Confessions of a Serial Mapper

Lego Indiana Jones does exactly what it says on the tin.  You play through the origional trilogy of Indianas adventures with a vast array of charachters in the Lego format.  I really enjoyed playing the Lego adaptation of Star Wars, it was entertaining and folowed the movies rather well, splicing it up with the Lego brand humour that made the game brilliant.  The same brilliant comedy can be found again in Lego Indiana Jones.

The game mechanics are rather simple, it’s a basic platformer game with several Lego additions.  Such as having to build propellers out of Lego to get the plane you escape on working again.  Other interesting aspects of gameplay include how certain charachters have different advantages or dissadvantages.  “Big Whoop!” I hear you say, but this is actually very important to gameplay, you can’t play and fully complete a level as one charachter, you need to switch between them to solve the various puzzles and complete the game.  Short Round can access small spaces which larger charachters can’t, Indy is scared of snakes and actually becomes useless when you move near them and to avoid annoying the feminists, women can jump higher than male charachters.

The game is very fun to play and has provided me with many hours of enjoyment.  Well except when the game get’s a bit buggy.  Thats right, Lego Indiana Jones suffers from a bad case of the gremlins.  At least 4 times I have had to restart a level because an event didn’t get triggered, or I couldn’t defeat a boss as he or a needed object fell through the solid rock floor.  This doesn;t cause the game to crash, just impossible to continue the level, this can be very annoying especially when you are near the end of one.  Perhaps it is just me and the PS3 version, other consoles may run the game better.

Another issue I have with the game is how the camera reacts with two people on screen.  The drop in, drop out co-op system that was introduced in Lego Star Wars is still a brilliant addition.  Being able to just pick up a controller and join in the fun is something I wish more games implemented.  Though this does mean that with two players on screen at once, the camera does follow the wrong person and can cause you to become separated, having to re-spawn next to your ally.  Even in single-player the camera has a tendency to get stuck in the wrong place, or gets into a really awkward angle making even the simplest of actions difficult.

Don’t let this stop you from buying, or at least renting the game.  Apart from the bugs it has, it is still a very enjoyable game to play, the brilliant sense of humour the cutscenes have and the simple gameplay mechanics make the game accessable to all ages.  It presents enough of a challenge to older age-groups while staying simple enough for younger ones to enjoy it.

Well, with the recent Pyro update to TF2, there are now over 90 achievements to get and I have started to notice several things have shifted the dynamics of the game from a well balanced fun team based game, so a more single-player grind-tastic unbalanced experience.  Why?  The class-specific achievements.

Lets rewind a few months to when the Medic achievement pack was released.  I remember playing TF2 before hand and I seemed to be one of the few people who actually liked to play as a medic.  I liked supporting my team-mates and winning the game as a result, it was fun, but apparently everybody else just liked to shoot other people only.  Once the medic update was released, this all changed, everyone wanted to be a medic now.  In fact, so much so that the game completely lost it’s balance.

Think about it, each class has it’s own strengths and weaknesses, something they are good at, something they are bad at.  This promoted teamwork and caused diversity to appear on teams, you would always seem to have a good range of classes being played, this is the way TF2 is designed to be played.  Now imagine a team where more than half are medics, this suddenly creates a huge weakness in fire-power and if put against a team that used a range of classes, they would usually, 99% of the time lose.  All these people playing as medics wanted to get all the achievements, not play the game and make it fun.  Everyone lost the attitude of “I’m going to be the class my team needs the most,” to “I’m going to be a medic and grind all the achievements, who cares what my team needs.”  These players end up ignoring the team objective and pursue their own personal agenda.

This also prompted the achievement maps and servers.  The maps we’re small, crap looking, cramp maps that someone with minimal skill threw together in an hour with the purpose of it to grind achievements.  Servers that run these maps are just as bad, there are around 13 servers running with players in it (out of the 200 or so that are in Europe) that are called “achievement servers.”  Servers designed to get the Medic and Pyro achievements.

Why has the achievement culture that we gamers live in today tends towards this?  Statistically, all the achievements are easy enough to get from just playing the game regularly.  Heck, I got 4 of them today with a one hour blitz on Goldrush, without even trying to get them, I was just playing the game and trying to get the cart to the end, as is the objective of the game.

Though perhaps I am being to harsh, the medic update saw a sudden rise in players choosing the medic class, a class that had been so far rather neglected.  Same with the pyro, no many play as this class either, but a sudden jump happened when the update was released.  However, both times the jump was too much and destroyed the game balance.  This problem could easily be solved by releasing all of the additional achievements to each class at the same time.

This still doesn’t solve the problem with achievements servers.  However, perhaps I am looking at this the wrong way, as long as the balance is kept in the regular servers for people who actually want to play and enjoy the game, then who cares about the achievement servers.  In a few months of so, everyone would have gotten all the achievements through grinding and will then return to playing normally.

I could go into the morality of what is basically cheating the system to get all the achievements, but people only want to get their hands on the new weapons available, which are only unlocked after enough achievements have been achieved.  This is a serious flaw that can easily be fixed, just make the new weapons available to all, so there is no need to do all the achievements to get all the new weapons.

All in all, the new achievements are a good idea and I do enjoy how the game keeps getting expanded each update Valve brings, but please, have a solid rethink about the damn achievement mechanic and try to help prevent the game from being ruined by grinders, this isn’t a “MaMORPGa.”  Now if you excuse me, I hear there is a need for a Demoman in the next server.

I’m going to go right ahead and get straight to the two things I dislike about this game.  The length of the cutscenes and the multiple installs.  Firstly the cutscenes, there is nothing wrong with them, in fact they are well scripted and really pull you into the story, however a cut scene is just that, a single scene.  Not an hour long episode of “MGS4 player not playing.”  A cut scene needs only to be 5-10 minutes long, any longer and the gamer will start to get itching to get back into the game. Yes, there are events that you can trigger in the middle of a cut scene (the alternative views and flashbacks) but they are so spaced out sometimes, you forget all about it.  For every minute of gameplay I had, it felt like I had to watch one minute of cut scene. Yawn.

The next major issue, is the install times and worse, the multitude of install times.  Thats right, not only do you have to install the game before you can play, you have to install parts of the game multiple times.  So as if waiting for the cutscenes to finish is bad enough, sometimes you need to wait for the game to install.  Not having to install games is an advantage the console had, it was a case of stick the disk in and play.  Now half the games I play require some kind of installation, the curse of the PS3.

Back to MGS4, it is a very very good game, looking past these two flaws it is easy to see how it is picking up very high scores from mainstream game review sites.  The gameplay is supurb.  The graphics are excellent, the high end of what is expected with modern games.  The controls are very simple (well apart from one issue with a boss fight, but I’m willing to chalk it up to my own stupidity in not reading the instruction booklet properly) and the story is compelling.

I love the idea of ‘Drebin points,’ it fits in very well with the story and background of the game.  By having to collect weapons to get currency to buy new guns and ammo makes me want to explore more.  The idea of gun laundering fits in with the idea of PMC’s and nano-machine control.  There is a huge range of weapons to choose from and can be modified with laser sights, silencers etc.

The game is not an FPS, though it can be played as one.  I normally like to try and sneak and am usually sucessful, but I do fail sometimes and end up going in guns-a-blazing.  Both tactis do work, yet the game is sneaking first and FPS second.  The old radar that I liked in MGS2 is replaced with the ‘Solid Eye’ it just shows the relative location of enemies, not which way they are looking.  This makes life a little harder, but compensated by the ‘Octocamo,’ which can sometimes make you basically invisible in plain sight.

Taking down enemies are pretty simple, they usually drop fast and are almost stupid when it comes to sneaking around, just make sure you are quiet enough and stay out of sight (easier said than done).  Boss fights are well though out and can be very challenging.  The Beauty and the Beast units are individual and need different tactics to defeat both.  My personal favourite is Crying Wolf, with the award for defeating her being incredibly sweet.  Boss battles is where a lot of the action is going to be, which seems a little strange, considering that the idea of the game is sneaking, but the Boss battles are purely on the basis of pumping the other one full of lead.  Though they are still just as intense.

I’m going to end the review a little short here, MGS 4 is a big game, there is a lot of content and I could just keep going and going, but I would risk releasing spoilers.  There is a lot to do and if you like any previous MGS games, then chances are you have already bought this game.  If not, consider it, if you like action interspliced with sneaking around, with a brilliant and origional sense of humour, consdier MGS4.

It’s been a while since my last review, so I thought it would be good if I wrote up some of my thoughts about the PS3 exclusive, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.  Overall, I’m very positive about the game, it gave me a good 7 hours of gameplay and kept my interest all the way through.

The story was compelling throughout, I wanted to keep playing to find out what happens to the protagonists, which is a must for games today.  The story did throw me off a bit when the ‘zombies’ started to appear, it did feel like a departure from the logic of the story up to that point.  However this seemed necessary to keep the game-play from becoming stale.  Killing the same soldiers again and again does take it’s toll and to see two enemies fight each other is always a pleasure to wait it out and steal victory away from one of them.

Game-play is best summed up by a flatmate of mine, the game may as well be called Gears of Tomb Raider.  The combat is exactly the same as Gears of War, very heavy on the idea of staying in cover and diving between it.  While the sections between combat is essentially Tomb Raider, hanging from percarous ledges and jumping accross chasms.

Environments are as good as you expect to see in modern games on the PS3.  The water effects are supurb though, they are the best I have seen in a game I have played so far.  Environments are a little repetative though, initially it is just runins and jungle, runins and jungle until we get to the final few levels of the game.

Overall, Uncharted is a pretty decent game and is worth the money if you have a spare 30 quid kicking about and something to play in the summer games drought.

I don’t usually do movie reviews, but after being pushed to write one, I decided to give in and give my two cents.  I didn’t intend for this blog to move towards movie reviews, but after this one, I may do some more, depending on how this goes down.  SPOILER ALERT!

When I went to see Indiana Jones 4, I had high expectations, I loved the trilogy, especially The last Crusade, it wrapped it all up brilliantly, yet some idiot thought that they could milk it a little more and get those few extra millions from the series.  What we ended up with was not Indiana Jones 4, but something that ended up being over hyped and full of disappointment.  It could have been so good, they had the actors, they had the right people, yet it missed the mark.

The first big issue with this film was the moment with the fridge.  Surviving a nuclear explosion test by jumping into a fridge, yeah.  It suddenly turned Indiana from an adventurer into a super hero and that is bad.  Something I always loved about Indiana Jones films was that he got hurt, he was human and watching him survive, whether it is getting chased by a boulder, shooting Nazi’s or in a room with spikes closing in, it was always more satisfying.  If Superman did it, it just wouldn’t be as impressive.  Seeing Indiana survive a nuke bomb, just ruined this for me.

The CGI wasn’t all too impressive.  It did have some moments, but some we’re terrible and very noticeable for me.  As if 90% of the budget went to one scene and the others got what was left over.  The acting however was pretty good and to see Ford again playing as the big man.  Though it was noticeable that he was getting on, getting a little old, but it can be overlooked, he is over 50 after all.

Then there was the finale.  Aliens.  WTF are aliens doing in Indiana Jones, it just doesn’t work!!!  It just doesn’t, in all the previous films, everything had some kind of magic and mystery about it, the holy grail for example.  But to say, look it all makes sense, it was alien technology.  Oh thanks for removing all the magic from it.  It is like showing how a trick is done, it is in the not knowing how it is done that makes it interesting.

Maybe I’m just someone who is being a bit of a classic fan, afraid of change.  But I will say this, if you like Indiana Jones, see the film, if you REALLY love Indiana Jones, don’t.  It will just ruin the series for you, it takes out so much of the magic and charm the series had and just destroys it.  I for one will always be disappointed of this film, what it could have been, what it should have been, was never reached.

Well, I decided to finally get my hands on a portable games console. So I ended up deciding to go for a Nintendo DS Lite, mainly because most of my friends have one and that the games which interested me the most we’re on it. I decided against the PSP, mainly because of the cost, but also I have played all the games I wanted to for it. So I ended up getting my hands on one from the local Gamestation, along with 4 games, so here’s my quick review on each of them.

Mario Kart DS

A good addition to the series. It brings in some old tracks and some new ones too. The racing is the way I expected it to be, especially after playing the Wii Mario kart. It is fun and the power up’s work well and fit in with the design of the game. Granted I have been blue shelled near the line and this can be a little unfair, but the Mario Kart series has always had catch-up AI, where opponents can seem to get all the good powerups.

The mission mode is a nice addition and has helped to make the game last longer. I have yet to try online play, but I hope it to help keep the game lasting as long as possible.

Worms: Open Warfare 2

I’ve always been a fan of the Worms games, there is nothing else like it, which pulls the idea off so well. This game is the sequel to the DS version, which means the Worms franchise now has 12 iterations of the game, not including the spin-off’s. The DS version is pretty good and continues to keep the same kind of manic weapons and hilarious dialogue the previous ones have done.

The campaign and various single player missions give this game some longevity, but it is the multiplayer which really makes this game worth playing. If you have liked the previous Worms, then this will be a game for you. However, don’t expect anything new or beyond what has already been done, as when the Worms franchise move away from what they know is good, they always have a tendency to make a poor game (see all 3D iterations of the game).

New Super Mario Bros.

This game takes me back to the good old NES days of the original Super Mario Bros. It brings a fresh take on the 2D style, combining good looking graphics and 3D looking map screen. It has the classic gameplay that I enjoy, introduces new levels (except the first, it really took me back) and some great gameplay ideas (Super Mushroom!!!).

I like the small things, such as when you go down a pipe, the screens change around from top to bottom. While the touch screen facilities are not really used that extensively, the game doesn’t really need to, if it used it too much, it would ruin the nostalgia I get from the game. A brilliant game for anyone who wants a more modern take on the original 2D scrolling platformer.

PuzzleQuest

I bought this game on recommendation from a friend and I am glad I did. It does a good job of pulling together puzzle and RPG game types, instead of a simple turn based battle system of just choosing the attack, spell or potion to use, it is about using your head with the puzzle system. It is very interesting and the combination has been successfully pulled together. With an interesting story line, if you like puzzle games, but want a little more, this is a game for you.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m happy with my new gadget, it works pretty well and with a much wider library of games than the PSP, it was the better choice to make. I used to be a fan of the PSP, but with so many people here already owning a DS and I have already played most the games I wanted to on the PSP. I also knew I wouldn’t want the PSP for the movie playing capability, though I would not have minded the ability to remotely access the PS3. However, I just feel that I would only want this feature to show off.

Well, I’ve been meaning to get this project started for quite a while now and recently (about 10 weeks ago recently) I decided to start writing it. It is a book that is aimed towards those that are, or wish to become mappers with the Source engine. If you haven’t already realised, Source is my game engine of choice. The book will be able to take a beginner and teach them all they need to know in order to produce good maps. The book will also cover theoretical aspects of mapping, such as what makes a good layout and it will also cover mod management. How to operate and manage a Source engine mod, something that has not been covered at all from my searchings.

But why bother to write a book in the first place,” I hear you ask, “surly there is already a decent level of literature out there on the web in Wiki’s and tutorial websites that cover all aspects of the Source engine already?” Well, yes that’s true, everything is already out there, but it isn’t without it’s problems. Firstly, everything is written by different people with different viewpoints, so some things don’t flow correctly and can cause confusion. Sometimes it can be difficult to find exactly what you need, especially when it comes to theory (either because it is too boring, or no one has bothered to write about it before).

Other reasons I’m writing a book is to improve my English grammar and spelling, I’m sure a lot of you have already realised that my grammar could be considered poor and I see writing this book as a way to improve that. I also see it as a way to consolidate all my knowledge and learn some extra aspects of the Source engine I have yet to look at.

So, when can you all expect it? Well, don’t really, chances are this book will never be printed, however I will probably make into a .PDF file and distribute it accordingly. I will give publication a try, but I don’t have any hopes for it. I think it would be better anyway for the book to be distributed digitally, so that it is easier for everyone to get a hold of and is completely free, the individual can decide whether to actually print the book or not.

We gamers are living and gaming in an achievement culture.  It is now all important and vital to try and achieve as many of these as possible not only to show our gaming prowess but to give a numerical justification to how great our gaming skill truly is.  It is as simple as comparing one list of achievements against another, whoever is longer or has the more challenging one to obtain in their list is obviously the more superior gamer and I am sick of it.

The achievement culture really probably started well before the 360 made it much more mainstream, by providing a built in system that all games must have and which can be considered to easily authenticate any achievement a gamer has done.  It isn’t until achievements we’re made mainstream did all the problems arise.  The PS3 is moving towards achievements, trophies they are calling it which will come under a part of ‘Home’ (AKA Second Life) when the bloody thing actually gets released.

Even PC games are moving towards achievements, just look at Valve and the unequivocal Team Fortress 2.  Recently they released a major update, which included the medic achievement pack.  36 new achievements to try and strive for, to prove the length of your gamer skill.  This is just for ONE OF NINE classes in the game, so by the end of this, we can look forward to 324 additional achievements added on to the already existing ones!!!

Maps are being produced for TF2 with focus on actually getting the achievements, where you can basically cheat the system and get them all in a relatively short period of time.  But wait, isn’t this missing the whole point of actually having achievements in games?  Isn’t the idea of them to bring a new challenge to the game, to keep people playing them?  A cheap trick used by developers to artificially increase the lifespan of a game?  Jump into a server and you may get asked by some ‘cool guys’ to help them get the achievements, so they look like they have the ‘m4d sk1llz’ and can show off to all their ‘friends.’  What is even worse about the TF2 achievements is that you actually need to get them in order to have full access to all the different weapons.  So by not actually trying to get these achievements, I am actually missing out on parts of the game?

Well, perhaps I am being a little harsh on achievements, I have to admit they are a lot of fun trying to get some of them and there are some good ideas out there that can really change how you need to play the game.  (The Medic achievement pack has led to a sudden jump in the number of people playing as the medic class).  The idea of having parts of a game locked until something has been achieved has always been used and is actually a good idea to get people playing the game.

Perhaps what is really getting to me is the sudden influx of people that MUST get all the achievements, they NEED to get them all and that they are willing to do anything to get them.  Be it cheating or bribing other players (help me get my achievements, I’ll help you get yours), they will try hard to get them all.  Why is it that we as a cultural unit have moved in this direction?  What happened to the days where it was skill that dictated how good of a gamer you truly we’re, not an arbitrary number tacked on by your user name?

Well, GTA4 has been out for 1 week now and I thought it would be time for me to write down my thoughts on it. Receiving more 10/10 scores from all the mainstream reviewing sites than any other game I can find could be just a clue to how great GTA4 is meant to be. So I suppose this means it is my turn to highly praise the game and give it a rousing review of how perfect it is, how it is revolutionising gaming for all and will cause a statistically noticeable increase in exam failures.

Sex

We all know the story now, you go see a guy who has a job for you, he described how some other guy has done him wrong and that you need to fuck him up, you go find the guy and fuck him up appropriately. It’s a time and tested method of gameplay that has worked for the GTA series before and has worked again. Though this time it’s been mixed up a bit more, you can receive jobs by text, phone and even E-Mail, which I am thankful for, it breaks up the monotony that can be found in the previous iterations.

The characters are well portrayed with quality voice-acting talent, they cut scenes come across less cheesy as before and are more satisfying to watch. The whole overall story has kept me enthralled throughout, making me want to keep playing until I’ve noticed that it’s gone well past 3 in the morning. There are also plenty of side missions to do and with the relationships you need to build and maintain to help you progress through this game.

The hours you will get out of this game are huge. No more of this finished in 8 hours crap, this game will take a solid week of play (and I mean solid, with minimal sleep) to actually complete and then there are all the pigeons that need to be taken down as well as all the Easter eggs to find. There is always plenty to do.

Drugs

Let’s get this straight right now. This game looks and sounds great. On the visual side, Liberty City has never looked better, to just cruise around and watch as the day turns into night with all the lights turning on in the distance as I cross one of the inter-island bridges just looks ‘right.’  No more loading screens either, except those you get from cutscenes (which are only a few seconds anyway on the PS3) and the main loading screen when you start to play.

Cars really show their damage now, crash into a lamp-post and you will see a lamp-post style dent in the bonnet.  Crash at a high enough speed and you come flying out the front windscreen and could even kill the driver of the car you crashed into.  Windows get smashed (I really like how Niko smashes the drivers side window when you want to do drive-bys) and crash too many times, the car won’t start.  Flip the car and instead of the unrealistic car catching fire then exploding the car just sits there as it would in real life.

There is a huge range of cars, with trucks, buses, helicopters and boats up for grabs too.  Just wait until you get a helicopter and fly over the skyscrapers at night, you can really enjoy the scenery then.  Each car/boat/helicopter has it’s own style of driving and receives damage differently (for example, a mid engine car will not stop working from a head on collision.

Car’s handle much more realistically, they won’t turn while breaking easily (like in real life) and will actually need to be travelling at a moderately low speed to take the corners successfully.  This more challenging driving is a much needed improvement over before, considering the game is Grand Theft AUTO, you would expect the cars to handle realistically and not just stick to the road.

Combat is excellent, the previous games always had a very poor combat system, something that was thrown together at the last moment.  Now we can take cover in the GOW/R:FOM style of running for cover and firing from it.  If you don’t learn to do this and try to play like you did in the previous games, expect to die a heck of a lot.  The controls for combat do work well, but will take some time to adapt to.

Rock

As it has been said in countless reviews before me and will be repeated here: “The main character is the city itself.”  The city feels alive, people no longer walk the streets aimlessly, there are beggars, businessmen, drug addicts, gang members, blue collar stiffs.  All the stereotypes you would find in a city, each of them doing normal activities, such as reading newspapers, talking on mobile phones etc.

It is the reactions people have which helps this game to feel real.  If it starts to rain, people will take cover under umbrellas or failing that, the newspaper they’re carrying.  Drive into them at slow speeds and they lean on the bonnet trying to avoid getting run over.  They will dive out the way of danger and can all react differently to the same thing you do.  For example, aiming at a person in a car, they may get out, drive off, reverse with their head down for cover and if you decide to kill them, they will die in the car, they may have their foot on the accelerator and speed down the road, crashing into the hot dog stand on the corner or they may just slump forward onto the horn.

There is a huge range of reactions that the people of Liberty City can do and all of this just lends itself to a living breathing city.  It is these reasons which makes the city feel alive.  Heck, even the traffic changes depending on what time of day it is.

and Roll

So what can I say, if you own a 360 or PS3, go out and by GTA4. It is a fantastic game and is such a pleasure as it lives up to the hype it has generated. Even if you don’t own either of these consoles, GTA4 provides you with a good enough excuse as any to go out and buy one. It has everything I wanted to see in a GTA game and much much more, proved by the 18+ hours I’ve already clocked up playing it (and I have not even tried on-line play yet).

The game also seems to be going towards a more realistic theme, instead of going from nothing to crime boss, you just are a regular guy getting jobs to pay the bills.  Yet the game has retained all the satire and fun that the previous games brought.  Just don’t expect a mission to sneak onto a military base and steal a jet pack.  I actually enjoyed this realism over the previous games, it makes it harder and more satisfying to play.

One gripe I have about the game, is the bridges between islands, that keep you locked in a certain area, forcing you to complete the missions to move on, the reasons the bridges we’re closed always seemed artificial and we’re always bridges. Rockstar, come on, why not change it around a bit, have some real legitimate reasons I can see for why the bridges are closed, or better yet, don’t make them bridges, make them something different.

However, that being put aside, this game is perfect. I can find very little flawed about it, perhaps I found it a little too easy and stormed through the missions relatively easily on the first try. I rarely died or got caught by the police and always managed to make more than steady progress through the game. Maybe this is because I am only less than half way through the game and the harder missions are coming up later. All I know is that I am going to come back to this game again and again until I see that magical 100% in my stats.

This question was brought up recently between a conversation between myself and a friend.  How hard is it to produce a computer game?  I sat there and wondered for a second and ended up coming back with this rather useless, yet nonetheless deep response.  “It can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be.”  Looking back at the time, that answer was completly useless and so here I am to return with a more detailed answer.

Producing a computer game can range from the incredibly challenging to the surprisingly easy.  It is really down to what software you use, what type of game you want to make, what scale of game you want to make and how you want the game to look.

Game Maker

The easiest way to produce a game would be to use something simple, like Game Maker, an easy to use sprite based game making program.  Flowcharts are used in place of actual programming and everything is neatly organised by the program itself.  The beauty of Game Maker is how you do no need to learn programming, you don’t need to be able to produce brilliant pieces of art and you don’t need to have any experience at making games.  Just jump in and go.  (I have been using Game Maker recently to try and produce a small game, but is currently on hiatus.)

Flash

Flash based games are something I have never had the time to use, but from what I understand using Flash is actually quite simple and can produce some truly addictive games.  The best part of Flash is that people can play the games in their web browser, no need to download anything extra, just go to the website and play.  I would like to get around to learning how to make games in Flash, but thanks to prior commitments and projects, that will have to wait.

Mod Production (Source)

Moving up a level from Game Maker would be to make a mod or map for an already existing game, now depending on what game it is (3D or 2D) will dictate how difficult it is to produce a game for it.  By building off an already existent game engine, such as Source, you already have all the tools and resources (such as textures and models) at your disposal.  The Source SDK will also create the mod for you, so all you need to do is to add things like maps and some limited amount of programming (just editing some lines really).

Source is a nice example of how you can have different mod scales.  If you can make maps, then you can make a semi-original mod.  However, if you can pull a team together, each with different skills (such as texture art, modelling, sound) then you can simply add these in to the framework already made by the utility program in the Source SDK.  You can have completely original content, or use that which Valve used in the game HL2 seeing as they are kind enough to let you use their assets.

Sum Up

Game Maker, a 2D sprite based game design program, allows you to produce a variety of game styles and will produce the independent .exe file needed so that other people can play the game straight away.  Compared to using the Source engine, which would need the player to already have HL2 installed on their computer seeing as a mod is all you could produce.  (you could buy a license for the Source engine, but I doubt you have a million or so to burn).

So to answer my original question, making a game is relatively easy, but if you want to produce a bigger game, make a game 3D, make the game have online capabilities, have high quality surround sound etc.  Then you need to be willing to invest more time.  The more you want your game to do, the more time you will need to invest to build up skills and to pull together a team to actually make the idea a reality.  It all boils down to this.

The more complex your ideas are for the game, the longer and more challenging it will be to produce.