This will ensure you have GameMaker skills even if tasks in later projects are more partitioned.

This project is actually a series of three smaller assignments with the primary goal of getting you up to speed with GameMaker. Each assignment works through a GameMaker 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 GameMaker.

Please note, it is not enough to simply cut-and-paste the code into the proper place to complete the tutorials -- I assume you know how to cut-and-paste. The point is to learn the material, so even if this seems easy for you, please make sure you are completely comfortable with GameMaker after doing this assignment.

The assignments are:

• A) The first assignment is to complete the Your First Game tutorial from the GameMaker pages. Download the complete tutorial by clicking on the link and extract the contents. Either print or view online the "first game" PDF included. Refer to the sample code as needed. Note, for this and other GameMaker tutorials, the resources (art and sound) needed for the tutorial are supplied under the "Resources" sub-directory. 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 clown types 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 GameMaker 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.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 GameMaker tutorial. Here 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. 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. Important! Before starting project 1c, you should enable "advanced mode" in GameMaker (if you have not already). In the "File" menu option, select "Advanced Mode" directly under it. This will show some advanced features for GameMaker, useful for many games.

When you are ready to submit, zip everything up into a single archive file. Name the file LastName_FirstName_proj1.zip.

You will use the Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here:

http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~kfisler/turnin.html.

Use your WPI user ID to login, and you should have been emailed a password.
The Turnin assignment ID is proj1.

For a presentation summary, you might check out the slides (PowerPoint, pdf) for this project.

The GameMaker home page.

Compiled GameMaker Tutorial Games (zipped), showing the range of games GameMaker supports.

There is a Wiki devoted to GameMaker, that includes background information and some possibly useful links at the bottom.