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The Game Maker’s Companion: Game Development: The Journey Continues

The Game Maker’s Companion: Game Development: The Journey Continues

3 reviews
by Jacob Hagbood, Kevin Crossley, Martin Rijks, Nana Nielsen
Publisher: Apress
Release Date: October 2010
ISBN: 9781430228264
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Book Description

The Game Maker’s Companion is the long-awaited sequel to The Game Maker’s Apprentice. This book picks up where the last book left off, advancing your game development journey with some seriously impressive gaming projects. This time you’ll learn how to make professional-quality platform games with solid collision detection and slick control mechanisms and you’ll get acquainted with a long-lost icon of platform gaming history on the way.

You’ll go on to discover techniques to add depth and believability to the characters and stories in your games, including The Monomyth, cut scene storyboarding, and character archetypes. This culminates in the creation of an original atmospheric platform-adventure which will take your GML programming skills to new heights. There’s even a handy reference section at the back of the book which will be invaluable for adding common features to your own games.

With contributions from four games industry professionals and a highly respected member of the Game Maker community, The Game Maker’s Companion is another labor of love that will give you even more hours of enjoyment than the original. If you already own Game Maker, then you really must own this book as well.

Table of Contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Foreword
  3. About the Authors
  4. About the Artists
  5. About the Technical Reviewer
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
  8. 1. Fishpod
    1. 1. Greetings, Game Maker
      1. 1.1. Resources
      2. 1.2. Instances and Objects
      3. 1.3. Variables
        1. 1.3.1. Local Instance Variables
        2. 1.3.2. Variables in Other Instances
        3. 1.3.3. Global Variables
      4. 1.4. Coordinates and Angles
      5. 1.5. Transparency
      6. 1.6. Congratulations
    2. 2. Platform Beginnings: An Idea with Legs
      1. 2.1. A Fish Called Pod
      2. 2.2. Sprites
      3. 2.3. Collision Masks
      4. 2.4. Platform Objects
      5. 2.5. Platform Waiting Room
      6. 2.6. State Machines
      7. 2.7. State Objects
      8. 2.8. Collision
        1. 2.8.1. Problem 1: Just Passing Through
        2. 2.8.2. Problem 2: Get Your Inside Out
      9. 2.9. Walk On
      10. 2.10. Jump Up
      11. 2.11. Fall Down
      12. 2.12. Challenges
      13. 2.13. Goals
      14. 2.14. Finishing Touches
      15. 2.15. Congratulations
  9. 2. Zool
    1. 3. Zool: Taking It to the Nth Dimension
      1. 3.1. Designing a Ninjalien
      2. 3.2. Long-Term Challenge
      3. 3.3. Short-Term Challenges
      4. 3.4. Ready-Baked Resources
      5. 3.5. Kitchen Tiles
      6. 3.6. An Alien State
      7. 3.7. An Alien's First Steps
        1. 3.7.1. Marching Order
        2. 3.7.2. Room with a View
      8. 3.8. Crash Landing a Ninja
      9. 3.9. Congratulations—Phase 1 Complete!
    2. 4. Empowerment: Sliding Ninjas
      1. 4.1. Balance of Power
      2. 4.2. Empowering Up
        1. 4.2.1. You Cannae Break the Laws of Physics
        2. 4.2.2. A Floating Garage Worker
      3. 4.3. Underground, Overground
      4. 4.4. Driven up the Walls
      5. 4.5. Wall Polish
      6. 4.6. Ramping Up
      7. 4.7. Sliding Down
      8. 4.8. Sound Movement
      9. 4.9. Congratulations—Phase 2 Complete!
    3. 5. Krool's Forces: Sweetening the Challenge
      1. 5.1. Challenging Ingredients
      2. 5.2. Reheated Resources
      3. 5.3. Gotta Get 'Em All
        1. 5.3.1. Spoil Your Dinner
        2. 5.3.2. A Solid Problem
          1. 5.3.2.1. The Solid Wheel
          2. 5.3.2.2. Reinventing the Solid Wheel
          3. 5.3.2.3. A Scripted Rescue
      4. 5.4. Health Hazards
        1. 5.4.1. Spiky Fright
        2. 5.4.2. Bitter Sweets
          1. 5.4.2.1. Jelly and I Scream
          2. 5.4.2.2. Beastly Licorice
          3. 5.4.2.3. Spitting Mad
          4. 5.4.2.4. Let it Bee
      5. 5.5. Congratulations—Phase 3 Complete!
    4. 6. Fighting Talk: The Empower Strikes Back
      1. 6.1. Ant Attack
        1. 6.1.1. Splitting Headache
        2. 6.1.2. Slide Kick
        3. 6.1.3. Top Spinning
        4. 6.1.4. Shooting Stars
      2. 6.2. Uplifting Platforms
        1. 6.2.1. Up and Down
        2. 6.2.2. Left and Right
        3. 6.2.3. Relativity
        4. 6.2.4. Not So Solid Ground
      3. 6.3. Parallax Universe
      4. 6.4. Keeping Score
      5. 6.5. Zoolaphobia
      6. 6.6. Programming Memories
      7. 6.7. Congratulations—100% Complete!
  10. 3. Shadows on Deck
    1. 7. Game Design: "Shadows on Deck"
      1. 7.1. A Good Beginning
      2. 7.2. The Hero
        1. 7.2.1. Make Him Invisible
        2. 7.2.2. Make Him Fantastic
        3. 7.2.3. Make Him Mortal
        4. 7.2.4. Flynn
      3. 7.3. The Beginnings of a Story
      4. 7.4. Game Play
        1. 7.4.1. Mechanics of "Shadows on Deck"
          1. 7.4.1.1. Actions
          2. 7.4.1.2. Rules
        2. 7.4.2. Challenges
      5. 7.5. Difficulty
      6. 7.6. Conclusion
    2. 8. Storytelling in Theory
      1. 8.1. What Can a Story Do for My Game?
      2. 8.2. Little or Big Story?
      3. 8.3. Story Structures
        1. 8.3.1. The Three-Act Structure
          1. 8.3.1.1. Act 1
          2. 8.3.1.2. Act 2
          3. 8.3.1.3. Act 3
        2. 8.3.2. The Hero's Journey
          1. 8.3.2.1. The Ordinary World
          2. 8.3.2.2. The Call to Adventure
          3. 8.3.2.3. Refusal to the Call
          4. 8.3.2.4. Meeting with the Mentor
          5. 8.3.2.5. Crossing the First Threshold
          6. 8.3.2.6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
          7. 8.3.2.7. Approach to the Innermost Cave
          8. 8.3.2.8. The Ordeal
          9. 8.3.2.9. Reward
          10. 8.3.2.10. The Road Back
          11. 8.3.2.11. Resurrection
          12. 8.3.2.12. Return with the Elixir
        3. 8.3.3. The Structures Working Together
      4. 8.4. Pace
      5. 8.5. Characters
        1. 8.5.1. Hero
          1. 8.5.1.1. Willing Hero
          2. 8.5.1.2. Unwilling Hero
          3. 8.5.1.3. Cynical Anti-Hero
          4. 8.5.1.4. Loner Hero
          5. 8.5.1.5. Catalyst Hero
        2. 8.5.2. The Rest of the Crew
          1. 8.5.2.1. The Mentor
          2. 8.5.2.2. Herald
          3. 8.5.2.3. Threshold Guardian
          4. 8.5.2.4. Shapeshifter
          5. 8.5.2.5. Trickster
          6. 8.5.2.6. Shadow
        3. 8.5.3. Filling Roles
        4. 8.5.4. Traits
      6. 8.6. Interactive Stories
        1. 8.6.1. Branching
          1. 8.6.1.1. Did I Miss Out?
          2. 8.6.1.2. Interesting Choices
          3. 8.6.1.3. Wasted Content
        2. 8.6.2. Modifying Non-Player Character Behavior
        3. 8.6.3. Changing Character Appearance
        4. 8.6.4. Cosmetic Changes
      7. 8.7. Tools to Tell a Story Inside a Game
        1. 8.7.1.
          1. 8.7.1.1. Cut Scenes
          2. 8.7.1.2. Dialog
          3. 8.7.1.3. Clues
      8. 8.8. Conclusion: Where's the Skip Button?
    3. 9. Storytelling Applied
      1. 9.1. Applying the Theory to Shadows on Deck
        1. 9.1.1. The Ordinary World
        2. 9.1.2. The Call to Adventure
        3. 9.1.3. The Refusal to the Call
        4. 9.1.4. The Meeting with the Mentor
        5. 9.1.5. Crossing the First Threshold
        6. 9.1.6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
        7. 9.1.7. Approach to the Innermost Cave
        8. 9.1.8. The Ordeal
        9. 9.1.9. The Reward
        10. 9.1.10. The Road Back
        11. 9.1.11. The Resurrection
        12. 9.1.12. Return with the Elixir
      2. 9.2. Archetypes for Our Story
        1. 9.2.1. Flynn
        2. 9.2.2. Father
        3. 9.2.3. Mother
        4. 9.2.4. The Parrot Archibald
        5. 9.2.5. The Pirate King
        6. 9.2.6. Level Bosses
        7. 9.2.7. Minor Characters
      3. 9.3. Titles Tantrum
      4. 9.4. Storytelling Tools for Shadows on Deck
        1. 9.4.1. Clues
        2. 9.4.2. Dialog
        3. 9.4.3. Cut Scenes
          1. 9.4.3.1. Cut Scene: Attack!
          2. 9.4.3.2. Cut Scene: Introduce Boss in Crow's Nest
          3. 9.4.3.3. Cut Scene: Arrival at Rogues' Rendezvous
          4. 9.4.3.4. Cut Scene: Introduction to the Town Sheriff
      5. 9.5. Conclusion
    4. 10. Of Mice and Pen: Pirate Art
      1. 10.1. A Little Art History
      2. 10.2. Shadows On Spec
      3. 10.3. The Art Process
        1. 10.3.1. Phase 1: Conceptual Design
          1. 10.3.1.1. The Art of Communication
          2. 10.3.1.2. Gaining Inspiration
          3. 10.3.1.3. Getting Warmed Up
          4. 10.3.1.4. The More the Merrier
          5. 10.3.1.5. Silhouetiquette
          6. 10.3.1.6. Complementing the Code and Design
        2. 10.3.2. Phase 2: Asset Creation
          1. 10.3.2.1. Art Pipeline
          2. 10.3.2.2. Character Building
          3. 10.3.2.3. Let's Get Environmental
        3. 10.3.3. Phase 3: Art Integration
          1. 10.3.3.1. Art Therapy
          2. 10.3.3.2. Shades of Grey
          3. 10.3.3.3. The Devil Is in the Detail
        4. 10.3.4. We've Got It Covered
          1. 10.3.4.1. Pirate CD
      4. 10.4. Conclusion: Save Progress and Continue!
    5. 11. GML: From Ninja to Pirate
      1. 11.1. GML Babel Fish
        1. 11.1.1. Literal Translation
        2. 11.1.2. Translation Tips
      2. 11.2. The Power of Language
        1. 11.2.1. A Global Evil
        2. 11.2.2. Switching Sprites
        3. 11.2.3. The Ninja Elbow Walk
        4. 11.2.4. Scripts
          1. 11.2.4.1. Staying on Top
          2. 11.2.4.2. Staying in Contact
          3. 11.2.4.3. Changing Lifts
        5. 11.2.5. Delayed Lift
        6. 11.2.6. Goodbye Ninja, Hello Pirate
      3. 11.3. The Problem with Giants
        1. 11.3.1. Move On Top
        2. 11.3.2. Ignoring Ledges in the Air
        3. 11.3.3. Empty Collisions
      4. 11.4. Congratulations
    6. 12. Rogues' Rendezvous: Vertically Sliced
      1. 12.1. Animated Driving
        1. 12.1.1. Best Foot Forward
        2. 12.1.2. Over the Top
        3. 12.1.3. Jump High, Fall Hard
        4. 12.1.4. Half a Pixel
      2. 12.2. Lights, Camera, Action!
        1. 12.2.1. Pretty Useful Polly
          1. 12.2.1.1. Follow the Leader
          2. 12.2.1.2. Aye Aye, Captain
          3. 12.2.1.3. Flapping Distraction
        2. 12.2.2. Numb Skulls
          1. 12.2.2.1. Footsteps on Deck
          2. 12.2.2.2. A Deathly Stare
          3. 12.2.2.3. Pesky Parrot
        3. 12.2.3. Camera Focus
      3. 12.3. Congratulations!
    7. 13. The Story Begins
      1. 13.1. Emotivation
        1. 13.1.1. Cutting the Scene
        2. 13.1.2. Fetch the Popcorn
      2. 13.2. Level Design
        1. 13.2.1. Theory in Practice
        2. 13.2.2. Progression
        3. 13.2.3. Micro Curves
        4. 13.2.4. Walkthrough
        5. 13.2.5. Game Play Tweaking
      3. 13.3. Traps and Puzzles
        1. 13.3.1. Traps
        2. 13.3.2. Puzzles
      4. 13.4. Storytelling
        1. 13.4.1. Mood
        2. 13.4.2. Characters
        3. 13.4.3. Bigger Story
      5. 13.5. Implementing Dialogue
        1. 13.5.1. Scripting Dialogues
        2. 13.5.2. Punctuating Text
          1. 13.5.2.1. The Word Script
          2. 13.5.2.2. The Speaking Object
      6. 13.6. Congratulations
      7. 13.7. Final Words
  11. 4. Reference
    1. 14. Feature Reference
      1. 14.1. 360-Degree Movement
      2. 14.2. 360-Degree Shooting
      3. 14.3. Cheat Codes
      4. 14.4. Countdown Clock
      5. 14.5. Fancy Buttons
      6. 14.6. Four- and Eight-Way Movement
      7. 14.7. Grid Movement
      8. 14.8. Homing Missiles
      9. 14.9. Mini-Map
      10. 14.10. Mouse Aim-and-Fire
      11. 14.11. Mouse Cursor
      12. 14.12. Moving Through Rooms
      13. 14.13. Orbiting Objects
      14. 14.14. Patrolling Enemies
      15. 14.15. Pausing the Game
      16. 14.16. Pushing Boxes
      17. 14.17. Scrolling Text (Horizontal)
      18. 14.18. Scrolling Text (Vertical)
      19. 14.19. Smoke Trail
      20. 14.20. Smooth Motion
      21. 14.21. Snap To Grid
      22. 14.22. Toggle Music and Sound Effects
  12. A. Rogues' Rendezvous: Dialogue