Game Maker 8.0

Game Maker 8.0 is the latest major version of Game Maker, released after version 7.0 on December 22, 2009. It is the second version released under the partnership between Mark Overmars and YoYo Games.

Sprites
On March 25 2009, in the YoYoGames Glog, Mark revealed that Game Maker 8.0 would include a new set of sprites and backgrounds and expressed interest in finding someone who could create them from the community.

"As part of that change the plan is to include a completely new set of sprites and backgrounds with Game Maker 8.0. These must be high-quality images in consistent styles that can be used royalty free by all users of Game Maker. These should come in sets for different types of games, e.g. a maze game set, a space shooter set, a platform set, an RPG set, etc."
 * Mark Overmars, writing on the YoYoGames Glog

New Sprite Editor
On April 13 2009, in the YoYoGames Glog, Mark released a public beta of the new sprite editor which will be included in Game Maker 8.0. On May 09 2009, a second beta was released.

Preliminary features list
On June 26 2009, in the YoYo Games Glog, Mark released a list of preliminary features. He noted that they may be 'subject to change': "[...] you can export all sprites and import them in another game. Or you can give a copy of your gmk to somebody else who makes some additional rooms which you can then import in your original game. It makes it a lot easier to collaborate on games."
 * PNG/alpha transparency/Image editor: Sprites and backgrounds with alpha channels throughout the marker are now supported by Game Maker. To handle alpha transparency, the built-in sprite and image editors have been rewritten, with the image editor including many new drawing options and filters/special effects.
 * Collision checking option: It is now possible to indicate whether sprite sub-images should all have the same or different collision masks, and also increase and reduce the mask, and use a disk as a mask.
 * Import and export of resources: Various resources can be imported and exported. Mark gives examples of the possible uses:
 * Mark Overmars

Mark also repeated and confirmed the earlier news of high-quality bundled resources that can be used for free in games.
 * Splash screens that show web sites and html documents: Splash screens, that show a website or local HTML file, can be shown in a game. Mark also suggested, "[...] you can incorporate for example very nice help pages in your game". To support this change, splash screens are given additional options and there are new actions.
 * Time lines: These have been enhanced, and can be paused and play backwards.
 * A new script/code editor: Code is easier to write, as the built-in script/code editor has been 'completely rewritten'. New features within this change include:
 * Pop-up function name completion
 * Argument help
 * Matching brackets
 * Improved color coding
 * Line numbers
 * On-the-fly error checking
 * Sophisticated find and replace functionality.
 * Smaller changes: As well as a number of bug fixes, there are some smaller changes:
 * Game Maker news shown in the program
 * Much faster loading times (also when starting games)
 * Better encryption of executables
 * Constant definition in a separate form
 * Some visual improvements

Beta
On July 3 2009, a Game Maker 8.0 beta was released and described in the YoYoGames Glog, boasting many of the preliminary features previously discussed. The beta could be obtained from the YYG Beta site, however it was given an expiry date and can no longer be used.