challenging behavior. Again, this list is by no means the only way of extending the game.

  • C) The third assignment is to complete, and then extend, another Game Maker tutorial. Download the complete tutorial by clicking on the link and extract the contents. Either print or view online the PDF included. Note, for these Game Maker tutorials, the resources (art and sound) needed for the tutorial are supplied under the "Resources" sub-directory. You have a choice of either A Scrolling Shooter or A Maze Game. A slightly more advanced tutorial that can be tried is A Platform Game.

    FOR PART C, YOU ONLY HAVE TO DO ONE OF THESE THREE TUTORIALS!

    Extract the tutorial as you did for the first assignment and proceed from there. Refer to the end of each tutorial for a few suggestions on how to extend it. The choice of the tutorial doesn't really matter (you might do all three if you have time, but only turn in one), but can be selected based on your interest in the game type.


What to Submit: All assignments (A-C) are to be submitted electronically by email by midnight on the day the assignment is due. Each turnin will include the Game Maker source file(s). For Game Maker Version 8, a file with a ".gmk" extension. Also, you should submit a short README document clearly describing the additional 10% customization. Make sure your name and login is included in the README file.

When you are ready to submit, zip everything up into a single archive file. Name the file LastName_FirstName_proj1a.zip for part A, and similarly for parts B & C.

You will email your zip files to me (claypool at cs.wpi.edu).


Grading:
Grading Guidelines
Tutorial 50% Doing each tutorial without any additional customization is worth 1/2 the grade. While you will have learned a substantial amount about Game Maker, you will not have demonstrated your understanding of the principals enough to apply them in a creative fashion.
Customization 50% Extending or modifying the tutorial game with custom work is worth the other 1/2 the grade. Doing so will begin to flex your creative muscles and show mastery of the basics taught in the tutorial.

Resources: Game Maker Resources:

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