GameMaker, a game engine for 2D development, has just released an update that makes it much easier for developers to create and ship multiplayer titles. Developers can publish their games for free on GX.games as well with one click, which seems like a potentially useful option to explore.
“Making online multiplayer games used to be beyond the reach of most new creators," Head of GameMaker Russell Kay said. "With the introduction of multiplayer support in GameMaker, we’ve leveled the playing field to make creating an online multiplayer game as easy as building an offline single player game."
"Whether you’re an experienced creator or just starting out on your game design journey, it’s time to get your multiplayer party started!”
As one would hope in a modern game engine, rollback netcode has been made available. The multiplayer game servers are also fully managed, which means developers won't have to program server-side code. With GameMaker's IDE, it's theoretically possible to create and share a multiplayer title within a few hours, even though that's probably not a very good idea beyond something like a prototype.
While this undoubtedly sounds exciting, it's still early days yet. Chat, player commands, client preferences, spectators, late join and rejoin, and cloud saves for games are all features that haven't been added yet. Basically, while GameMaker is supporting multiplayer, it's pretty bare-bones at the moment.
If you're still interested, there's a written tutorial, the release notes to pour over, and a manual that goes over what exactly players can do in pretty explicit detail.
Want to see GameMaker's multiplayer in action? Check out the video tutorial below!
For more information on GameMaker, stay tuned to TechRaptor.
