Temporarily free: GameMaker Studio, the engine for Hotline Miami, Gunpoint and Spelunky

[Andytizer 269]

GameMaker Studio, the game creation toolset and engine, has now become free as part of a temporary promotion. Normally costing $50, this toolset has helped budding indie developers get their first leg up into the industry by providing the basis for fantastic titles such as Stealth Bastard Deluxe, Gunpoint, Hotline Miami, Spelunky Classic, and most recently, Risk of Rain.To get your own license for the Studio version (which has many important unlocked features compared to the free version), simply follow these instructions:

 

1) Download, install and update GameMaker Studio from YoYo Games. Ensure you are using the 'beta' channel.

 

2) On the 'Welcome' tab, click the right arrow.

 

3) Click 'Upgrade to Standard for free now'.

 

4) Enter email and follow instructions to receive your license, and then enter to register it.

 

Good luck with your game creation designs! I hope one of you makes the next big indie hit.

 

Source: /r/Games

 

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[Nicereddy 109]

Interesting, why the two Windows logos in the header? :P

 

Hopefully indie devs can use this to create some interesting games, although I think most developers capable of creating legitimately creative, well-made experiences were already capable of purchasing a license. This sale is moreso convenient for hobbiests.

[Garrett 214]

Interesting, why the two Windows logos in the header? :P

 

Game Maker can make WinRT games.

[Andytizer 269]

Interesting, why the two Windows logos in the header? :P

 

Hopefully indie devs can use this to create some interesting games, although I think most developers capable of creating legitimately creative, well-made experiences were already capable of purchasing a license. This sale is moreso convenient for hobbiests.

 

This is more about promoting their engine and getting neophytes to consider GameMaker vs a free engine like Unity to start off with.

 

From what I've heard, getting a very basic game or proof of concept is a lot easier in GameMaker than in Unity, although it's much more limited in scope.

[Andytizer 269]

Game Maker can make WinRT games.

 

The logos are also a bit misleading for me as they only show the OS that GameMaker can export to and not what they run from.

 

Disappointingly for me (who just switched to Mac) the supported builds of GameMaker do not run on OS X. Furthermore, to export an OS X version requires some weird hackery to get it working to comply with Apple terms and conditions.