HTML5 Multiplayer GameMaker
Javascript is pretty fast, dynamic and can be loaded/changed anytime. I could take what I've learned when I made the GameMaker, and what I learned with the Chatbox game and combine them.
An HTML5 GM 2.0 that allows you to make games, but! The game consists of two parts, server code and client code. The code would be simplified like the current GameMaker is, and the server and client would start with template code for an easier time.
When you edit server code, you have the option of restarting the server, turning it off or turning it on. The server will run via Node.js on my server machine the chatbox game is running on.
When you edit client code, you'll have the option of running the client code like a normal game or sharing a link of the game to friends.
Everything is simplified, you don't have to worry about hosting, port forwarding, gritty networking low level code; all you have to do is write the code.
Downside:
If you write crappy code, it can slow down the whole server so all hosted online games are slowed. You can also potentially cripple my internet by writing code that sends tons of data.
Details on how it'd work:
Instead of relying on PHP and SQL, the new GameMaker will connect to a Node.js server that handles data saving and processing. This makes a huge speed increase in loading and saving.
When running a server, it'll take your server code, dynamically load it as a javascript code server object, and put it in the server stack where it receives normal logic and events. Alternatively, if I can figure out how to spawn and manage multiple Node.js processes, I could keep games separated so they have less of an effect on each other.
When running a client, it's a very simple HTML page that sends the game ID to the server, the server will then send all the client code to the HTML page where it'll dynamically load that code into the HTML page and start the game's client.
You'll have the option of downloading both the server and client code of your game so you can edit them outside of the GameMaker and host a server on your own machine.
Benefits:
This will allow even novice programmers to learn the essentials of online game programming and allow them to make online multiplayer games easily.
