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Grey Alien BlitzMax Game Framework

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Introduction

In 2006 Grey Alien Games released the first version of the BlitzMax Game Framework and has continued to improve it ever since.

The Game Framework is a collection of extremely useful source code files that you can use to produce a professional quality game such as Fairway Solitaire, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Holiday Bonus - these professional games have sold tens of thousands of copies on the major game portals and you can own the framework that was used to make them for only £29.95.

*Buy here*

Why would I want this?

So that you can get on with the fun part of making games knowing that your game is using a solid framework suitable for professional games on Windows and Mac. The framework has taken countless painful and boring hours to research, develop and test so that you don't have to go through the same process. When you buy the BlitzMax Game Framework you are avoiding reinventing the wheel, leaving you free to get creative.

Ask yourself this: do you ...

want the fun of making games without boring research, technical problems and tedious interface code?
want your game to run on a wide range of PCs and Macs using an ultra smooth timing routine?
want your game to have the same functionality as professional commercial games?
want to plug your code straight into an OOP environment with tons of ready-made Types?

Then get the Grey Alien BlizMax Game Framework today!

What do I get with the Game Framework?

The Game Framework consists of two main source code files: CommonTypes, which contains a huge quantity of ready-made Types (from Sprites to Player Profiles Managers) suitable for all sorts of different games; and CommonCode, which contains a massive list of useful functions from Windows/Mac OSX API calls to drawing Bezier curves. Actually, there's a third file which contains the source code for fading in and out a fancy splash logo with a zooming/panning background whilst playing a sound!

It also comes with the full source code for an example mini-game called Attack of the Mutant Greys (PC Demo or Mac Demo - Universal Binary). There are other example projects and templates too including Speed Run (PC Demo or Mac Demo - Universal Binary) and Make Me Happy (PC Demo or Mac Demo - Universal Binary).

Naturally there's a whole bunch of documentation and the code is heavily commented, PLUS you get a whole year of FREE Support and Upgrades included in the price! I pride myself on my level of service and my customers frequently tell me how much they appreciate the prompt and useful replies that I give to their support queries. There's even some Framework Forums where I answer support queries and Framework users help each other out.

The Game Framework is tried and tested, and already in use by many hobbyists and professionals (well over 100 customers!). Give the mini-game demo a whirl to find out why it's so popular:

*Download the demo for Windows* (6.39Mb)
*Download the demo for Mac OSX (Universal Binary)* (6.29Mb)

*Buy here*

What does it do?

So many things you won't believe it! It's over 15,000 lines of code PLUS thousands more lines in example projects - think how long it would take you to write and test all that. Here's a summary of the main features and you can find out much more detail in the FAQ:

Smooth Fixed Rate Logic timing with Jitter Correction.
Mac OSX and Vista fully supported. Also data is stored in and read from the correct paths.
Huge library of "Common Code" functions including lots of useful OS API calls.
Full icon support (.exe *and* title bar).
Windowed mode has working minimise and close buttons.
Extensive debug suite.
Comprehensive Sprite type.
Comprehensive Particle engine that supports phases and triggered functions.
Bitmap Fonts are supported.
Sound and music functions including a Channel Array.
Dynamically change between Full-Screen and Windowed Mode.
Dynamically change between DirectX and OpenGL.
Supports 3 different sound drivers.
Game and music pauses whenever focus is lost.
Alt+Tab and screensavers will not crash the framework.
Ini file to save user settings.
Take screenshots with F12.
Integrated mouse pointer.
Sound and music functions.
Button type.
Menu type.
Font and Label types.
List Box and Scrollbar types.
Game Text type for reading Unicode files for localised game text.
Animation type for handling multi-phase animations.
Slide Show type and related types for making complex cut-scenes.
Vector type and related types and methods.
Splash screen.
Loading screen.
Title screen.
Fully working options screen.
Fully working Player Profile Manager dialog.
Dialog type (with fancy transitions) extended to DialogOK, DialogYesNo and DialogTextInput.
Load, save and enter High Scores.
Other example screens such as Level Complete, Game Complete, Game Over, and Credits.
Select Level Map which zooms and scrolls.
Example types such as Player (with shield, lives, target, and level), Bullet, Alien etc.
Fast fade out or in. Also crossfade!
Manage multiple game screens easily.
Event-based input instead of PolledInput.
Top-level general error handling including auto-resetting the ini file upon crash.
Auto-selects best graphics mode and errors properly if none present.
BlitzMax fixes and workarounds.
And more!

How do I buy it?

Sorry, but the Grey Alien BlitzMax Framework is no longer for sale.

FAQ

For more information please read the detailed FAQ. Also feel free to email me any questions at info@greyaliengames.com

More stuff

Ooh, you might want to know the keys for the AOTMG demo (they are also in the readme.txt file and the FAQ). Don't just play the game, check out all the framework keys that do cool stuff like dynamically toggle full-screen/windowed mode, trigger slow motion, swap video drivers and toggle VSync for example:

Press <Esc> to exit the game.
Press <F> or <Alt> + <Enter> to toggle full screen/windowed mode.
Press <V> to toggle VSync on/off.
Press <G> to toggle DirectX/OpenGL.
Press <H> to toggle Free Audio/OpenAL/DirectSound sound driver (reboot after toggle otherwise game may crash)
Press <D> to bring up the debug display.
Whilst in debug mode, press <J> to jump level.
Whilst in debug mode, press <R> to restart level.
Whilst in debug mode, press <L> to toggle slow motion.
Whilst in debug mode, press <T> to toggle fast (full speed).
Whilst in debug mode, press <I> to toggle Flip modes.
Whilst in debug mode, press <N> to toggle No Timing.
Press <P> to pause the game.
Press <Q> to quit the game.
Press <S> to toggle sound on/off.
Press <M> to toggle music on/off.
Press <-> and <=> to adjust sound volume.
Press <F12> to take a screenshot.
Press <Ctrl+X> to exit the game instantly.

One more thing, here's a video (1.1Mb) of the AOTMG demo in action. (Please note: any jerkiness in the video is 100% due to video capture (and my inability to use it), not the framework.)

Anything else I should put on this page? Please let me know and I'll sort it out. Thanks!