Find your way in Game Maker with core tutorial videos and hands-on activities to learn about building a physical world and applying logic.
Basic Tutorial Videos
Use these videos to learn about navigating Game Maker, blocks and assets, and logic or try a hands-on activity below.
Hands-on Activities to Learn Fast
These activities are sequenced to help you learn the core functionalities of Game Maker, and will help you learn workflows to make great Experiences!
Once you've learned the basics, see other helpful Resources to create your own projects.
This is an EASY activity anyone can do, which will teach you how to create a new game and move the camera and your avatar in Game Maker. You will learn additional controls for the camera in Build mode and how to place blocks in the next activity.
Start
Launch Game Client OR
Launch Game Maker, create a 1x1 Experience and press TAB to begin Play mode
Practice Camera and Avatar Movement
Practice Toggled player actions
Try the Shift Modifier
Test Combat Controls
A few Combinations to Practice:
Run and jump
Run and slide
Attack, roll, and jump
Remember to let your mouse steer your avatar's camera, then use the WASD keys to move relative to what you see on screen.
Now you know the basics to start playing in the metaverse or test your creations! Learn more about building in the next activity.
This is an EASY activityanyone can do, and will show you the controls needed to navigate while building in Game Maker and terraform with blocks. Once you know how to navigate and build with blocks, you'll be ready to place and manipulate objects in Activity 3.
Launch Game Maker
Open the Experience created in Activity 1 or start a new one
Practice Some Build Mode Camera Controls
Find Blocks
Open the Library (press L) and add blocks to your quick access bar (above the Library):
Click the Blocks tab at the top of the library to filter options and only show blocks.
Drag and release a few blocks into slots in quick access bar. Close the library (press L) and click on any block in the quick access bar or use the corresponding number shown in each slot to select a block to use.
Undo/Redo if Needed as you practice the controls below
CTRL + Z to undo
CTRL + Y to redo
Use the Free Brush (default) to practice basic block building controls
Basic Controls
Modifiers
Test Other Block Brushes & Adjust Size
Notice when placing or removing with other brushes, the center of the shape snaps to the surface (blocks may be placed underground).
Brushes other than the Free brush will only build a vertical column in the brush shape.
Diamond - easy to climb shape
Cube - man-made structures and blocky terrain
Sphere - natural terrain
Now that you know how to build with blocks, you can block out the 3D space for your Experience, create terrain details and paths to guide players.
Learn how to add objects into your world in the next activity.
This is an EASY activity anyone can do. It will introduce asset placement and movement in the Game Maker to build a scene.
Launch Game Maker
Open or create an Experience.
Find Assets
Open the Library (press L) and add assets to your quick access bar:
Add two assets to your quick access bar from the Props and Characters tabs
Place and Remove Objects
An object is an instance of an asset placed in an Experience. You can place as many objects as you want using an asset. Objects snap to block surfaces when placed.
With an asset selected in the quick access bar, LEFT CLICK inside the viewport to place it
Press SHIFT to snap to the grid when placing an asset
To remove an object:
In Select mode, LEFT CLICK to select an object and duplicate it with CTRL+D
Multi-Select
Practice selecting multiple objects and try duplicating and deleting a group:
Drag the mouse to draw a rectangle (this selects all objects behind the rectangle to the edge of the Experience)
Press SHIFT and click one item at a time to add to your selection
Press CTRL to add and remove an object from your selection
View and Snap to the Grid
The grid system and snap tools allow for custom block and asset placement for any project.
Open Grid settings to hide or show the grid, adjust scale, and set opacity. Let's leave the grid on
Place an object with the grid's OSNAP toggle on, and notice that you can turn on and off the X, Y, or Z axes
Snap an object to the ground with a click
Move Objects
Click and drag a coloured arrow to move the object on one axis
Move the mouse pointer between two arrows to activate a plane to move only between those two axes
Move to the center where the arrows meet to activate a cube to move freely between all three axes
In the Properties panel, modify position coordinates to move the asset with precision
Test Movement with a Custom Grid
Rotate Objects
Press O to Turn off OSNAP
Click and drag a coloured curve to rotate the object on one axis
Hover over the gizmo to activate a sphere to rotate freely between all three axes
In the Properties panel, modify rotation coordinates to rotate the asset with precision
Test Rotation with a Custom Grid
Test the Hierarchy to Control Objects
Click an object in the Viewport and notice it is highlighted in the Hierarchy
In the Hierarchy, drag and drop that object onto another object to make it a child
Select the parent object and test movement and rotation to see how it controls the child object's position and rotation
Practice: Use what you've learned to build a small scene of objects. It takes time to get used to the controls with the mouse and keyboard shortcuts, but the tools are very flexible to build any project.
The next activity will introduce behaviours to drive an object's actions and tags to customize how objects can detect and respond to each other.
This is a MEDIUM difficulty activity using simple behaviours to create custom interactions between objects.
This activity will explore some behaviors that use AI decision making. They are programmed to detect and respond in certain ways to other objects that have specific tags, or identifiers. Tags are included when a behaviour is added to an object to make it easy to build objects that are ready to interact.
Launch Game Maker
Open or create an Experience.
Default Settings
Prey & Predator
Place a "Stag" asset and apply Prey behavior. This includes the Prey tag.
Place a "Grey Wolf"asset nearby and apply Predator behavior. Predator tag is included.
PressTAB to Test:
The Predator will detect the Prey and chase it.
The Prey will run when it detects the Predator up closer.
The Predator will chase any Avatar, or player, which is one of its default Tags to Attack.
Custom Targets
Plant & Prey
Select the Prey and notice that it has a Food Tag and Tags to Flee. Let's add objects with the Plant tag for it to detect.
Place a "Small Plant B" asset nearby and duplicate it. For one of them, apply the Plant component. Scroll to the bottom of the object's Properties, type the tag Plant (case sensitive), and press enter to apply it.
One plant has an identity so it can be "eaten" and the other is just a prop that won't be touched. Duplicate (CTRL+D) both types and spread them in a small area.
PressTAB to Test:
Watch the Prey wander, approach objects it should eat, and make them disappear while ignoring the rest.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
These behaviors are meant to be a function with flexible use.
Make an NPC collect trash using the Prey or Farmer behaviors by adding any custom tag as their food or gathering target.
Only add the custom tag to objects you want Farmer or Prey to remove.
Changing Tags During Play
Soldier & Citizen
Place an "Axeman Recruit" and apply Soldier behavior. Its default Tags to Attack includes Hostile.
Place an "Elder Caveman" with Citizen behaviour.
PressTAB to Test:
You can't attack the Citizen because it has the built in tag Friendly.
The Soldier will ignore you until you attack, which will apply the tag Hostile to your Avatar for the rest of the game!
If you exit Play mode and re-enter it later, the game is reset, so the Hostile tag will be cleared from your Avatar.
Custom AI Interactions
Melee Enemy vs. Melee Enemy
GroupA
Place three "Maximilien" objects together. Select all of them and apply these changes in the Properties panel (which will change them all at the same time):
Apply Melee Enemy behaviour
Next to Tags to Attack, click the X to remove the Hostile tag, click ADD+, and type GroupB in the text box.
Scroll to the bottom of the Properties panel and apply the tag GroupA (remember to press ENTER)
GroupB
Place three "Matthew" objects together. Select all of them and apply these changes in the Properties panel:
Apply Melee Enemy behaviour
Next to Tags to Attack, click the X to remove the Hostile tag, click ADD+, and type GroupA in the text box.
Scroll to the bottom of the Properties panel and apply the tag GroupB (remember to press ENTER)
PressTAB to Test:
Combine a variety of AI-driven behaviors and use tags to direct their decision making. Explore these ideas and your own:
Want players to join a side in a battle? Add Avatar to any enemy's Tags to Attack.
Want fighters to be revived during battle? Use the Healer behavior with Tags to Heal.
There are many other behaviors to explore, but you've learned the basics of controlling object actions by applying behaviors and custom tags.
In the next activity, you'll create functional game logic with other behaviours and add components to make objects more interactive.
This is a MEDIUM difficulty activity using behaviours and components to create simple logic systems with objects.
This activity will help you learn the basics of communication in Game Maker using messages to create cause and effect.
Launch Game Maker
Open or create an Experience and move to an area with empty space.
Let's turn the grid off and focus on logic.
Some behaviors and components are only available as [MP], which means they are multiplayer synchronized. For this activity, choose [MP] only when a [SP] option isn't available.
Designing gameplay with [SP] and [MP] logic will be explored later.
Collisions & Messages
Behaviours and components are needed to make objects active and/or interactive. This logic provides a framework so messages can be sent and received to trigger gameplay events.
Tags and Broadcast Type allow for greater control over how events are triggered.
Add the following objects to the viewport:
Pressing E next to an object sends the message Interact to it.
Test (Press TAB)
Press E to interact with each door. One door is only a prop. The other animates to appear open and turns off its collisions so players can pass through.
Most objects must have collisions to prevent players from passing through them. You can control if an object has collisions, is visible, or has gravity in the Properties Panel.
Toggle Behaviours On/Off
A message sent to an object's Toggle component can turn it's behaviour on or off. Think of it as locking or unlocking a behaviour.
Add an object that sends a message:
Add two objects in range (the yellow sphere) of the first object to receive the message:
Test (Press TAB)
Neither door can be opened. Interact with the panel to send its message, and then:
One door opens
The other door's behaviour is toggled on so players can open the door with E.
Trigger & Filter Messages
Add the following objects to the viewport:
TRIGGER: AVATAR DETECTED
Message sent to everything in the Experience (location doesn't matter)
TRIGGER: OBJECT COLLECTED
Message sent to specific objects
Alternative Method: Add a tag to the door, set the key to broadcast the message to SpecificTagsInRange, and adjust the key's broadcast range to include the door's location.
TRIGGER: TAG DETECTED
Message sent to self
(when the object detects a specific tag in range)
Test (Press TAB)
Trigger doors A, B, and C to open based on the logic set up. Imagine ways to use these simple trigger methods for other design needs!
Build hidden logic into your Experience with invisible and collision-free Logic Assets.
Add the following objects to the viewport:
TRIGGER: AVATAR DETECTED INSIDE A VOLUME
Test (Press TAB)
The lights do not move with the car. Let's create a relationship in the hierarchy to fix that.
Modify
Set the "Headlight" assets to move with the car's platform motion. Open the hierarchy, select them, and drag them onto the Car. This makes them child objects and the car the parent object.
Test (Press TAB)
The location of the "Headlight" assets is now controlled by their parent object's motion.
Messages with Arguments
Some special messages appear in yellow and allow you to send information (an argument) with a message.
You can also create custom messages with arguments that will appear yellow in the message dropdown list. These will be explored in a later activity.
Continue with the previous example so weather and the streetlight will gradually change.
Add objects to communicate special messages:
Modify existing objects to receive the special messages:
Test (Press TAB)
The weather and streetlight gradually change using these special messages.
Save your Experience so this logic is available for use in another activity.
This activity introduced new tools and concepts to understand objects more and how to make them communicate in custom ways.
In the next activity, you will learn to integrate quests with some of the logic from this activity so you can begin designing a flow for players with clear guidance to play through your Experience.
Ready for More Practice?
This activity leaves room for you to test out your own ideas when the player exits the Trigger Volume and the message Day is sent. Test out custom weather profiles and light colours, too!
Remember that the special message LightColor sets transition timing and colour.
This is a MEDIUM difficulty activity using Quests and objects linked to them.
This activity will help you learn to guide players through your gameplay with the Objectives system UI and icons to help players find quest objects like NPCs, collectable objects, and more.
What are Quests?
Located in the Objectives system, Quests are used to guide players through your game's story, geography, game mechanics, and more with a sleek user interface. Objects in the game world can be linked to quests so they're easier to find.
A quest may be triggered and completed only one time.
Launch Game Maker
Open the Experience from the previous activity to reuse some of its logic.
To track individual player progression in single and multiplayer games, [SP] behaviors and components must be used to send messages to the Objectives system.
[MP] logic works like [SP] logic in singleplayer games.
Locked/Unlocked
Open the Objectives window and toggle on quests.
Let's add two quests to compare when they'll appear on the right side of the player screen in the Objectives UI, or user interface. Ignore other quest settings for now.
Test
Press TAB to see the "Auto Quest" open at game start.
Interact with the Ancient Lever that sends DoorA.Open to All, which will make the "Triggered Quest" appear in the UI because the quest is set to auto launch.
When to Launch
Modify both quests to require a message to launch:
Test
Press TAB to test. Notice that no quests appear in the UI yet.
Try entering the trigger volume (remember that your game will shift to night from the previous activity's settings). The "Triggered Quest" will not launch yet because it is still locked.
Interact with the Ancient Lever asset to send DoorA.Open and you'll make the "Auto Quest" launch in the UI. The "Triggered Quest" is also unlocked by this message.
Now you can enter the trigger volume and launch the "Triggered Quest" in the UI.
Launch settings allow you to control how many quests may be activated at a time, while unlock settings allow you to control when players are permitted to start a quest.
Different Quest Types and Conditions
There are four types of quests: counter, asset death, timer, and wait for message.
First let's set up interactive assets for a counter quest:
Counter- Destroy Objects
Create a new quest (auto unlock and launch):
Name: Treasure Hunt
Description: "Destroy the ancient artifacts and collect all of the treasure.”
3. Counter
Type: death
Tag: artifact
Amount: 5
Test - The quest counts the number of objects destroyed with the tag you set for it to watch.
Counter - Collect Objects
Modify the quest:
3. Counter
Type: collected objects
Tag: treasure
Amount: 5
Test
Press TAB to test. When you attack and destroy each artifact, nothing happens. When you collect each pile of treasure dropped after each artifact is destroyed, the quest counts the number of objects collected with the tag you set for it to watch.
You can apply the same tag to collect or destroy different types of objects, such as ingredients to make a meal.
Quest States
A quest may be in three states: inactive, in progress, and finished. We can use NPC dialogue to tell players how to start or complete a quest and confirm the quest is finished.
Quest inactive - Interact with the NPC to start the quest. This dialogue is then toggled off by its own message out when you answer the question.
Quest in progress - Interact after the quest is launched to see the dialogue, which can be a helpful reminder for players. No message is needed unless you want to trigger a hint for players.
Quest complete - Interact after the quest is complete to see the dialogue.
Adding Polish with Indicators
You can apply three types of icons to objects that are linked to a quest:
These icons are displayed above objects in the game world when an Indicator component is applied to the objects, a quest is linked, and quest settings match the type of icon to use.
Modify Jet and the "Treasure Hunt" quest so he can be a quest giver:
Create a Custom Preset to Drop
Since the tagged object that the quest counts is a dropped item (meaning it is spawned), we'll modify the ancient artifact assets to use a Preset with custom settings that link to a specific quest. You don't need to create a preset for quest items, but we've chosen an example that's a bit more fun for players.
Create an object:
Save this object as a Preset. This allows you to spawn or place an object or group of objects with more complex custom settings during edit or play modes.
Modify all ancient artifact assets to spawn this preset.
Test
The exclamation point appears above the NPC before the quest starts because it's the quest giver.
After you interact with it, the target icons appear above each quest objective, the ancient artifacts to destroy.
Once you have collect all of the treasure, the icons and quest are no longer visible.
Save your Experience to reuse the logic in the next activity.
Quests are a great way to guide players through the flow of your Experience. They can be very simple, or they can have complex steps and hints to help players when connected with objects.
A Counter quest can be used in different ways to count what players destroy or collect.
A Timer quest can be a fun challenge to survive or defend an asset during a time period.
An Asset Death quest can be used for a special boss fight.
A Wait for Message quest is extremely flexible in use since it only requires a message to complete it.
In the next activity, we'll continue using the same Experience to learn how to make more interesting game mechanics with the Game Rules system.
This is a MEDIUM difficulty activity using Game Rules with object logic.
This activity will help you learn the basics of the Game Rules system and how to apply it for more engaging game mechanics that can be used repeatedly. This unlocks more gameplay varieties and a custom player HUD.
What are Rules?
The Game Rules system is a visual scripting tool located in the Gameplay menu.
It allows you to set, use, and change values such as numbers, text, time, and true/false values for your gameplay needs and control what appears on the player HUD, or heads up display.
Launch Game Maker
Open the Experience from the previous activity to reuse some of its logic.
A rule needs to be triggered by a Message In to carry out its actions. It can then trigger objects, other rules, etc. Some rules can also be interrupted with a message.
Trigger: Joining the Game
Let's begin with a simple popup window that appears when a player enters the game:
Test
Press TAB to test. The popup window appears as soon as the Experience starts for you.
For now, let's set the Popup Window rule's Required Message to noneso the window won't pop up every time we press TAB to enter the game and test logic.
Use a Text Variable in a Rule
Use text variables to show status, player/location names, level up notices, and more!
Create a variable and a rule to use it:
Test
In a previous activity, the message Night is sent anytime the player enters an object's trigger volume. The banner will display the words "Banner Text," which is the value saved in the variable.
Overwrite a Text Variable and Reuse It
Let's create a message with arguments to send different text to the Rules System depending on where the player is located in the game world.
Now create a rule to overwrite the variable's text with the message argument:
Test
The banner rule doesn't use the text argument sent with the message, but still works. The rule to sets banner text uses the argument text included with the message.
Trigger: Keypress (to shoot projectiles)
Create a preset of the following asset. Delete the object after saving it as a preset.
Note: With these settings, the projectile will cause 100 damage if it hits an object that has the tag artifact, which was applied to objects in the previous activity.
Now create a pickable object with a child object that spawns the projectile preset:
Add a Key Input rule to trigger the projectile to spawn whenever a key is pressed:
Test
Press TAB to test. Pressing the 1 key shoots the projectile from the dragon egg anytime. Pick up your magical dragon egg with E and shoot all ancient artifact assets to collect the treasure!
Since an object that is picked up can’t send or receive messages in the current version of Game Maker, we created a child object to be the asset spawner. The projectile behavior triggers as soon as the object it’s applied to is spawned.
The Raycast component can detect objects from a distance and send messages, too!
Count Resources with a Number Variable
Place the treasure preset from the last activity. Modify its collectable component so it will send a message to the Game Rules system whenever it is collected. Save this preset over the old version. Delete the object after saving it as a preset.
Modify all of the Ancient Artifact assets to drop the preset when destroyed:
Duplicate an Ancient Artifact asset until there are at least 20 in the game. Spread them out.
Create the following variable and rules to track and display money:
Test
Press TAB to test. Now as you destroy the ancient artifacts and collect the treasure that drops, you'll see the amount of treasure collected (100 per treasure). Each time you collect the treasure, which is a preset, you’re sending a message to a custom location.
In this case, it goes to All locations so it will reach the Rules system and increase your money when collected, which appears in the HUD slot you selected.
Make Variables Useful
Create an NPC to sell different types of items to players (equipment to wear, a consumable item, and a resource to be shown in the player HUD):
Create a preset object to spawn when purchased (delete after saving as a preset):
Create asset spawners for items to purchase and collect:
Add variables and rules for resources that will be tracked by number and displayed in the HUD:
Add a Shop rule preset to save time on the rest of the setup:
You already set up the Add Money, HUD, and Player Join rules earlier in this activity. You can remove the ones in this premade ruleset.
The remaining rules allow you to test if you have enough money to buy two types of items and pay from your money variable if you do have enough.
You have three items in your shop, so select and duplicate a Success, Fail, and Pay rule in this Ruleset to add what's needed for your third item.
Rename Item 1 rules "Purchase Food Success," "Purchase Food Fail," and "Pay Food." Rename Item 2 rules for equipment and item 3 rules for Wood to make it easier to track what each rule does in your custom setup.
Set the price of each item in the Success and Fail rules so it will check if you have enough and send a message if you don't, and use the same value in the "operand 2" value of the Pay rules to match and subtract an item's cost from your Money. Based on the number of treasures your game has, set food to cost 1, equipment to cost 4, and wood to cost 2, for example.
The messages sent by each rule matches the rest of the logic in the activity, but you can use custom messages to keep track of things more easily.
Finally, add a text variable and rule to inform players when they don't have enough money:
Test
If you destroyed some artifacts and collected treasure, you have money to spend with the merchant. You can set custom costs for each item in the Rules System and spawn any type of item you like or add resources for gameplay using variables.
Try opening your inventory to wear the equipment you purchased or consuming the food item that triggers a speed Power Up. The purpose of the items you buy are completely up to you.
Follow Up
The Game Rules System is a powerful visual scripting tool running behind the scenes to manage information and gameplay.
Other rule presets make it easy to track points, add time trials, set poison or hunger for players, and more. It's also possible to build a complex resource management system where messages with arguments trigger amounts of resources to be traded or purchased.
With rules, you can even define what variables are for all players and which ones will be tracked differently for each player. We'll explore that in the next activity.
More Information about Game Rules
STAY ORGANISED IN GAME MAKER
Group rules into rulesets any way you like.
Group objects in the hierarchy using folders.
Find messages sent and received with the Message Inspector in the Debug menu.
Manage messages used in your Experience in the Settings menu.
Coming Soon
This is a ADVANCED difficulty activity to learn about setting up logic layers for multiplayer games, which combines logic individual players experience and synchronized logic all players experience.
This activity will explore how to design layers of logic for multiplayer synchronised gameplay.
Resources
Community
Livestreams
Follow along and ask questions during our Livestreams, available on Twitch. Subscribe to receive notifications for when we go live!
Press Z to change to Select mode, LEFT CLICK to select the object, and press DELETE
Change to Move mode and select the object to turn on the move gizmo, then:
Change the grid's movement setting to 2 blocks and turn on OSNAP, then test moving objects
Change to Rotate mode and select the object to turn on the rotate gizmo, then:
Change the grid's rotation setting to 30 degrees and turn on OSNAP, then test rotating objects
An object can be moved or rotated in relation to a parent object. This relationship can be created in the Hierarchy (H).
4. Customize Object Behaviours with Tags
GroupA and GroupB will detect each other's tags and fight. Feel free to select these groups, duplicate them a few times, and create a small army of dueling NPCs!
