Question: How do you handle input in GameMaker Studio?

Answer

Handling input in GameMaker Studio is a fundamental aspect of game development. Here's how you can manage different types of input from the player.

Keyboard Input: To check if a key is pressed, you can use keyboard_check(key), where key is the key constant (like vk_left for the left arrow key). For example:

// Check if the left arrow key is being pressed
if (keyboard_check(vk_left)) {
    // Move the player to the left
}

Mouse Input: For mouse input, you have functions like mouse_check_button(button) to check if a mouse button is pressed, where button is one of the mouse constants (mb_left, mb_right, mb_middle). For instance:

// Check if the left mouse button is clicked
if (mouse_check_button(mb_left)) {
    // Perform an action
}

Gamepad Input: Gamepad input can be checked using gamepad_button_check(pad, button), where pad is the index of the gamepad and button is the button constant (such as gp_face1).

// Check if the A button on gamepad 0 is pressed
if (gamepad_button_check(0, gp_face1)) {
    // Perform an action
}

Touch Input: To detect touch input, you might use device_mouse_check_button(device, button) which works similarly to the mouse input functions but for touch devices.

// Check if there is a touch input equivalent to a left mouse click
if (device_mouse_check_button(0, mb_left)) {
    // Perform an action for touch
}

In all these examples, replace the comments with actual game logic such as movement or interaction code specific to your game.

Input can also be handled within the event system of GameMaker Studio, by using Keyboard, Mouse, or Gamepad events added to objects that then contain the relevant GML code.

Lastly, for more complex input handling, such as key combinations or sequences, you would need to create more sophisticated checks within either the Step event or a custom script to maintain the state of various inputs over time.