Pixel Game Maker MV Doesn’t Quite Live Up to its Premise Yet

Currently in Steam Early Access, Pixel Game Maker MV aims to make creating action games easy.

Right now, I don’t think it quite achieves what it sets out to do. But in time, I think there’s potential.

Loading up Pixel Game Maker MV for the first time, you’re likely to be just as baffled as I was. For a piece of software all about making game development easy, the lack of tutorials and general assistance is confounding. It really didn’t make for a great first impression, and had me wondering if I was missing something. But I wasn’t. At this moment in time, Pixel Game Maker MV is simply not very user friendly. Hopefully, by the time it comes out of Early Access, it’ll be more welcoming to the newcomers it’s marketing itself at.

As a result of Pixel Game Maker MV’s unfriendliness, those taking a chance on the software are likely to find themselves scouring forums and YouTube for guides on how to get started. That is of course unless they’re familiar with RPG Game Maker, a similar piece of software that has been enabling consumers to make their own RPGs for years. It’s not much of a hardship, but when a piece of software claims to make doing something easy, it’s unexpected.

Keen to make something, I found a helpful video on YouTube, and after 50 minutes or so, I felt comfortable enough to try and start prototyping a game. As Game Maker MV currently comes with very few assets, my first task was to create some, although I could have sourced some already made from elsewhere. I wanted to truly make a game of my own though, and so taking inspiration from one of my cats, I decided to immortalise him in digital form.

Using Gimp, I made multiple sprites of young Ned the cat; him sitting, jumping, standing still, and walking. I also made some basic tiles for platforms. Then, moving over to Pixel Game Maker MV, I imported my hastily created assets and got to work. Following the helpful tutorial I’d discovered, I created animations and assigned them to actions. Then, I literally threw together a small environment to test if I’d done everything right. It was the moment of truth.

Being inexperienced with the software, I’d made a minor error; Ned the cat faced the same direction no matter which way he was moving. It was a problem that was quick to fix though, and so within a little under two hours, I’d booted up Pixel Game Maker MV for the first time, sought out some tutorials, created some assets and had a working prototype. That’s not bad in my opinion.

Once the prototype was made, I was faced with two options: now I knew the basics, I could start again from scratch and try to make something bigger and better, or I could stick with what I’d got and simply develop a string of levels. Aiming big, I decided to go back to the drawing board, and for that, watching more tutorial videos online was required. In fact, I’m still watching them, trying to get my head around some of Pixel Game Maker MV‘s more complex features.

If you’re up for scouring the internet for tips and advice, Pixel Game Maker MV can be a very powerful and rewarding tool. You can make games from both side-on and top-down perspectives, and make them as simple or complex as you like. Advanced users can even use JavaScript to expand on Pixel Game Maker MV‘s features. It all just takes time and effort. And the more time and effort you put in, the better the results. My only real concern is, is taking time to master Pixel Game Maker MV time well spent?

My Pixel Game Maker MV endeavours have spurred me into trying other game creation software such as YoYo Games’ GameMaker: Studio. With a trial version available to download for free, it’s no doubt a more complex piece of software, but it should also prove to be more versatile. I guess I’ll find out for sure when I’ve been able to find more time to experiment with it.

Ultimately, what I’m trying to say is, Game Maker MV‘s success, in my opinion, depends on how user friendly it can make the game creation experience. Right now, the level of research and tutoring required just makes me wonder if its worth trying to get to grips with more powerful tools that have already matured.

Pixel Game Maker MV is available now via Steam Early Access. It has an RRP of £67.99/$84.99.