GameMaker Maze Game

High School Game Development Lesson

Project	Skills
Maze Game	Walls, Collisions, and Rooms

Grade Level: 9–12
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated Time: 1–2 class periods
Programming: GameMaker Language (GML)

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.

Open GameMaker and create a new project.

Name the project:

PX_lastname_MazeGame

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

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:

MazeGame

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

Show Your Teacher - Checkpoint 1

Show spr_player.
Show obj_player.
Run the game and demonstrate player movement.

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:

Would the player collide with a wall if the player moved 4 pixels to the right?

The symbol:

means:

NOT

Therefore:

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

means:

If there is NOT a wall in the player's next position, allow the player to move.

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

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XP X X XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX X X X X X XXXX XXX XXXXXXX X X X X X X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Where:

X = Wall
P = Player

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

Show Your Teacher - Checkpoint 2

Show spr_wall.
Show obj_wall.
Show your maze inside rm_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?

Show Your Teacher - Checkpoint 3

Demonstrate that the player can move through the maze but cannot move through the walls.

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

Show Your Teacher - Checkpoint 4

Show obj_goal.
Complete the maze.
Reach the goal.
Demonstrate the win message or next room.

Student Challenge

Improve your Maze Game by completing

Add another maze level.

Extension Challenge: Add Coins

Create a sprite:

spr_coin

Create an object:

obj_coin

Create a Collision Event between obj_player and obj_coin.

Add:

instance_destroy(other);

Later, you can add a score variable to count how many coins the player collects.

Extension Challenge: Restart Key

Add the following code to the player's Step Event:

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

Now the player can press R to restart the maze.

Show Your Teacher - Checkpoint 5

Demonstrate at least three improvements that you added to your Maze Game.

Vocabulary

Term	Meaning
Sprite	The image used to represent something in the game.
Object	An item that contains game behavior and programming.
Instance	A copy of an object placed inside a room.
Room	The area or level where the game takes place.
Collision	When two game objects touch or overlap.
Step Event	An event that runs repeatedly while the game is running.
x	The object's horizontal position.
y	The object's vertical position.
place_meeting()	Checks whether a collision would occur.
room_goto()	Moves the game to another room.
room_restart()	Restarts the current room.

Assessment Questions

What is a GameMaker room?
What is the difference between a sprite and an object?
What does the x value control?
What does the y value control?
What does place_meeting() do?
Why do we check for a collision before changing the player's position?
What object is used to create the maze walls?
What command restarts the current room?
What command moves the game to another room?
Describe one way you could make the maze more difficult.

100-Point Grading Rubric

Requirement	Points
GameMaker project created correctly	5
Player sprite	5
Player object	5
Keyboard movement	15
Wall sprite	5
Wall object	5
Maze design	15
Wall collision works correctly	20
Goal object	5
Goal collision works	5
Game successfully completes, restarts, or changes rooms	5
Three student enhancements	10
Total	100