Case study

Dejavu: reimplementing classic Game Maker

Dejavu reimplements classic Game Maker in Rust to run existing projects and games on modern platforms. Its source includes GML parsing, compilation and interpretation, project reading, and a game runtime; the CLI accepts GMK projects, EXE games, and GML scripts. The implementation is early-stage, with GML and drag-and-drop code running while more APIs remain to be added.

Targets: App · Game
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
Evidence class: C2 code & docs, no demo or download

Stars: 89
Last commit: 2025-03-25
Language: Rust
License (GitHub): Apache-2.0

GitHub data as of 2026-11-10

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Evidence

Observed: Code and documentation observed; no download method or demo found.
Checked: 2026-11-09

How evidence classes are assigned

Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: A nightly Rust toolchain is currently required.
Scope: Input can be a Game Maker 8.0 GMK project, a game EXE, or a GML script.
Limits: The implementation is in an early stage with partial API support.
License: Dual MIT and Apache-2.0 licenses.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{dejavu-game-maker-case,
  title = {{Dejavu: reimplementing classic Game Maker}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/rpjohnst/dejavu}},
  url = {https://github.com/rpjohnst/dejavu},
  urldate = {2026-11-06},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/dejavu-game-maker-case/}}
}

Plain text

Dejavu: reimplementing classic Game Maker. https://github.com/rpjohnst/dejavu (accessed 2026-11-06). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/dejavu-game-maker-case/

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Primary sources

README.md GitHub · rpjohnst/dejavu · Revision 7698319