Determining the Best Software for this Project
After looking at several options, I came up with a list of various tools that were publicly available; each application has it’s own advantages and drawbacks, which I will outline here.
Here are a few programs that I took a look at:
- GameMaker Studio 2
- Godot
- Unreal Engine
- Unity Engine
Pros/Cons for Each
1. GameMaker Studio 2
Pros: GameMaker Studio 2 is a popular game engine known for its prowess in 2D games. Some of its most famous games include Hotline Miami and Undertale. Well liked for being friendly to digital artists, this engine has plenty of advanced features and boasts a relatively quick learning curve. It also supports a large community of developers to share resources and knowledge.
Cons: Not entirely drag-to-drop (it is necessary to learn to code). Additionally, the program uses its own scripting language, which ultimately demands a lot of extra time to learn. Lastly, this GameMaker Studio 2 is a rather expensive option, with pricing at varying tiers from $99 to $399.
2. Godot
Pros: Godot is a relatively new game engine, initially released in 2014, and is still actively and quickly being expanded and updated by its developers. It supports both 2D and 3D game building for games on almost any platform, and sells for the convenient price of free. Its node-based architecture allows users a flexible and powerful experience. The engine also comes with its own high-level debugger, which is tremendously useful and similar to those used in computer science classes at Ohio State. Also, Godot is open source, which means if the game engine is not capable of doing what is desired, an extension to the program can be written and implemented in to the actual application itself (at this point, I’m not doing anything advanced enough to require this, but being open source is a nice feature, nonetheless). Lastly, Godot is under an MIT Licence, which not only permits open source, but also means that any work a user makes is independently theirs and only theirs.
Cons: This engine is not at all drag-to-drop, making the learning curve a bit steeper than the previous game engine. Godot also uses its own scripting language, and while this language is immensely important and useful, learning a new language is still time consuming and limiting while the user is new.
The next two game engines, Unity and Unreal, are currently the most popular engines in the industry. Quickly, I realized that with great power, also often comes great complexity. It was almost immediately clear that these programs were meant to be used by professionals, or at least people more experienced in game developing than us. The user interfaces alone are complex and look rather overwhelming to someone with little knowledge of how to use them. Despite them being primarily free (premium versions of Unity are subscription based) and having massive followings and engaged active communities, I eventually decided it would be best to try simpler engines.
Overall, GameMaker Studio 2 seemed like it had the most advantages in areas that I was looking for, with Godot following right behind. However, with GameMaker being priced a minimum of $99, a less than optimal proposition for college students, Godot seemed like the more financially acceptable choice.