[GM] Movements

Before I ask anything, I would just like to state, I'm a complete and total newb to this. 

- So I made a character and assigned it left, up, down and right events. I gave them each a jump to position movement. But what I don't undestand is why they move how they do... If they go as if they're on a grid, why do you need to type (0,-#) for Up, and the opposite for down?  Wouldn't the negative make it go down, as on a grid? <--- Main problem.

- How does one know what value to give to the right and down events within the test variable? From what I can see the snap for both the X (32) and Y (32) is divided into the height (480) and width (640)..right..? My room would then come to 20x15. I set the value for the test variables on the left and up to 0, so that it could not surpass that point. But, why does the right and down needed to be set to -40? My game is only 20 tiles in length..so how is 40 possible?

- I also have a question about the sprites. Now, if I find a series of different poses for a character, but they're so small and close together it would be hard to make a 'sprite strip,' how would I work with them? Would I have to cut each image out and then save it seperately?

I would also like to know, where is a good starting point, for I would like to learn everything and anything there is to know about gaming / scripting.

Bump.

This forum is really dead. 

The y-axis in Gamemaker is just backwards. It may take a while to adjust to...it's a pain, yes, but it's the way it is. You'll find that that is how it is in many game-making programs. And the room size is not changed by the snapping grid. The room is still the same size of 480x640. When you are moving -40, you are actually moving 40 pixels, not 40 grid lines. The grid is most commonly there for your own creation purposes when making putting objects in a room. Sometimes you can snap an object onto the grid during in-game play, but it's not too common.

For different sprite poses...do you mean like an animated walking sprite or actually more poses?

And as for where to start, I'd suggest making a simple and small game. Look at the examples such as Pac-Man that come with Gamemaker to see how other people program things. You should start to learn the scripting after you get accustomed to the drag-and-drop features because in the scripting, you'll find that the functions are basically the same but with a few added features. So it's good to have the basics and structure down first.