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[Duckablo]

I just got into programming and game development and everything has told me learn Unity for C#, and I've been doing some YouTube videos/Udemy courses but for some reason GM2 keeps calling my name. Will I really be hindered if I learn from GML?

[michaelplzno]

I've seen some really good stuff in Game Maker, all game making systems have their limitations but great artists choose their limits well.

The reason I like Unity is because they are aggressive about making it run on everything. I figure if I'm gonna spend a chunk of my life writing a game I want it to run on whatever the latest thing is.

[ProgramGamer]

I don't think you'll be hindered necessarily, but GML is significantly different from other programming languages to the point where if/when you decide to switch to something else, you'll have to learn a lot of new concepts along with it. However, GameMaker is also a pretty straightforward engine for making simple games, and I definitely recommend it for beginners to learn about basic programming concepts such as variables, functions, data structures and other foundational principles.

GameMaker also exports to most modern platforms these days (including Switch!) so you won't have to worry about being unable to port your games to a certain console unless it's a really old one. The web export is a bit expensive though, so that's something to be mindful of if you intend to make web games from the start.

I say take your time, make something small that you'll enjoy working on, and don't be afraid to ask for help, either here or on the Yoyo Games forums! Unity is a more powerful engine, sure, but it's also significantly more complex and requires more programming experience to be good at it. Starting out with GMS is perfectly fine imo!

(Fyi, I started making games with GameMaker 8 )

[Duckablo]

I don't think you'll be hindered necessarily, but GML is significantly different from other programming languages to the point where if/when you decide to switch to something else, you'll have to learn a lot of new concepts along with it. However, GameMaker is also a pretty straightforward engine for making simple games, and I definitely recommend it for beginners to learn about basic programming concepts such as variables, functions, data structures and other foundational principles.

GameMaker also exports to most modern platforms these days (including Switch!) so you won't have to worry about being unable to port your games to a certain console unless it's a really old one. The web export is a bit expensive though, so that's something to be mindful of if you intend to make web games from the start.

I say take your time, make something small that you'll enjoy working on, and don't be afraid to ask for help, either here or on the Yoyo Games forums! Unity is a more powerful engine, sure, but it's also significantly more complex and requires more programming experience to be good at it. Starting out with GMS is perfectly fine imo!

(Fyi, I started making games with GameMaker 8 )

Awesome, I picked up the trial last night and am already having fun, DnD is really cool but I don't thini I'll ever really try it. After a couple tutorials I'll just keep learning GML haha, thank so much! I don't really think about publishing anything right now, I am just trying to learn everything I can before I start school.

[velocirection]

I just got into programming and game development and everything has told me learn Unity for C#, and I've been doing some YouTube videos/Udemy courses but for some reason GM2 keeps calling my name. Will I really be hindered if I learn from GML?

So I know Java, C++, Python, R and C (kind of) and I can tell you that GML is pretty much a sweet spot between a lot of different languages (mostly C-like/Java) and by far my preferred language to use. Honestly if you become well versed in GML (or any of the C-like languages) you'll have an easy enough time picking another language up if you so choose to (except Python, it's a pretty different from the others listed and the one I like the least)

Like learnjng one language is good, learning several is good- but what's *most* important is to learn structure, KISS (keep is simple stupid), don't repeat yourself, etc... If you learn good programming practices you'll be able to program in any language you want to learn as soon as you're familiar with that languages syntax/idiosyncrasies.

[Duckablo]

I just got into programming and game development and everything has told me learn Unity for C#, and I've been doing some YouTube videos/Udemy courses but for some reason GM2 keeps calling my name. Will I really be hindered if I learn from GML?

So I know Java, C++, Python, R and C (kind of) and I can tell you that GML is pretty much a sweet spot between a lot of different languages (mostly C-like/Java) and by far my preferred language to use. Honestly if you become well versed in GML (or any of the C-like languages) you'll have an easy enough time picking another language up if you so choose to (except Python, it's a pretty different from the others listed and the one I like the least)

Like learnjng one language is good, learning several is good- but what's *most* important is to learn structure, KISS (keep is simple stupid), don't repeat yourself, etc... If you learn good programming practices you'll be able to program in any language you want to learn as soon as you're familiar with that languages syntax/idiosyncrasies.

Thank you so much! From the tutorials I've done I can already see the similarities, main different is the Syntax (so far!)
I've really been enjoying GML today, I started out by making a space blocker shooter today that I might continue on tomorrow. It all seems like so much but I totally see why its worth it. Do you have any dummy GML books/apps that can help me improve?
A lot of it just seems like thinking of something, then seeing how to incorporate it into the game engine,