Essential Game Engines: Game Maker

Creator: YoYo Games
Platforms: PC, iOS, HTML5, OSX, Android, Symbian, PSP
Games: Stealth Bastard, Cinders, Simply Solitaire
www.yoyogames.com

Through the 2D focused engine GameMaker, developers can create games for mobile, PC and HTML5, whilst its creator YoYo Games is also currently working on enabling support for Frontier Development’s tiny computer Raspberry Pi.

Like many of its contemporaries, one of the engine’s most important features is its ability to work with a single code base whilst also being able to target multiple devices.

Yoyo Games claims that its in-development title, GraveMaker, takes just 20 seconds to export to various platforms.

The company’s head of development Mike Dailly says the tool has been used to develop more than 127,000 games, which includes titles such as MoaCube’s Cinders, Curve Studios’ Stealth Bastard and the company’s own Simply Solitaire.

Dailly also reveals that with the focus on creating a tool that suits a developer’s budgetary constraints and time restrictions, YoYo Games is readying to release GameMaker Studio and version 9 to make the process of development and porting an even smoother experience, whilst also improving the power of the engine.

“We will soon be launching GameMaker: Studio to bring our one-button export to the public and the games industry, and everyone will be able to do exactly what we’ve been doing in the last year in terms of cheaper games creation and easy-as-it-gets exporting to multiple platforms,” says Dailly.

“We’re certain this will maximise returns for both professional studios and indie developers.”

He adds that GameMaker 9 is a complete rewrite of the platform. The language will be modernised, whilst the IDE will undergo a resdisgn to “increase power and flexibility to the designer”.

He says that these changes will mean the latest version will “redefine” games creation for the casual games sector.