Contents -- Introduction -- PART I: GAME MAKER BASICS -- Chapter 1 Introducing Game Maker -- Computer Game Development Is Serious Business -- Getting to Know Game Maker -- Getting Started with Game Maker -- Creating Games with Game Maker -- Joining Game Maker's Global Community -- Loading and Running a Sample Game -- Summary -- Chapter 2 Getting Comfortable with the Game Maker IDE -- Exploring the Game Maker IDE -- Working with Project Resources -- Outlining Game Information -- Specifying Global Game Settings -- Enhancing Game Maker's Capabilities -- Accessing Game Maker's Help Files -- Configuring Game Maker Preferences -- Summary -- Chapter 3 A Big Picture Overview of How Things Work -- Big Picture Time -- Understanding Objects -- Putting Everything Together -- Summary -- PART II: LEARNING HOW TO CREATE GAME MAKER GAMES -- Chapter 4 Super Pong-Your First Game -- Essential Game Resources -- Creating the Super Pong Game -- Summary -- Chapter 5 Skybuster-A Breakout Game -- Focusing on Good Game Design -- Designing Your Game -- It's Time to Break Some Blocks -- Summary -- Chapter 6 Tank Battle-A Two-Player Competitive Game -- Adding a Few Bells and Whistles to Your Games -- Creating the Tank Battle Game -- Summary -- Chapter 7 Alien Attack-A Cooperative Two-Player Game -- Developing Front Ends and Back Ends -- Adding a Front End to Your Games -- Adding a Back End to Your Games -- Creating the Alien Attack Game -- Summary -- PART III: ENHANCING YOUR GAMES THROUGH PROGRAMMING -- Chapter 8 Enhancing Games with GML -- Publishing Your Games -- Introducing the Game Maker Language -- Working with Game Maker's Scripts Menu -- Getting Comfortable with the Code Editor -- Creating Game Maker Scripts -- Integrating GML into Your Games -- Configuring Game Maker's Code Editor -- Summary -- Chapter 9 GML Scripting-Part 1 -- Working with Game Data.

Storing Data in Variables -- Working with Data That Does Not Change -- Managing Collections of Data -- Evaluating Options Using Conditional Logic -- Comparing Values Using Relational Operators -- Crunching Numbers -- Commenting GML Code -- Summary -- Chapter 10 GML Scripting-Part 2 -- Taking Advantage of the Power of Loops -- Altering Loop Execution -- Using Scripts as Functions -- Terminating Script Execution -- Building a Script Library -- Summary -- Chapter 11 Arachnid Attack! -- Troubleshooting Problems with Your Games -- Identifying IDE Errors -- Dealing with Different Types of Errors -- Monitoring Game Execution -- Creating Arachnid Attack! -- Summary -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- BONUS WEBSITE MATERIAL -- Appendix A: Guide to Bonus Material -- Appendix B: What's Next? -- Appendix C: Glossary -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- I -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W.