5 Things You Should Know Before Teaching Game Maker

If you're planning to teach Game Maker to others, there are some important things you should keep in mind. Here are five key considerations:

5. The LTS version

The LTS version of Game Maker is identical to the standard version, with the key difference that it doesn’t receive live updates. This may sound like strange advice to avoid updating software, but when it comes to an educational standpoint, you do not need to update every single patch that comes out.
Before running the LTS version, every lesson the pupils would be prompted to update the software, but as they are not network administrators, they don’t have the capability to do so, which caused confusion and delays to the lesson.
And more importantly, it just works. We run into a host of different issues with Game Maker, from the login server not being reachable to missing frameworks for testing the game's development. With the LTS version, we haven’t had a single issue.

4. Game maker doesn’t cost the earth

Game Maker is free. Your pupils can register using a Google account with YoYo Games and start developing games straight away at no cost. The cost comes when you want to export that game from Game Maker to a different platform. Today, I am going to share with you the cheapest method I have found to do this, and no, it is not the educational pricing.
Why you are teaching Game Maker will play a massive part in the cost of teaching Game Maker. With our general game development lessons, we encourage the pupils to export the games as private links on Opera’s GX platform; that way, they can share their development with myself, their friends, and the wider community for free.
It also shows them that they can create indie games from home with little effort and gain experience as computer game developers.
There is no escaping the fact that for the WJEC qualifications, both GCSE and GCE, the pupils will need to export their games using a paid account. This can be achieved for as little as just under £8 at the time of recording.
The method I would recommend will require a few steps

Creating a Steam account
Buying the Game Maker Indie developer DLC via steam
Then installing Game Maker via Steam which will install the DLC at the same time
You will still need to login to YoYo Games to ensure the setup is complete; the whole process can be seen in a related video found in the description.
Once the above steps have been completed, you can launch Game Maker via Steam and export the created game as either a Windows executable file for the GCE or as HTML5 for the GCSE.

This is a monthly subscription, so it will automatically renew at the price you have paid (£5.99 + VAT at time of recording), but as with all subscriptions, it can be cancelled when not required.

3. Piskel art creation tool

When it comes to creating art for your games, Piskel is a great tool for beginners. It's a free, online pixel art editor that allows you to create sprites and animations with ease. The interface is simple and intuitive, making it easy for your students to get started. Plus, it's completely web-based, so there's no software to download or install.
Piskel has a lot of different features, like the ability to import and export images, make your own palettes, and organize your artwork with layers. You can also preview your animations in real-time, which is a great way to see how they'll look in your game.
Overall, Piskel is a great tool for introducing your students to the world of pixel art and game development. It's easy to use, free, and offers a range of features that will help your students create great artwork for their games.

2. Chiptone sound stage

Chiptone Sound Stage is a free online tool that allows you to create retro-style music and sound effects for your games. It's a great way to add an extra layer of polish to your games and make them stand out.
The interface is simple and easy to use, with a range of different instruments and effects to choose from. You can create everything from 8-bit style chiptunes to more complex compositions with multiple tracks and effects.
One of the great things about Chiptone Sound Stage is that it's completely web-based, so there's no software to download or install. This makes it easy for your students to get started and work on their projects from anywhere.
Overall, Chiptone Sound Stage is a great tool for adding music and sound effects to your games. It's free, easy to use, and offers a range of features that will help your students create great soundtracks for their games.

1. The Education Version isn’t fit for purpose

Well, it's a very sweeping statement, and I understand that, but hear me out. Here in Wales, most of us have only come across Game Maker since the WJEC introduced their new Digital Technology GCSE and A-level. Since the adoption of Game Maker by the WJEC, there have been a few different variations of its pricing to attempt to accommodate school budgets.
The current pricing structure offers site-wide licensing at two price points: Teacher licence: £900 this licence grants the user the Desktop compile targets, which gives full access to the product and permits the user to compile projects for GX.games, Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu (Linux). Achiever: £1500 this licence grants the user the Desktop, Mobile, Web, and now Sony PS4 compile targets, which gives full access to the product and permits the user to compile projects for GX.games, Windows, macOS, Ubuntu (Linux), Android, Amazon Fire, iOS/tvOS, HTML5, and Sony PS4.
The WJEC itself requires that the game created be embedded in the website the pupils develop; the only way to export this with the educational version is to pay the £1500 per year fee.
I reached out to YoYo Games about this, who said: "In order to export to HTML5, you'll require an Achiever Site Licence.” As I discussed in point 4, there are cheaper methods of achieving this.