Game Maker

Game Maker is exactly as the title says: you create games using simple tools. It gets very deep also, with plenty of coding and the use of variables. But lets get down and examine it on a wider scale.

Game Maker creates games with three basic tools:

First, the Sprites. A Sprite is the image of a thing in your game. Sprites extend from the simplest 8-bit Mario character to the most detailed space cruiser. The are only the costume of the thing, they wont appear or do anything unless you create a Object.

Objects are the physical being of a thing. You can assign any sprite to represent an Object. You also set Objects to preform actions like moving, shooting, controlling other objects, and a lot more.

The final major component is the Room. The room is the area in which the game plays. You place objects in rooms so they can do what you assigned the to do.

Game Maker has enough features to create a variety of games, ranging from Maze Games like Chip's Challenge to Scrolling Shooters like 1945 to Platformers like Super Mario Bros. There also is a registered version that enables the creation of online multiplayer and even First Person Shooters (although both require A LOT of coding). The registered version cost 20$, but if you have a lot of experience in Game Maker, it's worth every penny.

You can download Game Maker at the Game Maker site, along with tutorials for multiple game types and finished games.