‘This level is like the first simple level in many video games that is so easy that even your mom could complete it.’

Get ready to have some fun learning to program!  The first step is, of course, to get what we need to start learning how to game program.  This level is like the first simple level in many video games that is so easy that even your mom could complete it.  We’ll grab the free software, check out the proper way to watch the videos, download the course resources, and smile.

*Note*
Computer Requirements: as long as your computer can run GameMaker Studio you are fine (Windows XP/7/8 with 512MB RAM and 128MB Grahpics)

Our first lesson will be an easy one. We will grab the free software we need for the course and download the level and lesson resources for the entire course.

Part A – Download GameMaker
The software that we use for this course is a FREE version of GameMaker Studio that is available at http://yoyogames.com/studio/download . In the top right corner of the page you will see a link to their DOWNLOAD page.

Once on the download page you will see large links for downloading or buying GameMaker Studio. We want to DOWNLOAD the program. It is around 130 MB and currently called GMStudio-Installer.exe.

Once you have downloaded the software you can run the installer.

When the installer finishes downloading and installing, run the program. Select to use the free version of the program.

Part B – Download Course Resources
Most lessons will ask you to open game projects, graphics, and sounds.  These resources are grouped into a zip file on the  Resource Page .  Download the file and unzip it in a convenient location on your computer. If you don’t know how to unzip the file, go to Level 01-Lesson02. If you know all about unzipping, just move onto Level01-Lesson03.

That’s it! Lesson One Completed!

Side Note
The free version that you just installed will limit the size of the game you can create. All the lessons in this game programming course work within these limitations, so don’t worry, you do not need to purchase the program to complete this course!

However there will probably be a point in this course where you will have a game idea that requires the unlimited version of the program. The least expensive version is called GameMaker Studio Standard and it is only $50.  In my opinion and the opinion of many students that have taken this course, the Standard Edition is well worth the money and will allow you to export games to Windows and Mac with no limits on the size of the game.

Many of the files provided in this course are ‘zipped’ up so that you can download many files at once easily. If you know how to ‘unzip’ already, skip this lesson. To unzip files you need some free software that unzips files.

Part A – Download 7-zip
We will download and install a free program called 7-zip. It is a well known, free program that will easily unzip programs for you. Go to http://www.7-zip.org/  and download and install the 32 or 64 bit version of 7zip depending on your computer type.

After the program is installed, it is easy to unzip files.   Just RIGHT-CLICK on the zipped file you want to unzip and select EXTRACT TO “whatever the zip file name is”.

Part B – Unzip LessonResources.zip
You can now unzip the LessonResources.zip folder that you downloaded in lesson Level01_02.

Notes
A zip file is a file that usually contains many files inside. When you unzip the file, you get all the files and folders inside the zip file. Zip files are a convenient way to send several files to someone.

Who doesn’t like a good video?  Videos provide most of the teaching, challenges, and solutions in this course.  There a fast, efficient way of showing you what to do.

Part A – Go to the YouTube Channel
The videos are currently located at the YouTube Channel called GameMaker Game Programming Course.  Go to the channel just mentioned above.  Made it there? Good.

Part B – Use the PlayLists!
Hundreds of videos are used to teach you.  It is easier to find the video you are looking for by going to the organized playlists that sort videos by levels.  If you are looking for a video that is part of  Level 03 ,go the Level 03 Playlist and the video will be sorted in order there.  Go check out a level playlist and see how it’s organized.

Part C – Video Names relate to Lesson Name
The videos are titled using Level-Lesson-Part.  L05-02-A would be the video for Level 05, Lesson 02, Part A.   If a video is a challenge activity it will have an X in the name, and a solution to a challenge will have the word Solution included.  L04-02-X1   and   L04-02-X1Solution would be Level 04, Lesson 02, Challenge 01 and it’s solution video respectively.

Part D – Watching the Videos in HD
The videos are High Definition and optimized for the large player setting or full screen viewing.  Lets make sure that you are able to find the videos and optimize the viewing settings in YouTube.

Getting There
If you haven’t watched a video yet, go to the GameMaker Game Programming Course . Select a video and starting playing.

Quality Settings
The YouTube player should automatically pick the correct quality based on your connection speed, but sometimes it doesn’t. In the bottom right corner of the player, click the settings button (looks like a gear cog). Make sure that 720p HD is selected.

Player Size
In the bottom right corner of the YouTube player you can select the size of the player. The videos should be watched in the large player or full screen.

Notes
The videos are recorded in 720p HD and should be very clear when your connection speed is good. If the videos are not clear, it is probably because your connection speed at the time isn’t going as fast as it could. Sometimes refreshing the page fixes the problem, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes going back to the page a few minutes later works too. If that doesn’t work, hop onto your neighbors wireless connection (maybe it’s faster?!?).

That’s It – Go Learn to Program
That’s it.   Move on to Level 02 and start making games!

‘The best part of this level is challenging a friend to a battle when you’re done.’

You are taking this course to make a game, so lets get right to making your first program – a simple two player battle game. Players will move around the level and be able to fire balls at each other (not as violent as bullets!) and decrease the other players life until one player is declared champion of the world. We will fill it with some good beginner graphics, sounds, explosions, and a little bit of code by the end of this level.

The two player game is great for learning all about the basic game design process and it will exposed you to many fundamental programming concepts that you will use for the entire course. The best part of this level is challenging a friend to a battle when you’re all done.

Prepare to get you hooked on game programming!
Have fun.

In this lesson we will get started on creating our two player game. The first steps will include learning about sprites, objects, and how to create the game room. The sprites (graphics) that are used in this lesson can be found in your downloaded resources in the level 02 folder.

Part A – Setting Up Sprites, Objects, and the Room

Watch the video: 02-01-A
Done File: L02-01-A-Done.gmk
(located in the resources/Projects_Levels_02_to_06 folder that is inside of the resources zip file that you downloaded)

The ‘done file‘ is the GameMaker Project that you will have if you follow and imitate the programming in the lesson video. The done file is useful for when you want to watch a video lesson but not actually code it in yourself. You can use the done file to examine the code in a video lesson or when continuing onto the next part of the lesson.

Challenge 1 – Add a Second Player
Continue working with your project and add a second player to the game – it is a two player game!  You will need to add spr_player2, obj_player2, and also obj_ball2 since player2 will want to fire their own type of ball.

Challenge 1 Solution
Solution video: 02-01-X1Solution
Done file: L02-01-X1-Done.gmk

Now that we have some objects in the room, we have to get them moving around. This is where events and actions come into play. By the end of this lesson you will have objects moving and colliding.

Part A – Getting Moving with the Keyboard Event
Watch the video: 02-02-A

Part B – Colliding with Objects
Watch the video: 02-02-B
Done File: L02-02-AB-Done.gmk

Challenge 1 – Complete Second Player
Give player2 all the same behaviour that you just added to player1.

Challenge 1 Solution
Solution video: 02-02-X1Solution
Solution file: L02-02-X1-Done.gmk

You have two players moving around the room. Now it’s time to fire stuff at each other! In this lesson you will learn how to create and control instances of new objects.

Resources You Will Use
Grab and open the CheatSheet01.html in the Lv02 folder. It has a bunch of common programming commands that we will use in this level. Printing it out might be a good idea. Keep it close by so that you can refer to it when you are having trouble remember the exact spelling or format of a command.

Part A – Firing Balls with the Keypress Event
Watch the video: 02-03-A
Done File: L02-03-A-Done.gmk

Part B – Destroying Objects
Watch the video:  02-03-B
Done File: L02-03-B-Done.gmk

Challenge 1– Finish Up Player 2 and Ball Destruction
Give player2 the ability to fire their ball2.
When both types of balls hit a wall the ball should be destroyed.
When ball1 hits player2, ball1 is destroyed.
When ball2 hits player1, ball2 is destroyed.

Challenge 1 Solution
Solution video: 02-03-X1Solution
Solution file: L02-03-X1-Done.gmk

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to pick up an object and move it to a certain location in the room. It’s also nice to be able to turn sprites to face different directions. Playing sounds is pretty good too. These are the three things we’ll learn how to do in this lesson.

Part A – Jumping the Players when they are hit
Watch the video:  02-04-A

Part B – Changing the Image Angle of sprites
Watch the video: 02-04-B

Part C – Sounds
Regular sounds are covered in the first part of the video and background music is covered in the last 2 minutes.

Watch the video: 02-04-C
Done File: L02-04-C-Done.gmk

No Challenge this time! You’ll put this stuff to use in a future challenge.

Now it’s time for you to practice the past few lessons. You’ll look at a program that we have provided. It’s called ‘Get the Ghosts’, a little shooter game. Play it for a minute or two and then reproduce the entire game!

Part A – Observe the Game
Play GetTheGhosts01.exe for a minute or two, it’s an application in your resource folder. It’s not a complete game yet, but it will be one of the games we add on to as we learn how to program.

Part B – Watch
Watch the video: 02-05-A

Challenge 01 – Clone the Game
Now that you’ve watched the game, you’re job is to clone it. Start from a brand new empty project file and reproduce the program so that it is an exact match (or almost an exact match) of what you see in my program. The sprites and sounds can be found in the Lv02 resources folder.
*Remember to use the coding cheat sheet for help with code*

Challenge 1 Solution
The solution is a three part walk through of me making the game.
Solution video: 02-05-X1Solution1 (sprites, objects, room)
Solution video: 02-05-X1Solution2 (events and actions)
Solution video: 02-05-X1Solution3 (sounds and background music)
Solution file: L02-05-X1-Done.gmk

Congratulations! You’ve completed Level 02!
In the next level, we will introduce you to creating, changing, and checking your own user created game variables. Your programs will advance to an entirely new level… Level 03!