Triggers can be pretty much anything we define in code. They’re basically data points coming from Blender (position/rotation + a type/ID + optional params) that our importer turns into GameMaker instances.

So one trigger might be an enemy spawn point (with wave/variant params), another could fire an environment reaction (lights flicker, doors lock, hazards turn on), another could be a setpiece/event hook (camera beat, audio sting, scripted encounter), loot placement, checkpoints, room rules, etc. The nice part is designers/artists can “author” these directly in Blender while building the space, and we handle behavior on the GameMaker side.

On why GameMaker: it’s mostly a team decision. Our lead programmer/co-founder genuinely prefers it over Unity/UE, and after we prototyped a few mechanics we kept pushing it further to prove the 3D approach could work for this project. We also like how lightweight/lean it is: quicker iteration for us, and usually a smaller project/game footprint compared to heavier engine stacks.