- Details
- Written by: Matej Pavlič
I feel like I have to elaborate on this whole game maker thing. I tend to rush in a bit sometime and this is one of those times. So before we go any further a bit of background:
- I don't know how to make games
- I've never made one in my life (stuff 30 years ago doesn't count)
- I am not a professional blogger
- I don't write reviews for a living
- I'm not sponsored by any of the developers of which programs I'm trying to review
- I only have basic programming skills and never full developed any programming language knowledge
So to further that, on what I'm after:
- drag&drop game making
- as minimum programing as possible (unless the learning curve is not too steep)
- simple user interface
- simple to understand the process
- as cheap as possible (free is a preference)
- 2D&3D in same software preferred
The reviews that I'm doing are not very deep as I don't have time to work out all the kinks of each program. Some options or sub components might be overlooked. Some game samples will be overlooked also. I probably won't install any of the games made by these programs until the very end of my reviews. Score might not be a reflection of the actual program as I'm looking for my own preference.
Based on this I can say:
- It will take some time to go through all (about 17 programs)
- Scores might be updated after all reviews are done
- Scores might not be according to your expectations
- Reviews might get better later on so first programs could not be represented in a same way as later ones
- I could just give up before I reach a conclusion
- Details
- Written by: Matej Pavlič
This weeks Robomafia was done a bit faster since the comic is based on repeated scenes. Still tryin to wrap my head around layers though. My pre-made backgrounds are giving me issues in a way that I'm having interference with characters. But I think I finally got around that so I should be able to copy over lines and color from now on.
S here is the link to the latest comic.
- Details
- Written by: Matej Pavlič
4. FlowLab
4. FlowLab
FlowLab is one of those online only game makers. Usage is pretty simple although the initial tutorial does not give you much help in terms of complexity. The program is friendly to new users but takes time to get used to as all of them. Free version only allows you to make 3 games and use 50 objects so that might not be enough for you to decide on it.
Tutorial
The base tutorial makes you create a simple game with a space man jumping around the screen. You are basically placing sprites onto the screen and making the scene with it. Defining those sprites tells them how to behave.
Interface
Everything is basically done by right clicking into the screen and selecting an option from a wheel. With those options you build up a scene, ad players, enemies, etc... In the same screen you also define physics, behaviors and graphics.
Behaviors
Behaviors once again define each sprite and what it can do. There are some bundles of preset behaviors available for selection, run and jump for example in the case of tutorial. This one defines the arrow left, right and up keys to act as the controls for running and jumping action of your character.
Pricing
Pricing is again monthly/yearly based and as the free option does not provide very much in terms of testing functionality you're ending up with a 60$ a year minimum price tag. The main difference between options is basically that you get unlimited accounts for 4x the price of the Indie version. So if you're running a studio you can have that just under 200$ a year.
Showcase
Once again you can find many games on the site and as usual those are pretty basic. Of course graphics is not the main thing in a game so if you're looking for something similar to the examples there...
Score
Yet again this program provides a good learning experience but lacks the game complexity I'm looking for. It's not hard to learn but the basic tutorial does not show you all the kinks while the free version might not be enough for really getting all necessary knowledge. It's nice that you can do everything in the browser but then again what happens when you press the back button on your mouse :D
Difficulty: 9
Literature: 8
Cost: 4
--------------
Overall score: 6
- Details
- Written by: Matej Pavlič
5. Click Team Fusion 2
5. Click Team Fusion 2
Click Team Fusion 2 looks a bit old in design but don't let that fool you. It's very well up to the task of making games although it's more or less platform 2D again. If you're giving it a try remember to download the developer option as the base one will not even give you enough options to make a solid tutorial. Apparently there are a lot of things to download, meaning you have a lot of preset behaviors like moving and jumping for example that you can use directly without any effort.
Tutorial
One of the base tutorials makes you create a simple game with a space man jumping around the screen. You are basically placing sprites onto the screen and making the scene with them. Defining those sprites tells them how to behave.
Interface
Everything is basically done by right clicking into the screen and selecting an option from a wheel. With those options you build up a scene, ad players, enemies, etc... In the same screen you also define physics, behaviors and graphics. Image below shows the setup of activities for all objects (courtesy of the official page). This concept is a bit different to other programs as all the objects are already in a table and you just select an action for them.
There is a graphical in editor implemented so if you're planing on making a basic game that could well be enough for you to make the sprites there. You can just double click the sprite and edit it directly. It's not that advanced but could be useful for your first game.
Pricing
Pricing is reasonable when you buy the basic version of th software but goes up to 299$ for an advanced one. There is also the modules you need to buy to export to specific platforms which will make it more expensive. So all in all it can get quite expensive. It is a single payment though so overall can be cheaper than other options if you plan on using it years to come.
Showcase
In the site blog you can find quite a few examples of the games made by CTF2. If you're a Super Mario fan you will see that this is again one of those programs in which you can make such a game.
Score
As the software includes it's own graphic editor you can basically make the complete game with it, especially if your target is a simple game with sprites which are not too complex. All the sprites in the tutorial video above are made by myself so you can see that it's pretty simple so you can start building immediately. I can say that the software is comparable to others but it has some specifics you need to learn as usual. Once again the price is not so nice if you plan to do a simple project but if you plan to earn big $$$ then it should not be a problem for you anyway.
Difficulty: 8
Literature: 8
Cost: 3
--------------
Overall score: 5
- Details
- Written by: Matej Pavlič
6. Construct 3
Construct 3 is again one of the web based game makers where all you need is in your browser. With that you always get the latest updates when you open it next time. The free versions has it's limits as always but of course you can go through a couple of tutorials without a problem.
Tutorial
Tutorial that I did is similar to the one done in the Game maker studio 2. So a top down shooter. The game was done a lot faster but there are less properties to define here as you can see in the playable version of the game below.
Interface
The interface is fairly simple with all the level building in the center while properties are on the left while the right is reserved for objects.
Events
Events are what defining the objects is called in Construct. They do feel fairly simple to define but again it gets simple over time. It's a bit more intuitive to me as all the game makes are using a similar code for definition which helps in speeding up the testing.
Pricing
Pricing is fairly simple with individual plans going from 8.26$ a month which amounts to 99$ a year. Not the cheapest one but at the same time not that expensive if you're making good games.
Showcase
In the site showcase there a couple examples of games while in the arcade section of the site you can find plenty more examples of games made by other people.
Score
I think I'll start slowly repeating myself as there is not much new to say about the programs. Once again this is a good program for 2d platform games and the good thing is you can use it anywhere as it runs in your browser. Price again is based on a monthly fee which is not the best as you need to renew it and overtime it will become costly.
Difficulty: 9
Literature: 9
Cost: 3
--------------
Overall score: 6
