The Game Maker's Apprentice -- Book Review

Create Video Games in a 2D Game Engine with Mark Overmars

Feb 4, 2009

Learn how to make video games using the Game Maker engine with The Game Maker's Apprentice, a book written by Game Maker creator Mark Overmars.

Most popular game engines are supported beyond the documentation supplied with the video game creation software and assistance from online forums by the publication of books dedicated to demonstrating how to make games with a particular engine.

However, The Game Maker's Apprentice has a distinct pedigree, in that it is co-authored by Mark Overmars, who designed and coded the Game Maker 2D game engine.

An additional benefit of The Game Maker's Apprentice that is often missing from manuals supporting other game engines is that on the accompanying CD, which includes all of the example games, script, sound and graphic files used in the book, is a copy of the Game Maker engine, making this an invaluable purchase to anyone considering buying Game Maker.

Game Maker Apprentice Chapters

This colorfully illustrated guide to Game Maker is separated into 5 sections that cover all aspects of game creation with this game making tool in detail. These sections are:

The book concludes with a useful list of, and website links to, freeware, shareware and inexpensive programs with which to create art such as 2D sprites and tilesets, music and sound assets for video game making on a budget.

Mark Overmar's Game Maker and Game Design

While the main emphasis of The Game Maker's Apprentice is focused on the practical side of creating games in Game Maker through the programs simple point and click interface, the input of professional game developer Jacob Habgood, who has worked on such titles as the cross-platform hit game, Micro Machines, and Hogs of War for the Playstation, makes itself felt in the stress put on good game design.

The game making tutorials in the book, which are varied, engaging, and assume no previous game making experience on the part of the reader, constantly urge the budding game developer to experiment with the principles of game design by modifying the games, suggesting improvements to play and additional features to add to make the games more engaging.

The approach of teaching both practical game creation methods and the philosophy of game theory is very effective, and will enable the reader to create games that are addictive, challenging and rewarding. It is a vital area of game making that is often overlooked in the more technical-orientated manuals of other game engines, which are interested only in the mechanics of game creation rather than the all-important playability of the game being made.

The Complete Guide to Video Game Making

The Game Maker's Apprentice, written in approachable language and featuring examples of every function of the Game Maker tool, would be worth the cover price if it were only a technical guide to this 2D game engine.

With the additional stress on the importance of game design, and the inclusion of the Game Maker program on the accompanying disk, this book serves as the complete introduction to creating video games with the Game Maker engine.

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