EricRuthGames

^ Asking the real questions here.

Why the hell didn't you make the title of this "Vsauce. Michael here. What is an AMA?"

My ass.

My parents don't "do" video games, so they don't have any say in the matter.

However, the better question would be: "If your cat knew about the number of times you played Call of Duty, do you think he'd love you more?"

And my answer would be: "I don't have a cat. I don't play Call of Duty. And 'yes.'"

Great questions!

So, I always knew I wanted to make video games and had artistic talents from a young age. I did the typical teenager thing where you don't pay attention in school because you're busy creating characters and inking concept art in notebooks. Eventually, I knew that if I wanted to bring ANY of my ideas to life, I was going to have to learn to code (which, really, I'm not particularly great at) and apply that to my designs.

I found that the best way for me to code was to do it visually (since I'm an artist at heart) so I gravitated towards Game Maker back in 2006. I've stuck with it all these years and continue to use it to this day for a few reasons.

1. Game Maker Studio is now VERY professional. It has certainly come a long way since 2006 when it had a reputation of being more of a "toy" than an actual engine.

2. The game DOES require you to code, but rather than stare at walls of text, the visual elements of its system allow for an easier time in keeping it all aesthetically organized.

So, in Summary; I use Game Maker Studio and its inherent language (GML), and I got started in coding to bring my ideas to life since no one with coding skill was going to magically fall into my lap and work for free. :)