SyntheticPixel

    My passion is creating and playing video games. I have been playing games for almost all my life, as far back as I can remember. I started with the Atari 2600 and never stopped.

     I got my first taste of how games work back on the Nintendo 64 while using a Gameshark. I was playing Star Fox 64 and had recently gotten a new Gameshark. I wanted to give myself the highest score possible on each level. With this Gameshark you could press a button and it would pause the game and allow you to enter the value you were trying to change. So if my score was 0 I would then enter 0. Then I would gain a few points and enter the new number. The Gameshark would check values in memory that held the previous and current value and eventually you could narrow down which value in memory your trying to change. This is my first, albeit basic... introduction into how games work and at that point I knew I wanted to make games.

     I started, as I am sure most aspiring developers taking their first step, by trying to learn how to become a master C++ programmer. I was also introduced to Gamemaker 7. I managed to make my first game in Gamemaker 7 which was a break out clone. I was so proud of my 2 level game. Looking back it wasn't that great but it was a step in the right direction. I at that point fell into the incorrect belief that if I wanted to make games it had to be with C++ and Directx so I started off on that journey instead of continuing to work with Gamemaker. This was a mistake as it will take quite awhile without formal education to learn how to use C++ and Directx properly on your own. 

    After becoming frustrated with the slow process of learning and doing anything meaningful in C++/Directx, I took a step back for a few years feeling discouraged and feeling as if making games was a far off dream. Later I discovered Gamemaker had gotten quite a few upgrades and could now export to multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, Android, IOS, HTML5, and the list goes on. So I decided to try Gamemaker again as I was already able to make one game with game maker, which was further than I got with C++. I quickly made my second game. This time it was a game about Link collecting as many rupees as possible. It was actually quite fun. From that point I realized its not about using some master language. If you can make great fun games and it runs great... why wouldn't you use the tools available? From that point forward I have been using and learning Game maker Studio. 

    I want to share my knowledge with other aspiring developers so they don't have to have to spend countless hours trying to learn the basics. If your looking to learn how to create and develop games, You're in the right place.