To learn how to make your own MMORPG, all you need to do is read. But to actually put your skills into action and build something, you'll need a few things.

Beginners Tools (Recommended For All)

Game Maker 8.0 Lite
Game Maker is the development platform used across the site. Created by Mark Overmars and now actively developed by YoYo Games, it is suited to beginners and is about as user-friendly as game development gets. It has many predefined functions to make your life easier and is quick to learn and work with. You can download Game Maker 8.0 here.

Active Development Tools (Required To Use 39dll)

Game Maker 8.0 Professional Version
The full version of Game Maker 8.0 costs $40, a one-time fee. The full version is required to make use of the powerful functions the 39dll.dll application extension offers. If you're ready for active development, the full version is a must have. It can be purchased on start-up of the lite version.

39dll.dll
The application extension to Game Maker that allows use of some powerful networking functions. The DLL can only be used with the registered version of Game Maker. It is included in all of our examples for free.

MyINI.dll
Another application extension for Game Maker, this DLL is used for quick, easy and powerful file manipulation. It is included in all of our examples for free. There are some compatibility issues with this DLL if you are using a version of Game Maker that is above 8.0, in particular on Windows 7.

It's recommended that you at least download Game Maker Lite, so you can familiarize yourself with the development program.

This Tutorial

While Game Maker pro is required to run any of the examples on this site, you can still read this tutorial on the application of networking to learn how to code your MMORPG. This tutorial is quite advanced, so if you find yourself not understanding something vital, consider improving your GM skills before continuing.

Time to start building your MMORPG!