I honestly don’t care, and neither should you. Why is it important whether it’s “real coding”? Make cool games and that’s it.

Gamemaker is OK, but it doesn’t have as many capabilities as other languages.

I use GameMaker for my entries, and once got this comment:

As someone who build their game engine and many tools from scratch, I have no problem with anyone using game maker or any such tool in the same ilk. We are here primarily to have fun and participate in a creative process. Arguments that it’s not really programming doesn’t make sense because you submit physical board games to the competition. Complaints that it gives an unfair advantage because everything is built for you are also unfounded as non-game maker developed game rate just as well.