Graphics - Why you should hire someone.

Are you trying to draw your own sprites for a game you are working on? Unless you've drawn your whole life and are considered to be adapt, this is probably a bad idea. I've been working on a character sketch for a concept I am working on, and everything I put on paper (or with my drawing tablet) looks amateurish. I never thought I was a "good" artist, but I figured I could at least get something down tha looked cartoony.

I think that moving forward, I need to contract someone to draw the sprites for anything I am working on. Then I can just create a working model with colored blocks in the approximate size I need.

It is very exciting learning something new, and with the GameMaker platform they really help you to see the potential in what you are working on. I have been reading The Game Maker's Apprentice, and it has been a great learning experience. They walk you through sevaral different types of games, and really help you to get a feel for what GameMaker is capable of doing. I know there are a lot of people who say that GameMaker is for children, or is not capable of making games that will compete with what is curerntly out there, but I don't know that it is really a factor. For me, GameMaker is a learning tool; before using it I didn't know that an object needs a sprite so you can see it, and the different ways of manipulating an object to get the desired result.

I don't think I will create the next Portal 2, but maybe I can create a game that someone will find fun; at least while using the bathroom.