Are you a solo dev or part of a small team?
Do you think that you can you make a hit game with GameMaker Studio?
It’s not uncommon to assume that some of today’s hit games were made by larger teams
or even full studios, using complex or custom game engines, but in fact, in a lot of cases,
the opposite is true.
There are games that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies - even millions - that
were made by small teams - even a single person, using the GameMaker Studio engine!
In today’s video we’ll showcase some of these hit indie games made using GameMaker,
and we’ll also talk a little bit about the devs and their journeys to making their games.
We’ll even show you where to get source code for one of them!
We find these games inspiring and helpful for showcasing what is possible with an indie
development project.
We are Ask GameDev, AKA Adding Machine Gun Kelly, AKA Godost Malone, AKA The Teenage
Mutant Ninja Kernels, and these are 8 hit indie game made using GameMaker Studio!
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The first game on this list, is also arguably the most popular as well - Undertale by Toby
Fox.
Undertale is a top-down RPG inspired by games like Earthbound.
You play as a child who falls underground and discovers an entirely new world inhabited
by monsters.
Since its release, Undertale has become a cultural phenomenon, with characters like
Sans and Papyrus becoming a part of mainstream gaming culture.
One of the most intriguing things about Undertale is that it was developed almost entirely by
a single developer, Toby Fox, in the span of 2.7 years.
The game is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, PSvita, and is also coming to Nintendo
Switch.
There are even special physical editions available to buy.
As of today, SteamSpy estimates that Undertale has 2.9 million owners on Steam alone!
If you love style, over the top violence, and wearing animal masks and letterman jackets,
then you’re probably already a fan of the next title on this list, Hotline Miami by
Dennaton Games - a duo consisting of Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin.
Hotline Miami is an ultraviolent top-down shooter that takes place in 1980’s Miami.
When Hotline Miami was released in 2012, it became an instant hit.
On Steam alone, the game has almost 36,000 reviews, with 97% of them being positive!
The title went on to spawn a sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, released in 2015.
As of today, Steamspy estimates that Hotline Miami has 2.23 million owners on Steam.
And lastly, if you ever think you’re too young to make a hit game, Jonatan actually
started working on the game that would eventually inspire Hotline Miami, at the age of 18!
If you think the games on this list so far are a bit old, this next game features freshly
authored game code as it was released just recently, in April of this year!
We’re talking about Swords of Ditto by onebitbeyond.
Swords of Ditto is an action adventure title with roguelike elements.
It has great gameplay and a really charming and colorful aesthetic, but the coolest thing
about Swords of Ditto is how they handle a player’s death.
Each time you play the game you start with a new hero, and whatever you do with that
hero affects future runs.
For example, if you’ve defeated evil in one town and then die, on your next run you
might find a statue of your previous character being honoured in that same town!
The game was developed by a small team, and took about two years to make.
Inspired by cartoons like Adventure Time, the team wanted to make a roguelike Nintendo-style
game for non Nintendo consoles -and we think they nailed it!
Steamspy estimates that it has roughly 51,000 owners on Steam as of today.
The next game on our list was a HUGE Kickstarter success earning more than half a million dollars
on Kickstarter alone!
Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine.
Hyper Light Drifter is a beautiful 16-bit style action adventure RPG that takes place
in a neon world.
Inspired by games like A Link to the Past, Alex Preston, after spending years as a animator,
decided to it was like to take the leap, and create a game - thus Hyper Light Drifter was
born.
With his vision and animation skills in hand, Alex lead a team of a handful of developers
and launched a Kickstarter campaign.
With an initial goal of $27k, the team smashed through their goal in no time, raising $645k
by the end of the campaign.
In terms of development time, the team took 2 and half years from the launch of their
Kickstarter to their first release on PC.
Hyper Light Drifter is now available on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PS4, and also just recently
came out on Nintendo Switch!
Some lucky people were even lucky enough to snag a Hyper Light Drifter Collector’s Edition
complete with a SNES style box, manual, and cartridge!
Steamspy estimates the game now has 563,000 owners on Steam.
This next game is a fighting game that recently made headlines with the news of Shovel Knight
joining its roster of fighters!
Yes, we are talking about Rivals of Aether by Dan Fornace.
Rivals of Aether is fighting game similar to the Smash Brothers series, that features
awesome animal warriors, and guests stars from the indie world!
Prior to going indie, Dan worked as a design consultant on some amazing games including
Trials Evolution, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Mark of the Ninja.
In April of 2014 however, he decided to start working on Rivals of Aether, and released
it in Early Access the following year.
The official release came in March of 2017 and game has only grown since, adding characters
like Ori from “Ori and the Blind Forest”, and the aforementioned Shovel Knight!
The game is currently available on Windows and Xbox One.
Steamspy estimates that the title currently has 452,000 owners on Steam!
Coming in at $3, this next game on the list will definitely give you the most bang for
your buck!
We are talking about the 2015 hit, Downwell by Moppin aka Ojiri Fumoto!
Downwell is a roguelike vertically scrolling shooter where you use your gunboots to traverse
down a well.
Sounds simple enough - but give it a try and you will be hooked!
One our favorite game sites, Destructoid, gave it a 10 out of 10 review score!
Another solo dev entry on this list, Downwell was made after its creator Ojiri Fumoto graduated
from opera singing at the Tokyo University of Arts but decided to head down a different
path.
Inspired by an article on Gamasutra by Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail about making a game a week, Fumoto
decided to give it a shot.
Downwell ended up winning numerous awards and according to Steamspy, moving over a quarter
million units on Steam as of today.
Fumoto’s journey in game development continues as he’s part of the team working on UFO50,
alongside Spelunky’s Derek Yu.
He also announced in January that he joined Nintendo!
If Rami Ismail inspired Ojiri Fumoto to create Downwell, then he must have some awesome games
as well right?
You are correct!
And the next game on this list is Nuclear Throne by Vlambeer - a duo made up of Rami
Ismail, and Jan Willem Nijman.
Originally titled Wasteland Kings, Nuclear Throne is a top-down shooter starring some
of the gnarliest and likeable toxic creatures we’ve ever seen.
The dev team had 6 team members in total: 2 sharing development duties, 2 artists, 2
people on audio, and took 2 and a half years to make.
Nuclear Throne is available for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita.
As of today Steamspy estimates that it has 486,000 owner on Steam.
And before we get to the final game on this list, check out these 3 honourable mentions:
Wuppo by Knuist and Perzik - A cute platformer, that at one point was statistically proven
to be one of Steam’s best hidden gems.
Crashlands by Butterscotch Shenanigans.
A survival sandbox developed by 3 brothers!
and Turmoil by Gamious - a hilarious oil-drilling sim that takes places during the 19th century
oil rush.
The final game is also our favourite on the list!
Spelunky, now titled Spelunky Classic by Mossmouth aka, Derek Yu.
Spelunky is a tough-as-nails platformer that has fully randomized level design each time
you play.
Before it was a hit game, Derek Yu made Spelunky Classic in GameMaker and released it on PC
in 2008.
While it looks a little different from today’s version, all of your favourite Spelunky obstacles
and elements are there.
Jonathan Blow, famous for The Witness, and Braid, liked the original and connected Derek
with the right people - and that lead to how we got the version of Spelunky that we all
know and love today.
If you want to try Spelunky Classic, you can download it, and even the source code from
Spelunky’s official website.
Get both at spelunkyworld.com/original.html
If you’re interested in hearing more about the development of Spelunky, Noclip, has an
amazing documentary on the making of the game.
Check it out here
And there you have it: 11 games made using GameMaker Studio including a few made with
just a solo developer!
Next time you think your team is too small, or that the tools you need are out of reach,
just take a look at this list, and get back to writing your freshly authored game code!
Thanks for watching! we are Ask Gamedev and we make game development videos on how to
elevate your games and inspire others.
What are some of your favourite games made using GameMaker?
Let us know in the comments.
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