GAME:IT JuniorLearning Game Maker:

The Score Tab

Set Score:

Game Maker has the ability to keep track of 3 specific variables used in gaming: Score, Lives, and Health.

They really are just 3 variables—they have nothing to do with score, lives, or health—sometimes we use them to keep track of other variable values.

Typically, you must set an initial value.

Example: Score = 0 When you want to increase the

score, you use the same action but activate the relative button.

Test Score:

This action checks whether a score has reached a particular value.

Draw Score:

This action will draw the value of the score in any position on the screen.

Must be used with the Draw Event.

Show Highscore:

Game Maker keeps track of the top 10 high scores for each game.

This action displays the high score list.

Clear High Score:

This action will clear the high score list

Set Lives:

With this action you can change the number of lives left using an initial number (like 3) and using a second action to decrease lives until you reach 0 (by using the relative function).

This action can also serve as another variable unrelated to lives but necessary to your game.

Example: using it as a counter that counts loops through a part of the program.

Allows you to check whether lives have reached a certain value.

Check Lives:

Draw Lives:

Allows you to draw lives in any position on the screen.

Must be used with the Draw Event.

Draw Life Images:

Instead of drawing a number at any given position, you can draw images (sprites).

Set Health:

Health is the 3rd variable available for use.

Using as a Health variable, value is usually set for 100 for full health and 0 for no health at all.

Check Health:

Allows you to check whether health has reached a certain value.

Draw Health:

With this action you can draw health in the form of a health bar.

When health is 100 a full bar is drawn. When it is 0, the bar is empty.

You can indicate position, size, color, and background of bar.

Score Caption:

This action allows you to manipulate what scores you want displayed. You can indicate to show or not show score, lives, and/or health.