Learning Game Development with GameMaker: A Practical Guide for Introducing Coding and Game Development to Young Learners

Tyers, Ben; Law, Dickson

Turn your game ideas into reality! This book is a hands-on guide to using GameMaker and its scripting language (GML). It is tailored for classroom use, suitable for both educators and students.

We will start with essentials such as installing GameMaker, navigating the IDE, and organizing your projects for success. You will learn of sprites, objects, events, variables, collisions, audio, and GUI design. We will also cover implementing AI, alarms, loops, arrays, and state control to create dynamic gameplay. The book also covers how to publish your game. Each chapter ends with a quiz to reinforce what has been covered.

With clear explanations, hands-on examples, and over 50 mini-game ideas, this book transforms beginners into confident developers. By the end, you’ll have the skills to design, prototype, and publish polished games using GameMaker.

You Will

• Create, name, and organize assets such as sprites, sounds, fonts, and rooms
• Gain skills in input handling, state control, movement, and collision detection
• Explore effect layers, camera control, and resource optimization

Who This Book Is For
This book is suitable for teachers and students learning GML in a classroom environment as well as self-study.

Details

Published by: Apress

Publication Date: 2026-10-26

Format: Paperback

ISBN-13: 9798868828812

DOI:

Dimensions: 254cm x178cm

Pages: