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[Dacke]

That makes sense. My brand-new-top-of-the-line monitor is locked at 50Hz though.

[Paul Eres]

are you in europe? for televisions, from what i remember, 50hz is standard in europe, 60hz in the US. i've never seen a 50hz anything in the US, everything is 60 here. i've had monitors that could also handle 75 and 100, but i've never had a monitor that could not handle at least 60

[Dacke]

Hm, nevermind, the monitor does support 60Hz. There seems to be a bug in the driver for the new graphics card I got today.

[Muz]

GM was the best engine to use back in 2005 (in terms of ease of use and capabilities). but it hasn't kept up with the times, technology has moved on and it hasn't kept up, so today the best choice for an engine is either unity or flash with flixel/flashpunk

i use GM but my current game will probably be my last serious/commercial game in it, after this i plan to use it just for smaller fun projects and use something else for my bigger projects

Yeah, this too. I was a heavy user of Multimedia Fusion, but if I were to go into game making this generation, I'd have just gone for the programming languages. They're a lot easier to learn these days than back during the Web 1.0 days, what with all the interactive tutorials.

It's ok for prototyping, I guess. But most of the visual 'click' stuff get really tedious when you want to read code.

[Nix]

How exactly is learning programming languages "safer" now than it was ten years ago?

[SolarLune]

I guess because the programming languages are more developed and it doesn't quite matter as much which language you choose (i.e. Python's got good stuff just like C++, so you don't have to learn C++ if you want to use OGRE or OpenGL, for example). Maybe. I dunno.

Game Maker's a good program, and you can do a lot with it, for sure, but there is indeed nothing quite like doing something all with code and an external level editor. Usually those languages expose more to you than Game Maker. I would recommend either PyGame or FlashPunk if you're not looking for Game Maker. If it fulfills your purposes, go with it. It's gotten pricier over time, if I recall, though.

[C.A. Sinner]

Game Maker's a good program, and you can do a lot with it, for sure, but there is indeed nothing quite like doing something all with code and an external level editor.

You can do both of those with GM

[JWK5]

The best tool to use is one you can use well. If something works better for you for what you want to do then by all means use it, but if GM is what works best for you then it's probably the right tool for the job. Better to finish something on a (possibly) inferior tool than never finish anything at all on a better tool.

[SolarLune]

The best tool to use is one you can use well. If something works better for you for what you want to do then by all means use it, but if GM is what works best for you then it's probably the right tool for the job. Better to finish something on a (possibly) inferior tool than never finish anything at all on a better tool.

I totally agree with that.

[Muz]

How exactly is learning programming languages "safer" now than it was ten years ago?

Not safer, just significantly easier. A lot more good guides and open source library today. There's Stack Overflow, which makes it a lot easier to ask questions and find solutions to problems others have faced.

Game making software have always been a little unstable, and have improved significantly in the last 10 years, but not at the same rate that learning resources for programming languages have. You don't really need game making software to hold your hand anymore.

Still, they're awesome for picking up basic programming skills and doing something immediately without having to spend 3 months learning it.

[Maud'Dib Atreides]

No mean to advertise, but I've been using a program for about 6 years now, it's called the SGDK2.

It's an incredible program- it makes 2D games with ease. It uses the NET 4.5 Framework.

(It's actually the reason why I know C#, it's taught me alot)

The Scrolling Game Development Kit is a library that comes with an IDE for 2D game development.

It uses C# code and is multiplatform due to it's usage of the OpenTK OpenGL wrapper and FmodEX.

If you do choose an HTML5 path, the IDE can convert your game from C# to HTML5 and Javascript at a click.

It was also designed to aid in the development of games for users who lack any programming knowledge or even conceptual knowledge of the art.

And hey, it generates VS Solution and XML files, so you can easily edit your games in Visual Studio if you opt to not use the SGDK2 IDE.

Really, but more about it:

Map Editor with Plans and Functions, Animated Tiles

Graphics Editor (Graphics are in .PNG Format)

Frameset/TileSet editor

Arbitrary solidity definition, Sprite Editor

Ability to import custom code objects and other C# libraries, such as Lidgren.Network.

Ability to create C# code that runs alongside the project's code, all C# code can be changed, even the out of the box code (I've actually changed it to output 3D for my game :D)

I read all of the comments about people limiting things to GM, Flixel, and so forth.

I'd love to kill 2 birds with one stone- give someone another option while simultaneously bringing in new members to the SGDK2 forums. :D

I know most of you are either deadset on devving in your own programs, or are newbies choosing other programs, but at least consider this one. :D

(In about a month when my project is released, if you still have questions, my game should show a fraction of the power SGDK2 has to offer)

[Darren_D_Daley]

It depends on what you want to focus on game programming or game design. If you really want to get to grips with games programming I would suggest dropping down to a lower level language like C# and then dropping down further to C++ when you get a handle on that. But if you want to focus on design then I would say continue using game maker and maybe pick up another high level language like Python or Lua and read up more on other aspects of game design.

[Rob Lach]

Use whatever is easiest that still gets the job done. If you're making a tile-based platformer, game maker away. If you're making a AAA FPS, good luck.

[Dave_C]

One of the risks with game maker/mmf/construct etc. is if the particular line of tools you have spent years getting accustomed to suddenly loses it's support/updates, you may have to start over learning a new tool/language.. of course programming is programming.. it's all a matter of logic and then just knowing how to use the language I suppose.

[D Walton]

And not just if they lose support/updates, but if the user outgrows the program and feels constrained by it. This may not be the case for the OP just yet, but the time may come sooner rather than later, especially if you're already having doubts.

I'd say diversify. Try to become skilled in the use of several tools, then you can have the option to choose the best tool for each job. The more tools you're skilled in, the more flexible you can be.

Obviously it demands more of your time, but certain game design skills are transferable. I've found learning the basics of Game Maker has given me a huge head start working with Construct 2, because the logic is the same, and many elements of game design are shared. For that reason alone, working with Game Maker is not a waste, even if you do decide to abandon it further down the line for something else; in the very least it can be a helpful stepping stone.