Do you like making video games? Are you interested in making video games but have no idea where to start? It’s your lucky day, because the Humble Bundle’s current bundle is a GameMaker bundle with some insane value.
For those who don’t know, the Humble Bundle is a regular bundle of games which you can pay whatever you want for (even if that’s just a penny). They also have multiple tiers, so that if you pay extra you can get extra. You can also split your donation between charity, the site itself, and the game developers. This way, you can really vote with your dollar. To begin with, the first tier is a few GameMaker-made games you can play, as well as GameMaker: Studio Pro itself.
This will give you all the tools you need to start making your very own games, no matter your level of experience. For absolute beginners, GameMaker has a drag-and-drop interface, but it also has a full programming language you can code in if you would prefer that. You also get source codes to some of the games, so if you really like them, you can open them up yourself and see how the bacon is made, to get inspiration for your own games.
The second tier is where it really starts to get juicy. You get a few more games and their source codes, a few games without source codes, and few games where you only get their source codes. Most importantly, though, you get the HTML5 module, which means you can publish your games directly from GameMaker in HTML5. This means you can host games online and people can play them without downloading anything at all. It usually costs $150 to be able to publish GameMaker games in HTML5, so having to pay $10 for the module (subject to change, as it’s based on the average price people are paying) is an absolute steal.
The third tier is an even crazier deal, though. If you pay $15 (fixed), you get a few more games and source codes, but you also get the GameMaker modules for Android, iOS, and UWP (Universal Windows Platform). These three modules combined give you the ability to directly export your GameMaker games to Android phones, iPhones, and Windows phones, as well as to the Xbox One. These three modules alone usually cost $1,400, meaning that paying $15 for the third tier of the bundle will net you over $1,500 in GameMaker modules.
I use GameMaker myself, and I have a few of these modules, which make it effortless to port your games to other platforms. I have nowhere near the money to have paid for these at their usual price, but I was lucky enough to snatch them up during the last GameMaker Humble Bundle. This one is even better than the one I got a while back, since you can get the UWP module too.
If you’ve ever had even an inkling of interest in making video games, or in GameMaker itself, you really should spring for this bundle, and I would go for the third tier if you can swing it. The amount of value is too great to skip, so if you think you even might get around to playing with it at some point in the future, go ahead and get it. You don’t even have to feel bad about treating yourself, either, since you’ll also be donating to charity and supporting independent game development.
Check out the GameMaker Humble REBundle here
Got GameMaker but don’t know where to start? There are a bunch of awesome, easy-to-follow tutorials on YouTube. My personal favorite come from Shaun Spalding’s channel.
