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GameMaker Docs
Typed up by: The Crusader and Gnarly McNasty
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Call Delta House 10meg 206/232-1155
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Authors note: This file is a very-much abridged version of the Game Maker
docs - Most of the important stuff is here, without the "computer illiterate"
garbage... i.e. "to boot: insert disk in drive with label up.. close drive
door.. turn computer on" etc.. Have fun...
Gamemaker is made up of 5 separate parts. 1) The Scene Maker, which lets you
draw background scenes for the games 2) The Sprite Maker, which lets you
create characters 3) The Sound Maker for sound effects 4) The Music Maker,
for background music, and 5) The Gamemaker Editor, which ties them all
together.
The Gamemaker Editor
Main Commands:
Menu (back to main menu)
File (Load, Save, Init, Delete)
Make a Disk (write the game to disk)
Prnt (prints out listing of game)
Clr (clears program area)
Run (run the program in program area)
Ins (insert blank line at cursor)
Del (delete line at cursor)
Find (places cursor next to given label)
Copy (copies chunks of program)
Move (move lines around)
Watch the Message line at the top for questions and comments... (i.e. Delete
(y/n) ? )
The Command window (in the middle) displays all of the commands available to
you when programming. The list can be scrolled forward and backwards, and the
window itself can be expanded (using the 'tab' at the bottom right corner)
To place a command, place the cursor in the programming area (bottom) where
you want the command to go, and press the button or space bar.
Next, scroll through the command list until you find the command you want,
and hit the button. The command will be copied into the program area.
The Program area (at the bottom) like the Command area, can be scrolled up
and down (by pushing the button while the cursor is on the up or down arrows).
You can change the information in the program area, select the line you want
to change, go to the command box and select the new command, and hit the
button.
The Scene Maker
The Scene Maker has 4 sub-parts. The Scene Maker Commands, The Scene Maker
Paint Box, the Drawing Modes, and the Drawing Board.
Scene Maker Commands:
File (see previous section for file commands)
Quit (back to editor)
Undo (undo last operation)
Clear (clears the drawing board)
The Paint Box:
To choose a color, move the cursor onto the respective color, and hit the
button.
The Drawing Modes:
Draw (Free drawing)
Circl (draws circles - set the center and radius)
Line (between 2 points)
Box (2 points)
Fill
Zoom (magnifies area)
Copy (cut & paste)
View (hides the commands to view full screen)
Move
You can erase parts already done by drawing over with a different color, or
eliminating the dots one-by-one in the Zoom mode.
The Sprite Maker
In the Sprite Maker, you have 3 sections:
Sprite Maker Commands
Sprite Drawing board (where you draw the sprites)
Sprite Positioning Area (where you position the different sprite pictures when
making an animated character)
In the command area are 6 commands - Quit (exit to main), File, Setup (to
start new sprites), FR (frame #, for animated sprits), SPR (sprite #), and Cmd
(editing commands - flip, animate, shift, quit, clear, copy)
To start a new sprite: First, go to Setup, and select how many small sprites
are going to make up one whole shape ('sprites' command). Then you will be
asked to "position" your sprites, which means to place the component sprites on
the sprite positioning area, in the order that they make up the large sprite.
Next, select the color that you want to draw with (by moving to color & hitting
the button twice), then move to the Drawing Board, and place the dots in the
order you want. If you are drawing more than one sprite, go to the "SP=1" box
and move the joystick to change it to "SP=2", and so on until you are finished.
If you are animating a sprite, you use the "FR=1" box (frame=1), to select
another frame, and re-draw the sprites.
Sprite Editing Commands: ("cmd" box)
Flip: Turns the sprite in the direction indicated
Anim: Animates the sprite from Frame x to Frame y. Button stops the viewing.
Shift: Moves the graphics in the area of the current frame.
Quit: Exits to previous commands
Clear: Erase the entire sprite
Copy: To copy frames from sprite to sprite.
Sound Maker
There are three sections to Sound Maker - the Sound Maker Commands, the Knobs,
and the Slides.
The Commands:
Save, Load, Init
Quit (exits to main)
Delete (deletes current frame)
Insert (inserts frame)
Copy (copies sounds from frame to frame)
Clear (clears the entire screen)
Knobs: To move a knob, press the button while on the knob, then move joystick
until it has the correct setting you want.
Reps: Will repeat sounds (you must also set the Number of times to repeat, and
the Delay between reps)
Frm: Indicates which frame you are working on (1-63)
Wave: Chooses between 3 different sound types- Slide, Pulse, or Noise (turn the
Pulse knob to change pulse)
Frq: Frequency (pitch) of sound
Spd (knob): Speed of sweep
Sliders: (push button on, and move it up and down)
Spd: Speed of sound
Dur: Duration of sounds
Other commands:
Hear Sound: Plays whole sound effect
Hear Frame: Plays selected frames
Constant: Repeats sound or frame until turned off
Quiet (or ESC): Stops playing
Music Maker
Commands:
File
Quit
Insert (use arrows to move to note to insert before)
Del (use arrows to select note to delete)
Top (takes you to beginning of music)
Play (playes music)
Clr (clears all notes)
Stop (ceases playing song, CONT continues)
To enter a note: Put marker in note selection box, and hit the button. Move
joystick until the note you want is in the box, then hit the button. Move the
pointer onto the music sheet and hit the button.
Channels- there are two different voices that can play at once, one on the top
staff, one on the bottom. When selecting a note, it is specifically for one
channel or the other (depending on wether it is red or blue, which can be
changed by moving the joystick). To change the channel, select it with the
pointer.
Instruments- There are many different instruments which can be played, to
select a different one, move the pointer down to the box (right next to the
channels) and select which instrument you want.
Tie: To tie together notes, to smooth out the music.
Tempo: (speed of music) Can be set on slow, med, fast.
Game Maker Programming Commands
Add [x] to score [a] - adds x points to score of player a.
Clear Scene - clears the screen and resets the colors to black.
Clear score [a] - resets score a to 0.
Clear sprite - Clears a sprite's graphics and removes it from the screen.
/comment - like a REM, holds up to 24 chars of information
Data table at x - tells the computer the location of the data table (at line x)
Data values 000 000 - The data table; two variables read per instruction
Endif - the end of a logical IF function.
If... Then - the beginning of a logical IF function
(If can be used in the following ways)
If a = 000
If a > 000
If a < 000
If button 1 is on
If joystick is right
If keyboard = "J"
If score 1>000
If score 1>score 2
If sprite hit sprite then
Jump to label 1001 - jumps to designated label (up to 255 labels)
Jump to subroutine at 1001 - jumps to designated subroutine until a "Return
from subroutine" is executed.
Otherwise - like an ELSE in a logical IF statement.
Pause for x units - waits for x time periods before resuming operation.
Plot a dot at x=000 y=000 - Plots a pixel at coordinates x,y.
Plot color 0 - Designates color of plot
0 = Black
1 = White
2 = Blue
3 = Red
4 = Violet
5 = Green
Print - Prints up to 20 chars at current position.
Print at row 00 column 00 - sets current print position.
Print character of x - prints the character of ascii value x.
Print color 00 on 00 - selects foreground and background colors of next
characters to be printed.
Print value of [a] - prints numeric value of letter a.
Scene is [ ] - loads scene into memory.
Score x at row 00 column 00 - Selects position of score x.
Score x color = 00 on 00 - Selects color to print score x in.
Set - like LET
Set a = 1
Set a = 1 * 4
Set a = a - a
Set a = rnd number from 0 to 100
Set a = sprite x position
Set a = value at data + [a]
Set a = value at ram + [a]
Skip next if... - Skips next instruction if following expression is true.
Song is [ ] - loads song into memory.
Sound = [ ] - selects sound effects.
Sound Off, Sound On
Sprite x is [ ] - selects sprite.
Sprite animates always, Sprite animates once - selects how to animate sprite.
Sprite animation speed = 000 - selects how fast to animate sprite
Sprite color set = (red/blu) or (vio/grn) - selects new color for selected
sprite.
Sprite Dir = 000 000 - Sets direction of sprite (2nd number = degrees)
000 = 000 degrees (up)
064 = 090 degrees (right)
128 = 180 degrees (down)
192 = 270 degrees (left)
Sprite movement speed = 000 - sets movement speed of sprite.
Sprite x position = 000, Sprite y position = 000 - sets sprite x and y position.
Stop program
Trace of [a] on (or off) - sets trace mode on or off.
S - step through instructions
V - cycle through variables
up or dn arrows - slow-motion (speeding up)
lf or rt arrows - slow-motion (slowing down)
T - start or stop trace mode
Error Messages
Out of memory - you have filled the memory area.. watch the FREE at the top
Out of Labels - you have used all 255 labels
Too many files - you have tried to load more than 255 files (sprites, sounds,
songs and pictures)
File too large - the file you are trying to load is too big to fit in available
memory.
Too many if thens - there are more than 128 if...then statements
If then logic error - Each if must have an endif, or there are two Otherwises.
I/O error - error in trying to disk access.