Designing Games with Game Maker - YoYo Games

using the file selector. Note that when testing a game you are creating the
program and working directory will be different. In that case the working
directory is the place where the editable version is stored while the program
directory is a temporary directory for testing.
temp_directory* Temporary directory created for the game. (Not including
the final backslash.) You can store temporary files here. They will be removed
at the end of the game.
In certain situations you might want to give players the possibility of providing command line
arguments to the game they are running (for example to create cheats or special modes). To
get these arguments you can use the following two routines.
parameter_count() Returns the number of command-line parameters. The
actual parameters can be retrieved with the following function.
parameter_string(n) Returns command-line parameters n. The first
parameter has index 1. The last one has index parameter_count(). Index 0 is
a special one. It is the filename of the game executable (including the path).
You can read the value of environment variables using the following function:
Registry
environment_get_variable(name) Returns the value (a string) of the
environment variable with the given name.
If you want to store a small amount of information between runs of the game there is a
simpler mechanism than using a file. You can use the registry. The registry is a large database
that Windows maintains to keep track of all sorts of settings for programs. An entry has a
name, and a value. You can use both string and real values. The following functions exist:
registry_write_string(name,str) Creates an entry in the registry with
the given name and string value.
registry_write_real(name,x) Creates an entry in the registry with the
given name and real value.
registry_read_string(name) Returns the string that the given name
holds. (The name must exist. Otherwise an empty string is returned.)
registry_read_real(name) Returns the real value that the given name