Games to Play and Tools to Make Them
Humble Bundle‘s newest offering is a first for the venerable bundle site. Themed around the versatile game development software GameMaker: Studio Pro, the bundle also features three tiers of additional games.
Game Maker is constantly evolving and now offers a full set of YouTube tutorials that can help you get started in many of the essential genres like platformers, top-down shooters, escape the rooms and point and clicks, JRPGs and more.
More excitingly, the bundle also features the complete source code for many of games included in this bundle. Open up the code with GameMaker Studio Pro, poke around at what you find, and learn the fine art of game design.
The initial tier of the bundle – available for “Pay What You Want” – features the following:
GameMaker: Studio Pro
by YoYo Games
Famed for both its versatility and accessibility, this game dev studio uses a drag ‘n’ drop interface and a proprietary language, GML, to make development easy even for aspiring devs with little coding experience. It’s also the engine used to create such indie favorites as Spelunky, Nidhogg and Hyper Light Drifter. It also integrates with Steam Workshop.
Uncanny Valley
by Cowardly Creations
A horror adventure in the classic sense, this game emphasizes story above all else. As a security guard exploring a creepy remote facility, your choices all affect the narrative in ways you won’t expect, so think carefully…
Cook, Serve, Delicious
by Vertigo Gaming
Indie-Game-Freak included this restaurant management game in his 10 Personal Favorite Indie Games of 2013, calling it “the most surprisingly deep non-casual casual game of the year.”
INK
by ZackBellGames
While IGR writer FictiveTruism had hoped for more exploration in this difficult platformer, he nonetheless felt that its “simple mechanics mixed in with punishing level design” were enough to “to scratch that platforming challenge itch.”
Source Codes
In addition to GameMaker: Studio Pro and the above games, the basic bundle also includes source codes for several additional games. From Butterscotch Shenanigans, a studio known for crafting short, mechanically tight games, the bundle offers source codes for tower defense game Extreme Burger Defense and endless runner Freeway Mutant. Both sets of source code can be opened and edited using GameMaker’s software.
Also included is Shep Hard – another tower defense from Butterscotch Shenanigans, and Angry Chicken: Egg Madness, a mobile game for Android from Black Sheep Games. These last two games are available as downloads and also include source code.
More Than the Average Bundle
The second tier in the bundle, available for anyone paying more than the average (currently $12.25) includes additional games and software:
Home
by Benjamin Rivers
IGR editor-in-chief Indie-Game-Freak called this “a horror game like no other,” praising it for “top-notch storytelling in a manner that reasserts the way in which games are unique as a medium.”
Solstice
by MoaCube
The second release from a critically acclaimed visual novel developer, this game features lush art and an emphasis on characterization.
Software Tools and Source Codes
The second tier of the Humble GameMaker Bundle also includes additional source codes and software.
The HTML5 module for GameMaker Studio automatically exports games created into the engine as HTML5 and Javascript code for embedding in websites and even social media pages.
The second tier also includes source code for Uncanny Valley; INK; and Cook, Serve, Delicious. You’ve played them, now open their source code and see what makes them tick!
If that weren’t enough, there are also more source code packages, this time for Galactic Missile Defense from Black Sheep Games and 10 Second Ninja from Four Circle Interactive.
Still More Software Tools
For $15 or more, unlock the third tier of the Humble GameMaker Bundle. You’ll get more software tools, another game and still more source code.
Additional GameMaker: Studio bundles for Android, iOS and Windows UWP will let you export your games to their respective operating systems.
You’ll also get source code for Solstice and Home, plus an additional Android game, Flop Rocket, from Butterscotch Shenanigans, including its source code.
If purchased at the highest tier, the Humble GameMaker Bundle includes over $1,800 worth of software for as little as $15. If you’ve been thinking about wading into the waters of game development, this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.
