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Game Maker Survey 2010 – The Results

Just over three thousand people took part in the Game Maker survey organised by Brian Fetcher/GMIndie/GMVision.
Game Maker gets the Girls (apparently)

A 72 page PDF document listing the results has now been released.  Where the questions were multiple choice the percentages are given and for write-in questions a selection of answers have been shown.

View survey results: PDF, Google Docs.

Thankfully, given the document size, some GMC users responded to the survey with humorous observations:

  • What do you enjoy most about Game Maker?  “It’s a chick magnet, Ever since I started using Game Maker I just can’t keep them off.”
  • Do you see Game Maker capable of making professional games?  “Is Paris Hilton Sexy?”
  • What new feature do you think Game Maker needs?  Answers included “A tool to file taxes” and “Boob enhancer”

The results document is well worth a read and not just for the silly answers!

  • 5.6% of survey respondents claim to have sold a game they made using Game Maker
  • Over 60% of Game Maker users would like to see the software have a new interface
  • More than 98% of people would like to see “an instant chat messenger popup where users can ask for help from other Game Maker users on demand” built into Game Maker.
  • What would you like to tell YYG:  “Updates and bug-fixes please! Actual development of the package in your custody would be darling.”

The ‘Reason for Question’ and ‘Editors Result Notes’ present for each question quickly get old as egotistical Brian Fetcher gives us such gems as “To be honest, I didn’t start using tiles until my 61st game was complete”  (in his “2 years of Game Maker”) and patronises people for misunderstanding some of the questions.

That said it is interesting to see these stats even if some of the questions could have been better worded.  If the figure of 3,003 contributors is correct (seems very high to me) this must surely be the biggest Game Maker community survey by a large margin.

Photo credit: Chick Magnet by Bryan Maleszyk (cc)

What do you think?

14 Comments

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  1. Most of the questions do provide redundant data, though I was surprised at how few people used paths and how many used the particle system.

    What I do like is the GM9 suggestions / “anything you want to tell YoYo Games”. This is really difficult feedback to come by. Anyone who develops Game Design software should read it.

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