Our first lesson will be an easy one. We will grab the free software we need for the course and download the level and lesson resources for the entire course.
Part A – Download GameMaker
The software that we use for this course is a FREE version of GameMaker Studio that is available at http://yoyogames.com/studio/download . In the top right corner of the page you will see a link to their DOWNLOAD page.
Once on the download page you will see large links for downloading or buying GameMaker Studio. We want to DOWNLOAD the program. It is around 130 MB and currently called GMStudio-Installer.exe.
Once you have downloaded the software you can run the installer.
When the installer finishes downloading and installing, run the program. Select to use the free version of the program.
Part B – Download Course Resources
Most lessons will ask you to open game projects, graphics, and sounds. These resources are grouped into a zip file on the Resource Page . Download the file and unzip it in a convenient location on your computer. If you don’t know how to unzip the file, go to Level 01-Lesson02. If you know all about unzipping, just move onto Level01-Lesson03.
That’s it! Lesson One Completed!
Side Note
The free version that you just installed will limit the size of the game you can create. All the lessons in this game programming course work within these limitations, so don’t worry, you do not need to purchase the program to complete this course!
However there will probably be a point in this course where you will have a game idea that requires the unlimited version of the program. The least expensive version is called GameMaker Studio Standard and it is only $50. In my opinion and the opinion of many students that have taken this course, the Standard Edition is well worth the money and will allow you to export games to Windows and Mac with no limits on the size of the game.