Professional game design can be expensive, not to mention fairly complicated, which is why I'm thankful I just get to play the finished product. That doesn't mean I never thought about creating something of my own. I've dabbled in RPG maker back in high school but I never actually had the resolve to finish any of my project.
Starting today, Steam users can get their hands on GameMaker: Studio, which allows anyone to download and make games for the PC for free. Mind you, these games aren't graphically complicated, this isn't Unity after all, but I'm sure that in capable hands, some truly imaginitive games can be made.
The games can even be easily exported to popular services such as Facebook, Nook and Google Play. Of course this could also mean that we could potentially see an influx of terrible games. A great example of this is the Xbox Live Indie Game channel, which does have some gems, hidden beneath a plethora of some god awful games.
The entire app isn't free however. The very basic model which allows you to design games for Steam, Windows and Mac with limited resources is free of charge, however if you want unlimited resources, you have to purchase the DLC for 45$. The Professional add on will run you another 90$, which enables features like texture management and mobile testing. If you also plan to release your games on iOS, Android and HTML 5, that's another $180 per iOS and Android DLC and $90 for HTML5.
Needless to say, if you're serious about making games, and you'll want your game accessed by the broadest of audience, the entire thing will run you $585, which isn't cheap by any means, however the very basic program which is free can get you used to it, and also teaches you the very basics with numerous tutorials.
