GAME-MAKER INFORMATION AND SPECIFICATIONS, Version 3.0 It's as much fun to create computer games as it is to play them. Game-Maker lets you turn your game ideas into great games. Previously you had to be a programmer to create almost any type of game, and you had to be an expert software engineer to make a top quality, fully animated, full color computer game. Game-Maker provides a set of easy to use computer aided design tools for making games. These tools totally eliminate all software development and let you design games quickly. Game-Maker GAMES ---------------- Game-Maker games have full screen, 256 color VGA graphics. Game-Maker allows all scenes within games to be many times the size of a screen, and as your character moves, the scene scrolls rapidly and smoothly. Animated objects include 'stationary' parts of the background, traveling objects called monsters, and the main character. A game can consist of just one scene or many scenes. The character, monsters, background, music, and sounds can be different in each scene. Every drawing of every scene, monster, and character can be your design, or you can use and/or modify those provided with Game-Maker. For that matter, you can modify Game-Maker games designed by others, including adding completely new levels of play. Over 30 games are on the CD-ROM version of Game-Maker. The characters that you design have up to twenty animation sequences, can shoot or not shoot (your option), and can travel at the speed you set. Characters can pick up and put down objects, pop to new worlds, die, and act in almost any way you can draw. You can control characters with the keyboard, joystick, or both. Monsters are versatile animated objects that move according to your directions. They can be helpful or harmful. They can be birds and butterflies, alligators and trolls, missiles and bullets, or just about anything. Up to 60 different monster types and up to 200 individual monsters are allowed per scene. After creating a monster, you can assign it straight forward or complex motion. Game-Maker games keep track of character lives, money, hit points, and over 15 other counters. Characters can pick up and drop objects. A key stroke will bring up additional information about the progress of the game and pictures of your character's inventory. Multimedia ---------- You can create multimedia displays that present 'slide show' style FLI animations, still pictures, text, and text over images. These multimedia displays can be placed before or after all game levels and at other key points, such as telling the storyline upon game startup. The CD-ROM version comes with over 1000 GIF images, 200 sound clips, plus additional FLI files and music. Game-Maker TOOLS ---------------- Game-Maker tools have menus and full color graphical edit screens. For ease of use, all tools are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) graphics based. A mouse is needed, as it provides easy and rapid creation of pictures, scenes, and other gameware. Menu selections can be made with the keyboard or mouse. Game-Maker includes an extensive set of artwork that can be used with the tools described below. You can modify the artwork Game-Maker provides or you can design completely original drawings. Map Maker. This tool allows you to create scenes by placing picture blocks on a 'map'. It also allows you to place monsters and objects in the scene. You can view the scene as you build it, scroll around the scene, or zoom out and work with a global view. Block Designer. Picture blocks are the basic components from which computer games are made. This tool allows you to draw background, monster, and character blocks. As you draw, you can watch how your new drawing fits into sections of scenes and as well as see the drawing animate. Drawing tools allow you to quickly construct shapes, invert images, change colors, and more. You can copy blocks from other games, associate attributes and powers with each block, and drag and drop blocks to where ever needed. Character Maker, Monster Maker. ------------------------------- These two tools create and assign powers to animated characters and monsters. As you design them, the characters and monsters cycle through their animation sequences (great WYSISYG tools). Palette Designer. ----------------- If the palettes (sets of 256 colors) provided with Game-Maker aren't exactly what you need, create new palettes. Image Reader. ------------- Import graphics into your game from industry standard format GIF files. Sound Editor. ------------- Graphically construct sounds for use in your games, or use Sound Blaster compatible digitized sound clips (.VOC files). Each scene can have its own set of 30 sounds. What-you-hear-is-what-you-get with this tool. Integrator. ----------- Integrate scenes, monsters, charac-ters, Multimedia displays, Sound Blaster music (.CMF files), and sounds into a game. Optionally present Multimedia displays between game levels, upon starting or ending, and for instructions, storyline, epilogue, saving/restoring games, and more. Utilities. ---------- 'Transfer' utility to package a game for distribution. Calibrate and test joysticks. Show FLI animations and GIF images. Backup/restore. SPECIFICATIONS Hardware -------- Standard VGA (256 color mode). Two button Microsoft compatible mouse. CPU - 286 or better, AT or PS compatible. Memory - 512K available Hard Disk Joy Stick (optional) Sound Blaster compatible sound card (optional) Maps (Scenes) ------------- Size: 100 by 100 blocks (2000 by 2000 pixels) or optionally restrict the size of the scene (a standard VGA screen is 10 by 16 blocks). Scrolling: Infinite in all directions (right side joins left, top joins bottom) or designer can control scrolling directions and area. Scroll rate automatically matches character speed. Colors: 255 colors plus 'clear'. Character can pop through 'doors' to other scenes. Picture Block Attributes ------------------------ Solid blocks (each side separately set) and traversible blocks. Gravitational Field (any of eight directions). Object blocks can be picked up, put down. Character contact with a block can play sounds and change over twenty counters such as money, hit points, lives, ammunition. Change a displayed block based on time. Change a displayed block upon contact with the character. Birth a monster periodically from a block. Character Attributes -------------------- Twenty distinct animation sequences per character (10 frames per sequence). One or two blocks in size. Acquires inventory. Possesses initial inventory. One character visible at a time. Each scene can have different characters. An object or a counter can enable an animation sequence. Counters: Money, lives, hit points, score, five special designer defined counters, fifteen animation sequence counters. Reacts with monsters. Shoots designer drawn objects, auto-repeat or from one to ten shots per keystroke. Dies if hit points reach zero. Makes custom designed or digitized sounds. Monster Attributes ------------------ Movement classes: - toward or away from the character - random - traverse a path, each path segment has its own speed - when in range, attack character along a path Animation (20 frames per monster). One block in size. Can be grouped to form larger monsters. Lives until killed / dies at end of path / dies after designated time / never dies. Power level attribute. Blocked or not blocked by solid background. Monster solid or not with respect to character. Automatically birth another monster upon death. Upon contact, change score, hit points, etc. Kill another monster upon contact. A product of: RECREATIONAL SOFTWARE DESIGNS Box 1163, Amherst, NH 03031 Distribute your games freely on a limited basis. Royalties apply for commercial distribution. Shareware license included, royalties due only upon receiving shareware registration fees. Distributed by: Screen Entertainment, Ltd (England, Ireland, &Scottland). Microforum Inc. (Worldwide) Order from the above distributors or from any of the stores to which they distribute Game-Maker. Also: ORDERS (1-800-533-6772) & INFORMATION (1-603-332-8164) Weekdays, 8:30AM - 5PM EST KD SOFTWARE, Great Falls Avenue, Box 448, Rochester, NH 03867