C64 Game Maker v1.0.3

C64 Game Maker is a tool that allows you to generate C++ source code for simple video games. Evolution and replacement of the previous tool “C64 Graphics Maker” (with which it’s backward compatible), this new tool allows you to use a simple BASIC language to make the code (whose guide can be found in the .zip file in English and Italian).

The binary (.prg) file must be generated by downloading external C++ compilers (from the respective author’s site) and currently only Oscar64 and LLVM-MOS are directly supported.

In this video the author explain how to setup the “C64 Game Maker” and also provide some insights into the compiler.

Features list of the v1.0.3:

• MDI Application;
• Supported characters mode: Standard Character Mode (SCM), Multi Color Mode (MCM), Extended background Color Mode (ECM) with exporter for assembly and basic;
• Supported sprites mode: monocolor, multicolor with exporter for assembly and basic;
• Supported bitmap cells (named “Blockset”) with mode: monocolor, multicolor (you can also use it to import a full-screen bitmap, BUT be aware that there is no proper fullscreen bitmap editor inside the software, the blockset are treated just like characters);
• Editing of multiple characters/sprites/blocks displaced in a grid (with the ability to mix mono and multicolor characters);
• Editing tool:
  • Up to 4 Layers;
  • transformation: shifting, rotation, resizing, invert, mirror, flip (you can restrict them to the selection);
  • drawing tool: freehand, line, ellipse, rectangle, flood fill (clipped to the selection, if any). Possibility to use two colors dithering.
  • selection: irregular shape, move selected area, copy & paste;
• Import images to characters (SCM, MCM or ECM), sprites (mono or multi) or blocks (mono or multi) with automatic search of the best fitting colors and dithering support (import can take a while, please fix at least the background color to speed up the operation);
• Import/Export of data and project items;
• Animation editor for characters, sprites and blocks with “ghost” functionality;
• Characters/sprites/blocks optimization: remove unused, empty and duplicates (with cascading update);
• Unified clipboard between sprites, characters and blocks (‘cut’ also updated tiles, screens and animations);
• Drag & Drop (between characters, tiles and blocks);
• Possibility to add a background/foreground image (with adjustable position and size) useful to perform decaling;
• Zoom/Pan;
• 100 levels of undo/redo;
• Tiles editor (characters or blocks based);
• Screens editor (characters, blocks or tiles based);
• RLE and LZO compression;
• Includes a simple BASIC language that is transpiled to C/C++;
• Provides a programming model based on state machines;
• Supports a sprite abstraction called “Actors”;
• Supports the definition of “Levels”;
• Supports the definition of “Games”;
• Supports sound effects through the SidSFX Editor version 0.1.1 or higher;
• Allows import of external data/routines (like music routines);
• VIC-II Calculator;

For more information about the C64 Game Maker page on itch.io.