Question: Does GameMaker require coding?

Answer

GameMaker Studio, by YoYo Games, is a popular game development platform that caters to both beginners and experienced developers. Here's what you need to know about coding within GameMaker:

Visual Scripting vs. Coding

Drag-and-Drop (DnD): For beginners or those not comfortable with coding, GameMaker provides a Drag-and-Drop interface. This visual approach allows users to create games using pre-built actions represented by icons. You can create events and define behaviours for your objects without writing a single line of code.

GameMaker Language (GML): Once you outgrow the capabilities of DnD, or if you require more control and flexibility, GameMaker offers its own scripting language called GameMaker Language (GML). GML is a C-like language that provides a considerable amount of power and control over the game logic.

Examples

While starting out, one might use DnD for simple tasks:

Create an object -> Set a Move action in DnD to make it go right when the player hits the right arrow key

But if you want to implement more complex mechanics, you will probably need to write some code in GML:

// Example GML code to move an object
if (keyboard_check(vk_right)) {
    x += 5; // Moves the object 5 pixels to the right
}

This snippet checks if the right arrow key is pressed and moves the object to the right.

Conclusion

Does GameMaker require coding? No, not for basic games thanks to its DnD system. However, as your game complexity increases, using GML becomes almost inevitable. It is highly recommended to learn GML to harness the full potential of GameMaker.