Making games work under Windows Vista

Making games work under Windows Vista
Games created with Game Maker versions 6.0 and 6.1 are not compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. (Games created with other versions work without problems.) The best you can do is upgrade to version 8.0 of Game Maker before you create the final version of your game.

However, if this is impossible, there is a little tool to convert games created with versions 6.0 and 6.1 into a file that is compatible with Windows Vista and 7. The tool can be downloaded here:


 * [[Media:GM_Convert_Game.zip|Game Conversion Program]]

Please understand that this tool is provided AS IS without any warranty. It is just a quick hack and should be used with care. Always first make a copy of your game.

Please realize that you are not allowed to redistribute converted games unless you are the creator or copyright holder of the original game.

We strongly recommend that you convert all your version 6.0 and 6.1 games to make them compatible with Windows Vista/7 before you place them on the YoYo Games site.

Problems with 64 bit versions of Windows.
Both Game maker 7 and Game Maker 8 appear to have issues running on the 64 bit versions of Windows. This seems to be a common issue with many 32 bit applications. Running the 64 bit versions of Windows in "32 bit compatibility mode" doesn't seem to help. However it's possible that a free program called Virtual Box (http://www.virtualbox.org/) might offer a solution for some of you. It allows you to install Windows XP on a "virtual machine" and then you can run GM8 under XP. Quote form one user "It takes a little while to install, but it has solved the problem. Now I can run other 32 bit applications that did not work well on the Windows 7 64 bit system."