Show HN: Instance – A clean-room reimplementation of GameMaker 8.1 in Rust

Category: devtools

Tags: gamemaker, game-engine, rust, webassembly, clean-room, retro-computing, ide

Score: 8.0/10 (Innovation: 8, Technical: 9, Documentation: 8, Utility: 7)

Instance is a clean-room Rust reimplementation of GameMaker 8.1, including both the IDE and runtime, capable of opening and playing legacy .gmk/.gm81 projects with high fidelity to original engine quirks. It compiles to WebAssembly for in-browser use and supports modern features like project folders, git-friendly storage, and GMX imports, making it a compelling preservation and development tool for retro game creators.

Target audience: game developers, retro gaming enthusiasts, preservationists, hobbyist developers

Repository: https://github.com/groverburger/instance · Rust · MIT

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