Work Flow
Sprites
Sprites are
the bitmap images that game maker uses for characters, props and backgrounds.
The name of
your sprite is key as you need to go back and use the sprites again and again.
The sprite
is in pixels and you can change the size of it as you like however as you make a bigger sprite it will require more
memory space from your pc. This also means if your sprite is of a large size
(set by you) there can me more definition on it meaning you can put more detail
on it as you design.
A collision
mask also known as a kill box decides whether a character or prop is affected
when it comes in contact. By modifying the sprite’s mask properties you can
choose if the object is able to get hit or come in contact with other things.
Objects
This is the
base of anything that moves (Player(s) ) or is animated. You can add events to
an object to make it do certain things for example by choosing the step option
under event you can give the object a loop of repeating an action. You can also
choose how long the loop is for example if you want the object to stutter or
shake you would make it happen for every frame of the game instead of a 5 second
(Onwards) delay.
Coding
A hint is to
help us understand what a code is so you know what the coding under it is for
and means.
Codes are
used to bind functions to keys for example ‘if keyboard_check (ord(‘’W’’))’’
means If the W key is pressed, the code above it will come into action.
You can be
more specific on the movement of an object or the player when the button is
pressed by putting in coordinates i.e on the axis.
Levels
The size of
a level can be changed to your desire. You can
make it as big or small as you like but like a sprite, the bigger its
size the bigger amount of memory will be used.
You can
create a level to use the player and test the controls in. By enabling the
player object for the level I can use the character see if the keys I binded in
the coding function correctly.
Setting
movement limits (Walls/Invisible walls)
This
requires coding meaning you can limit quite a lot if you desire. For the player
to stay within the level, there needs to be a limit set up around the level, like
walls. You can choose where a player cant go or is stopped by coding
restrictions to the player’s coordinates meaning he/she cannot go any further
than the limit.
To create
the wall, you will need to know the exact coordinate of the axis of the level
so you do not end up limiting too much of the area in the level.
Scrolling
background
Parallax
scrolling is when the background of the game has more than one layer
simultaneously moving/playing.
A background
is made in an image editor where you can draw up many layers of backgrounds for
example background1 can be the clouds (made by you) which moves at a faster
rate than background2 which are trees. The maximum number of background layers
you can have in Game maker are 8 layers that will play simultaneously.
Particle
system effects
This
function can give objects and characters a constantly animated look. For
example by adding particle effects on a barrel I can make smoke come out of the
top of it making it look a bit more logical. To add particles you code
functions onto coordinates of the object and player.
Player
Projectile and Sound
Player
projectiles are projectiles that emit from the player when the bound key is
pressed. To add this you must add a few events and write some code and add
scripts in the events in order for a visible projectile to come out of the
added points of creation on the axis.
To add sound
you simply get a sound file that suits the projectile and add it from the sound
option.
Animated
enemy sprite
An animated
enemy sprite is a set of images drawn or imported by you which move in a
sequence for example one frame has a circle and a dot inside, for it to be an
animated sprite the circle must move in the next frame so when played it works
in a sequence to give a feel of animation.
Enemy object
spawner
This is
where and how your enemy objects spawn but not only that, you also choose how
long the spawner takes to reset meaning when a new enemy spawns from the same
spot or whether the spawner only works once for the level.
Enemy
destroyed by lazer
For an enemy
to be able to get destroyed by a lazer projectile shot by the player you must
first add the basics i.e collision between the lazer projectile object and
enemy object. Then you can go on to code particle effects that emit from the
enemy when contact between the projectile and enemy object is made.
Enemy
projectiles
In order to
create projectiles that affect the player, you must create projectiles that are
linked to the enemy object. Rather, inside the enemy object files.
The same
procedure applies to enemy projectiles as the player lazer projectiles.
Work flow
To begin
making my environment/level, I created a plain terrain. I had planned my level beforehand so I knew
exactly what to do as I carried on to manipulate the terrain to create a border
around the world. In order to ensure the player does not fall off, I created
very tall rocky mountain walls surrounding the world. 
After the
border was made, I started shaping the world into how I wanted it to look. As I
was making a quarry and knew exactly what look I wanted to give it, I started
to carve in a pathway that runs from the bottom of the map to the top.
I wanted to
add a texture to the ground that resembled my original plan. In order to find
the correct texture I went on a site called ‘’Cgtextures.com’’. However I could not find the exact one so I
downloaded two texture files and overlapped them onto one another with the 2nd
layer in lower opacity making the ground look blended and natural.
Next step
for me was to download the correct assets to make the world look like an
abandoned quarry/ building site.
I went to
the Unity Asset Store and browsed assets available to download. I downloaded
many assets that fit my scene very well. It includes big bins, canisters, the quarry machine
itself in the middle, rock assets, broken building, fuel tank and a few more
small props.
