Game Maker Survey 2010 – The Results
September 22, 2010
Just over three thousand people took part in the Game Maker survey organised by Brian Fetcher/GMIndie/GMVision.
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)
This must be a flawed survey, look how many claim to like the now icon better than the old one. =P
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.
The survey was poorly designed and not thought out. The interpretation of the results is even worse.
Where’s the facepalm button?
That image gave me quite a fright. I regret my decision to check out GMB while at school.
Happy to know it’s not just me who thinks we need a total performance overhaul.
“useless particle system reworked” – what?
Some results were interesting but the commentary drove me insane.
Hmm… It seems that a lot of people would like a chat-box built into the Game Maker interface. If someone out there is more fluent in CSS than myself they could become quite popular by adjusting one of those IRC web-clients to fit nicely into the tutorial box 😉
http://www.slashnet.org/webclient/gamemaker
Anyone up for it?
Brilliant suggestion! Personally, I’m amazed so many people seem to want this.
Great idea! I going to be on this chat most of the time now 🙂
Following a couple of people asking on MSN I can confirm that it is not Brian Fetcher in that photo.
That image is slightly awesome.
This report is comic genius. That “61st game” line had be falling out of my chair.
Honestly, I don’t mean to make fun (much) but what a huge waste of time. Huge. Just… so awful.
Brilliant Photoshoping.