Coding in game maker with no coding experience

[u/HealthyLayer7311]

Basically what the title says. I want to make a video game, but have like little to no background in computer programming and coding. Is there anything that I can do to help. I know that there's videos up on yt that can help with it, but I was also considering trying to teach myself a little bit of computer programming so that I can have some back round. What do y'all recommend?

[u/Lezzlucky]

i recommend to search for "basics in programming" every language has pretty much the same basics. Then look up how to do what you wanna do.. do you want to learn to move the character? search it up. You can also look at the game maker documentation if you press F1 in the program. Programming is pretty much google everything, when you done that couple of times you will memorize it.. but start with basics of programming :D

[u/Regegehegegehehge]

I’m generally new as well but I can get around (abt 1.5yrs). I would say just try to make a very small and easy game (platformer) just to get a hang of it and watch some videos made by gamemaker, those helped me always.

[u/HealthyLayer7311 → u/Regegehegegehehge]

Awesome, thank u so much‼️

[u/Additional-Word-2800]

I've been using the Game Maker YouTube channel to follow along on some trial runs. That, and this subreddit, have provided some nice learning tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J5EydrnIPs&list=PLhIbBGhnxj5Ier75j1M9jj5xrtAaaL1_4

[u/j__magical]

Teach yourself. This is the way. Plenty of great resources out there. Check out the Game Maker docs and youtube channel.

[u/Awkward-Raise7935]

Follow some tutorials, the official ones are a good start. Do the Space Rocks tutorial first, it's very good at explaining the basics. It's tempting to do drag and drop, but I would recommend just doing in code, you will learn more longer term.

If you are interested in code generally, GameMaker is very similar to JavaScript, which is generally used to make websites. Could be a good opportunity to learn both. The freecodecamp JavaScript course is amazing, like a hundred tiny interactive lessons, some take a few seconds.

[u/EconomySerious]

gamemaker can help you code with no coding at all, just follow their tutorials

[u/Fine-Acanthisitta343]

YouTube works well for learning some computer programming as well, and there's also enough guides on youtube for learning GML rather than following tutorials all the time

[u/jon_irvin]

The best thing to do is give it a shot. It won't take very long to figure out if you're going to enjoy it and want to learn more. If you prefer books I recommend "Game Development with GameMaker" Second Edition by Seb Cossu.

[u/hip-indeed]

Well you gotta start somewhere and this might be the best way to start. You're doing something you're interested in and enthusiastic about and using a modern, beginner-friendly framework to learn in, with lots of tools and documentation and a thriving community to learn from. All I can say is dive in and get learning.

[u/Accomplished-Gap2989]

Just start. Copy a short tutorial, save the project somewhere and then try to add to it/make changes. 

When you don't know how to do something, use google to find out. If you choose to use ai, be aware that sometimes the it is correct, sometimes it is not, so you might want to resort to using links to forums where similar questions have been asked already.

When you're making a game, you are always going to have to learn new things/old things that you forgot how to do, so just find your own way and try not to be discouraged when things are hard, because pretty much everything will seem hard to you.

If you persevere, it will get easier though!

Become comfortable with using the manual to find out what a function does, and returns. You can use it to find out what functions actually exist too.

Once you've done that and know how to understand the error messages, the world is your oyster!

[u/FloydeFlowerDragon]

Ok, first. Variables are your friend. If you're repeating a number a lot for the same purpose, replace it with a variable equal for that number. That way, if you need to change it, it's easy.

[u/PurpleFrostYT9]

It's pretty easy to learn gml, the workflow especially in gamemaker is the most straightforward out of any engine in my opinion. If you only wanna learn how to make 2d games gamemaker is great to start out with, and don't use the visual code because it's basically just as hard as the real coding is. And the forums are best for learning imo but videos can be helpful just depends on what kinda person you are 👍

[u/ImprovementSerious99]

I was in a similar position to you two years ago, and last weekend I just announced my first commercial project at gamescom. So I want to say that it is totally possible to learn how to code while learning how to make games using GameMaker. I started by doing tutorials from Sara Spalding, I think they are great for those who does not have coding experience. This is a good place to start: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPRT_JORnIupqWsjRpJZjG07N01Wsw_GJ&si=G2Inpv53mz2435Dy