Nebula

Of the sample games, Nebula is both the best and the most consistently upgraded of the bunch. Whenever a new version of Game-Maker appeared, with new features, it was Nebula that leaped to incorporate and demonstrate those features — leading to some significant changes and additions to its design.

Nebula is a completely original game, and every bit of it serves to illustrate how to make a proper platformer with this toolset that isn’t really built for that kind of a game. The visuals are stylish and stylized, and just plain well-designed. When you touch ceiling spikes, they start to drip with fluid the color of your protagonist. The geometrical patterns in the background tiles break up the normal sense of repetition, and there’s a comprehensible sense of level design at work. There are two difficulty modes; in the easy mode, tricky chasms are bridged by tenuous platforms. And just in case you lose your way, energetic green arrows keep you moving.

Significantly, the game’s three major levels use the exact same tileset; the only difference is the palette. In level two, green and blue are swapped; in level three, red becomes prominent. There’s an overworld connecting the three levels, with its own character animations and its own controls. Monsters behave regularly and predictably, and largely fit the game’s environments. The only thing I can say against Nebula is that when RSD added Sound Blaster support, the game acquired a scathing bell sample. Whenever you get one of the most important collecting items in the game, that bell rings out — tempting me to just skip the items altogether.

Nebula has more to teach about game design than all of the other demo games put together. And certainly more than I learned, back in the day.