The global user interface

When you start Game Maker the following form is shown:

(Actually, this is what you see when you run Game Maker in simple mode. In advanced mode a number of additional items are shown.) At the left, you see the different resources mentioned above: Sprites, Sounds, Backgrounds, Objects, Rooms and two more: Game Information and Global Game Settings. At the top there is the familiar menu and toolbar. In this chapter we will describe briefly the various menu items, buttons, etc. In the later chapters we discuss a number of them in detail. Note that many things can be achieved in different ways: by choosing a command from the menu, by clicking a button, or by right clicking on a resource.

File menu

In the file menu you can find some of the usual commands to load and save files, plus a few special ones:

• New. Choose this command to start creating a new game. If the current game was changed you are asked whether you want to save it. There is also a toolbar button for this.
• Open. Opens a game file. Game Maker files have the extension .gmk. You can also open old .gm6 files. If you want to open .gmd files created with version 5 of Game Maker you must select the appropriate file type at the bottom of the dialog. These might though not work correctly in the new version.) There is a toolbar button for this command. You can also open a game by dragging the file into the Game Maker window.
• Recent Files. Use this submenu to reopen game files you recently opened.
• Save. Saves the game design file under its current name. If no name was specified before, you are asked for a new name. You can only use this command when the file was changed. Again, there is a toolbar button for this.
• Save As. Saves the game design file under a different name. You are asked for a new name.
• Create Executable. Once your game is ready you will probably want to give it to others to play. Using this command you can create a stand- alone version of your game. This is simply an executable that you can give to other people to run.
• Advanced Mode. When clicking on this command Game Maker will switch between simple and advanced mode. In advanced mode additional commands and resources are available.
• Exit. Probably obvious. Press this to exit Game Maker . If you changed the current game you will be asked whether you want to save it.

Edit menu

The edit menu contains a number of commands that relate to the currently selected resource (object, sprite, sound, etc.). Depending on the type of resource some of the commands may not be available.

• Insert resource. Inserts a new instance of the currently selected type of resource before the current one. A form will open in which you can change the properties of the resource. This will be treated in detail in the following chapters.
• Duplicate. Makes a copy of the current resource and adds it. A form is opened in which you can change the resource.
• Delete. Deletes the currently selected resource (or group of resources). Be careful. This cannot be undone. You will, though, be warned.
• Rename. Gives the resource a new name. This can also be done in the property form for the resource. Also, you can select the resource and then click on the name.
• Properties. Use this command to bring up the form to edit the properties. Note that all the property forms appear within the main form. You can edit many of them at the same time. You can also edit the properties by double clicking on the resource.

Note that all these commands can also be given in a different way. Right- click on a resource or resource group, and the appropriate pop-up menu will appear.

Resources menu

In this menu, you can create new resources of each of the different types. Note that for each of them there is also a button on the toolbar and a keyboard shortcut.

Run menu

This menu is used to run the game. There are two ways to run a game.

• Run normally. Runs the game as it would normally run. The game is run in the most efficient way and will look and act as in an executable game.
• Run in Debug mode. Runs the game in debug mode. In this mode you can check certain aspects of the game and you can pause and step through it. This is useful when something goes wrong but is a bit advanced.

Once your game is finished, you can create a stand-alone executable of the game using the command in the file menu.

Window menu

In this menu you find some of the usual commands to manage the different property windows in the main form:

• Cascade. Cascade all the windows such that each of them is partially visible.
• Arrange Icons. Arrange all the iconified property windows. (Useful in particular when resizing the main form.)
• Close All. Close all the property windows, asking the user whether or not to save the changes made.

Help menu

Here you find some commands to help you:

• Contents. Use this command to show this help file.
• Online Help. This command will bring you to a location on the website where you can obtain all sorts of additional help and where you can also download some tutorials.
• Upgrade. You can use this command to upgrade the Lite Edition of Game Maker to the Pro Edition. The Pro Edition has many aditional features. Here you can find information on how to upgrade the program. If you did upgrade it you can use this command to enter the registration key you received.
• Web site. Connects you to the Game Maker website where you can find information about the most recent version of Game Maker and collections of games and resources for Game Maker. We recommend that you check out the site at least once a month.
• Forums. This command will bring you to the forums where users help each other with many aspects of Game Maker.
• About Game Maker. Gives some short information about this version of Game Maker.

The resource explorer

At the left of the main form you find the resource explorer. Here you will see a tree-like view of all resources in your game. It works in the same way as the Windows Explorer, and you are most likely familiar with it. If an item has a + sign in front of it you can click on the sign to see the resources inside it. By clicking on the - sign these disappear again. You can change the name of a resource (except the top level ones) by selecting it (with a single click) and then clicking on the name. Double click on a resource to edit its properties. Use the right mouse button to access the same commands as in the Edit menu.

You can change the order of the resources by clicking on them with the mouse and holding the mouse button pressed. Now you can drag the resource to the appropriate place. (Of course the place must be correct. You cannot drag a sound into the list of sprites.)