Hey, I'm developing my first shoot'em up game. Actually my first game ever. I started a lot of projects but always quit, since I was trying to build something big...so this is the first time I am actually going to finish one. As for the game, it's a Asteroids clone with some features and the development process is pretty advanced so far but I must admit, I started to develop this game in dezember. Still I would like to share it in this jam, since I designed it to gain new experience . Making smaller games gives you a much bigger confident-boost.
Yes, as I'm not really a good coder I have to help myself out with easy to use engines. I was building the game with Construct2
Which I can recommend, especially for prototyping. It gives you the possibility to work very fast. But it's also strong if you are planing bigger projects.
I read that you are using GameMaker. I never tried it, are you happy with the engine?
Game Maker has proven to be extremely versatile in the ways that I need it. The only issue comes with html5 formatted games. You have to be really particular with how you do certain things or the html port of the game won't function properly (or sometimes at all). Overall, though, it suits my needs. I like 2d games and like making them, and Game Maker is definitely a powerful tool in that regard.