GameMaker Maze Game

Project	Skills
Maze Game	Walls, Collisions, and Rooms

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Create a GameMaker room.
• Create a player object.
• Create wall objects.
• Build a simple maze.
• Move the player with the keyboard.
• Detect collisions between the player and walls.
• Prevent the player from moving through walls.
• Create a goal at the end of a maze.
• Move between GameMaker rooms.
• Test and improve a maze game.

Game Goal

Create a maze game where the player uses the arrow keys to travel through a maze.

The player must:

• Move up, down, left, and right.
• Stay inside the maze.
• Not move through walls.
• Reach the goal at the end of the maze.

Part 1: Create the Project

Open GameMaker and create a new project.

Name the project:

PX_lastname_MazeGame

1. Create 2 files:
2. file one: PX_lastname_MazeGame.png (Screen print of the program inside the game maker ide)
3. file two: PX_lastname_MazeGame.mp4 (Video of you playing the game. I need at least 7 seconds)
4. Be sure to drop off the two file into your google drive for class under 2026_27KleinCollins\your class name
5. Drop your two files into google classroom.

Choose a GameMaker Language (GML) project.

Part 2: Create the Player Sprite

Create a new sprite and name it:

spr_player

A good starting size is:

32 x 32 pixels

Create a simple square, circle, character, robot, or other image to represent the player.

Part 3: Create the Player Object

Create a new object and name it:

obj_player

Assign the following sprite to it:

spr_player

Part 4: Add Player Movement

Add a Step Event to obj_player.

Enter the following code:

var move_speed = 4;

if (keyboard_check(vk_right))
{
    x += move_speed;
}

if (keyboard_check(vk_left))
{
    x -= move_speed;
}

if (keyboard_check(vk_up))
{
    y -= move_speed;
}

if (keyboard_check(vk_down))
{
    y += move_speed;
}

Understanding the Movement

The command keyboard_check() checks whether the player is currently holding down a keyboard key.

Code	Movement
x += 4	Move Right
x -= 4	Move Left
y += 4	Move Down
y -= 4	Move Up

Part 5: Create a Wall Sprite

Create another sprite and name it:

spr_wall

Use a size of approximately:

32 x 32 pixels

You can make the wall look like:

• Brick
• Stone
• Metal
• Wood
• A colored block

Part 6: Create the Wall Object

Create a new object named:

obj_wall

Assign:

spr_wall

as the wall object's sprite.

Part 7: Add Wall Collision

The player should not be able to walk through obj_wall.

Replace the original movement code in the player's Step Event with the following:

var move_speed = 4;

var hspeed_player = 0;
var vspeed_player = 0;


// Horizontal movement

if (keyboard_check(vk_right))
{
    hspeed_player = move_speed;
}

if (keyboard_check(vk_left))
{
    hspeed_player = -move_speed;
}


// Vertical movement

if (keyboard_check(vk_down))
{
    vspeed_player = move_speed;
}

if (keyboard_check(vk_up))
{
    vspeed_player = -move_speed;
}


// Horizontal collision

if (!place_meeting(x + hspeed_player, y, obj_wall))
{
    x += hspeed_player;
}


// Vertical collision

if (!place_meeting(x, y + vspeed_player, obj_wall))
{
    y += vspeed_player;
}

Understanding place_meeting()

The GameMaker function:

place_meeting()

checks whether an object would collide with another object.

For example:

place_meeting(x + 4, y, obj_wall)

This asks GameMaker:

The symbol:

!

means:

NOT

Therefore:

if (!place_meeting(x + hspeed_player, y, obj_wall))

means:

Part 8: Create the Maze Room

Create a new room named:

rm_maze

A good starting room size is:

Setting	Value
Width	960
Height	640

Part 9: Build the Maze

Open rm_maze and place multiple instances of obj_wall in the room.

Create:

• Outside borders
• Hallways
• Turns
• Dead ends
• Multiple paths

Example Maze

Where:

• X = Wall
• P = Player

Place one instance of obj_player near the beginning of the maze.

Part 10: Test the Game

Run the game and use:

• Up Arrow
• Down Arrow
• Left Arrow
• Right Arrow

Test the following:

• Can the player move correctly?
• Does the player stop when reaching a wall?
• Can the player leave the outside borders?
• Can the player accidentally move through corners?
• Can the player become trapped?

Part 11: Create a Goal

Create a new sprite named:

spr_goal

Your goal could look like:

• A flag
• A door
• A treasure chest
• A portal
• A finish line

Create a new object named:

obj_goal

Assign:

spr_goal

to the object.

Place obj_goal at the end of the maze.

Part 12: Detect the Goal

Add a Collision Event to obj_player.

Choose collision with:

obj_goal

Add:

show_message("You escaped the maze!");

When the player reaches the goal, GameMaker will display a message.

Part 13: Restart the Room

After displaying the message, restart the maze using:

show_message("You escaped the maze!");

room_restart();

Part 14: Add a Second Room

Create another room named:

rm_maze2

Create a harder maze in the second room.

Change the goal collision code in Level 1 to:

show_message("Level 1 Complete!");

room_goto(rm_maze2);

Now the player progresses from Level 1 to Level 2.

GameMaker Concept: Rooms

Rooms are the areas where GameMaker games take place.

A room could represent:

• A game level
• A maze
• A menu
• A boss battle
• A dungeon
• A classroom
• A race track
• A game-over screen

For this project:

Room	Purpose
rm_maze	Level 1
rm_maze2	Level 2

spr_coin

obj_coin

instance_destroy(other);

if (keyboard_check_pressed(ord("R")))
{
    room_restart();
}