Your goal as a programmer is to code games and programs that please a crowd, but you will be unable to do this by making an object's X and Y change. There is no easy way to learn every function in the world, but there are ways to quicken the process of programming. The following tips will help you learn the functions that make up game maker.
Tip #1 - Yoyogames Wiki The Wiki Page has a great description of almost every function available. I will often visit the page and go to a random page just to see what I can learn.
Tip #2 - Examples Finding other peoples examples and open source programs is a great way to find new codes and learn how they work. You don't only see the function name, but you can change the arguments and see its overall effect in-game. To find free examples and open source projects, visit the Game Maker Community or gmc.yoyogames.com.
Tip #3 - Make Games Well making games, you will find needs to use functions you have never used before. The more you use GML the more you will learn. If you have a code that is in DnD form, find a way to get the GML code. Make engines for games and you will see.
New Functions
I am gonna toss a few important functions out there and explain them.
instance_create(x, y, object) - Creates the object specified instance_destroy() - destroys self instance_nearest( x, y, object) - Finds the nearest Instance instance_furthest( x, y, object) - Finds the furthest instance move_towards_point( x, y, speed) - Moves towards the location game_restart() - Restarts the game room_goto(room) - go to the given room
These are just the basics to a game and some of the most used functions. As you progress through the tutorials, you will learn more functions and how to correctly use them. The next chapter will teach you how to use codes in things such as platform games and more.