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This project is actually a series of three smaller assignments with the primary goal of getting you up to speed with 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.
While subsequent projects will be done in groups, for this project (all three assignments), you will work alone. This will ensure you have Game Maker skills even if tasks in later Game Development are more partitioned.
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 additional 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 complte the Your First Game tutorial from the Game Maker 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 Game Maker 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 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.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. Here you have a choice of either A Scrolling Shooter or a 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 Game Maker (if you have not already). In the "File" menu option, select "Advanced Mode" directly under it. This will show some advanced features for Game Maker, useful for many games.
All assignments (A-C) are to be submitted electronically via turnin by midnight on the day the assignment is due. Each turnin will include the Game Maker source file (.gm6), plus a short README document clearly describing the additional 10% contribution. Make sure your name and login is included in the README file.
You will need to upload the files you are turning in to your CCC account on one of the CCC machines (ccc1 to ccc10). While logged into a CCC machine, you will need to enter the directory where these files are stored and execute the following:
/cs/bin/turnin submit <course> <assignment> <file1> <file2> ...
where in our case, <course> is imgd1001, <assignment> is project1a (or project1b or project1c), and <file1>, etc. are the files to be turned in. So for example, you might enter:
/cs/bin/turnin submit imgd1001 project1a Clown.gm6 README
Following this, you should verify that your files have been entered into turnin by executing the following command:
/cs/bin/turnin verify imgd1001 project1a
| 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. | ||||
For a presentation summary, you might check out the slides (powerpoint, pdf) for this project.
The Game Maker home page.
Compiled Game Maker Tutorial Games (zipped), showing the range of games Game Maker supports.
There is a Wiki devoted to Game Maker, that includes background information and some possibly useful links at the bottom.
Send all project questions to the TA mailing list (imgd1001-ta at cs.wpi.edu)
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