Tag: Linux

GameMaker Studio finally coming to Linux?

GameDev, GameMaker, Uncategorized
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About 10 years ago, YoYoGames was talking about a Linux IDE for GameMaker Studio on their long-term roadmap. A few years passed, and the roadmap disappeared and all talk about a Linux IDE went silent. It seemed that PlayTech may have been responsible for killing the project when they bought YoYoGames.

I’d given up all hope of a GameMaker IDE on Linux long ago, but a few days ago, this article crossed my newsfeed. It looks like new YoYoGame owners Opera is developing a port, currently in beta. It appears it will be supported on Ubuntu only, but that’s better than zero Linux distros, and Ubuntu is a pretty good choice.

This would have really excited me a decade ago, and would have been the last obstacle to me completely ditching Microsoft. While better late than never, it’s still not really here yet. It sounds like the beta currently has some rather severe issues that make it less than suitable for production at this time. Hopefully this will change quickly. It will be interesting to watch and see how it goes in the coming weeks.

Vote for GameMaker Studio 2 on Linux

development, games, programming
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I just created a Twitter poll to assess the interest in a Linux port of the GameMaker Studio 2 IDE.

One of my biggest wish list items for GameMaker Studio is to have the IDE on Linux, so I can stop being a Windows user. I’m on Windows 7 currently, and Microsoft will not support this version forever. Already they have stopped selling new computers with Windows 7. After the way Microsoft treated Windows users who were not interested in upgrading to Windows 10, using unethical, underhanded, and very likely illegal tactics to try to force Windows users to upgrade, I am not interested in ever purchasing another product from Microsoft, and my preferred platform to migrate to would be a popular Linux distro such as Ubuntu or Mint. GameMaker is the only Windows software that is holding me back.

I’ve asked on the GMC Forums if YYG intend to release a Linux port for GMS2, and currently there’s no plans to do so, but they are open to considering it if they see sufficient interest.

In 2014, then-YoYoGames CEO Sandy Duncan had teased us with the possibility that GMS2 would bring an IDE that ran on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Obviously things can change, and a lot of things have changed with YoYoGames since then. Whether or not we see a native Linux IDE for GMS2, it’s still my #1 wish list item for GameMaker.

GameMaker: Studio Builds to Ubuntu

development, games
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YoYoGames announced today that they have released a new build target for GameMaker Studio: Ubuntu Linux. It’s great to see YYG supporting Linux as a target platform, even if GameMaker does not embrace opensource principles. To add the Ubuntu build target to GM Studio Pro, it’s $99; if you have a Master Collection, it’s a free addition.

Master Collection is becoming an increasingly good deal with all the additional components provided and any new ones that come out entitled to Master Collection licensees.

Any time YYG releases a major new feature for GameMaker, I revise my wishlist for what I’d like to see from them next. Here’s what I’d like to see in future releases of Game Maker:

  1. An upgrade path for developers with Professional to Master Collection.
  2. Native IDE for Linux and Mac OS developers. The day a Native IDE comes out, I may not need to boot Windows anymore.
  3. Flash build target. (I know HTML5 is supposed to be the future, but Flash is still a relevant platform.)
  4. Support for other source control, especially git.
  5. Integration of some standard, cross-platform GUI widget toolkit like Qt or GTK to make creating user controls and forms easier.
  6. Native XML support (not relying on extensions)
  7. Project templates for common types of games, eg platformer, rts, etc. with library or namespace-like built-in classes for common objects already implemented