GameMaker Silent Installation.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to conduct an unattended installation of GameMaker. You’ll need internet access to download the installer and sufficient admin privileges to complete the installation. Please ensure that you follow our User Permissions and Internet Access guidelines to avoid any unnecessary errors and setup delays.
To begin, you’ll need a GameMaker Installer. These are available on our website or individually on their respective release notes pages (links below). There are three versions available:
- Monthly - This is the GameMaker monthly* build. It’s the default we recommend, as it’s suitable for all users and provides the most ‘balanced’ GameMaker experience.
- Beta - Suitable for users who need fixes urgently or want to investigate new features, but recommended only for more advanced GameMakers as it may not provide the same stability as the monthly versions.
- LTS - ‘Long Term Support’ is the most stable GameMaker build, and the one subject to the fewest updates. However, you’ll need to use specific versions of some tools, and avoid updating external SDKs as soon as they’re offered. Recommended for use in Education environments.
* There are 10 releases planned each year but we tend to just refer to them as ‘monthly’.
Installing on Windows.
With your preferred installer downloaded, open the command prompt, and navigate to your downloads directory (or the target directory you specified). Alternatively, you can drag and drop the Installer into the command prompt window.
> cd Downloads
Run the installer using the ‘/S’ switch. Note that this must be a capitol "S", not lowercase "s".
Optionally, if you’d like to specify an installation target folder (the default is C:\program files\GameMaker), use the ‘\D’ switch also.
> GameMaker-Installer-<your_version_here>.exe /S
//or
> GameMaker-Installer-<your_version_here>.exe /S /D="X:\Your\Path\Here"
For bulk installations, we don’t currently have an MSI file. Instead, to deploy GameMaker via SCCM, place the installer in your preferred file share directory and create a ‘Deployment Type’ for a ‘Script Installer’ (GameMaker uses an NSIS installer), then select ‘manually specify the deployment type information’.
Set your ‘Content Location’ to the file share directory you placed the installer in and add the following as your ‘Installation Program’ value:
“GameMaker-Installer-<your_version_here>.exe” /S
Next, add your ‘uninstall program’ value:
“%ProgramFiles%\GameMaker\uninstall.exe” /S
Note: Uncheck the box for running the install/uninstall programs as 32-bit processes on 64-bit clients. GameMaker is a 64-bit only program.
To add your Detection Method, select ‘File System’ as your ‘Setting Type’. Then from the dropdown, select ‘File’ as your file/folder detection type and then add the following path:
%ProgramFiles%\GameMaker
The File name for detection is ‘GameMaker.exe’. Again, uncheck the box regarding 32-bit applications.
Select the options for a ‘Rule’ that must be satisfied for detection. From the dropdowns, create a property ‘Version’ with an ‘Operator’ of ‘Equals’ and input your installer's version number from the installer.exe’s name.
In the case of ‘GameMaker-Installer-2023.6.0.89.exe’, the version number for detection would be ‘2023.6.0.89’. Some systems may require you to input ‘2023.06.0.89’, so please bear this in mind.
Installing on Mac using Apple Remote Desktop.
With your preferred installer downloaded, Open Apple Remote Desktop on the admin Mac.
Select the target machines you want to install to in the left pane of the ARD main window.
Go to the "Apple Remote Desktop" menu and select "Install Packages..."
In the file browser, select the GameMaker-<version>.pkg file you want to deploy.
Check the box for "Run in background" and select "OK" or use the schedule tool in the lower left corner to select your desired install time.
Post Installation
Should you have any issues or questions after installing GameMaker please contact our support team via the helpdesk. Be sure to include your ui.log from %programdata%\GameMakerStudio2\ (Windows) or /Users/Shared/GameMakerStudio2/ (Mac).