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What is the best 2D non-coding game engine?

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8 Games Considered

8 Options ConsideredPriceDev platformsDesktop targets
GDevelop
Windows; Ubuntu Linux;MacWindows; Ubuntu Linux;Mac
Construct 2
WindowsWindows; Macintosh; Linux
Unreal Engine 4
Windows, Mac OS X, LinuxWindows, Mac OS X, Linux, SteamOS, HTML5
RPG Maker
Windows, macOSWindows, macOS, Web
Stencyl
Windows; Macintosh; LinuxWindows; Macintosh; Linux
See Full List

GDevelop

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Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Open source and completely free

•••
GDevelop is free and open source, and anyone can enhance the software via the GitHub repository.
Monika
SteamPlay22
Top Pro

No need to download anything

•••
Almost everything can be done in the Browser.
Monika
SteamPlay22
Top Pro

Easy to use

•••
The whole interface is intuitive and easy to learn: each part of the game can be designed using visual editors. The objects editor is used to create the objects of the game, the scene editor helps you to build the levels of your game and the events editor allows to give life to the whole game witho...
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Powerful events system

•••
No need for coding using this system which is clear and powerful: events are composed of conditions and actions. Actions are launched when conditions are fulfilled. This is a very friendly way of making games and is still efficient for advanced usage, contrary to most other "block"/"...
Monika
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Add prebuilt behaviors to objects

•••
Prebuilt behaviors can be added to objects. This is a very efficient way to add a physics engine or make a platformer game. Lots of behaviors are included, from the most advanced (Physics, platformer, top-down movement) to really simple ones (like the behavior to destroy objects when outside the sc...
Monika
SteamPlay22
Top Con

64-bit only

•••
Only works on 64-bit computers. Web version still works on 32-bit computers but if you want the full experience you need a 64-bit PC.
Monika
SteamPlay22
Top Con

Not many tutorials

•••
Not many tutorials, yet.
Laura Kyle
Top Con

No cross-compiler

•••
The Windows and Linux versions of GDevelop can each compile a native application; but the Windows version cannot compile for Linux, nor vice versa.
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

Construct 2

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Zon Petilla (Burning Wood)
EnproGames
Top Pro

Easy to use

•••
You can make a game in 30 minutes from start (it may not be perfect). There are so many video tutorials and many helpful users.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Free for simple projects

•••
Construct 2 Free provides a functional preview of nearly all engine features, and allows non-commercial publication.
Laura Kyle
EnproGames
Top Pro

Very easy to learn

•••
It has an easy drag and drop interface were you can drag an image from your computer directly into construct 2 to import it. After you import something you can easily add atributes to it; such as platformer which lets you control the object with your arrow keys.
thermoplastics
Robert Techera
Top Pro

Good pricing

•••
Single payment with free updates forever.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Extremely active dev / support team

•••
They push regular updates with bug fixes, new features, and HTML5 optimizations.
Laura Kyle
Zon Petilla (Burning Wood)
Top Con

At some point you will have to program in Construct 2

•••
It's very light, but it's there and when you want to do something more complex you start learning how to code and import things like xml files.
EnproGames
Top Con

Editor is somewhat limited

•••
Laura Kyle
EnproGames
Top Con

Free version is limited

•••
Construct 2 Free is not licensed for commercial use. It also limits a project to 100 events, along with other technical restrictions.
EnproGames
Top Con

Some things can only be done with scripting

•••
See 7 more Pros & ConsSee 7 more Pros & Cons

Unreal Engine 4

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Malakhite
Top Pro

Free

•••
Free to download and use as of March 2, 2015. Also, these are their exact words:”When you ship a game or application, you pay a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter. ” https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/ue4-is-free
Know any negative aspects of this option?

RPG Maker

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Shawn Gordon
Top Pro

Growing number of asset creation software titles offering direct export to RPG Maker

•••
SONAR Steam Edition exports RPG Maker clips, and Spriter Pro has confirmed they'll work directly with RPG Maker developers to get Spriter Playback integrated into RPG Maker.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Easy to jump into using an intuitive WYSIWYG editor

•••
It's possible to create a game with absolutely no art or coding skills, so even complete beginners can make something.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Large and active community

•••
The engine has seen multiple iterations since 1995, so a large online community exists that is always willing to help each other out.
Shawn Gordon
Top Pro

RPG Maker MV has a Steam Workshop community

•••
Though only in beta, the prospect of a Steam Workshop for RPG Maker MV offers a new easily accessible and unified location for user generated content, shared among a community within and without Steam.
Shawn Gordon
Ryan
Top Pro

Additional Map layer from prior versions

•••
MV adds an extra map layer for easier parallax mapping and gives developers the ability to create more detailed maps if they opt tile mapping. Additionally, assets for tiles are easier to find without the old RTP structure.
Endi Sukaj
ColorfulSulis
Top Con

None of the versions are free

•••
Versions range from 29.99 (for the 2003 version) to 79.99 for the newer ones. Some use a subscription model.
Shawn Gordon
Top Con

Poor cross-package integration.

•••
Users looking to upgrade from VX Ace or earlier to MV will find they must manually convert all graphic assets to a new size; MV uses 48px tiles and icons with 64px character sprites. Additionally, MV now uses JavaScript whereas earlier versions used Ruby. So any scriptlets prior to MV will need to...
Shawn Gordon
Top Con

Included assets are few and inconsistent

•••
Though the product touts including enough assets to make a full game, the assets included aren't altogether fluid.
Laura Kyle
Top Con

Engine imposes arbitrary limits

•••
Engine imposes arbitrary limits. For example, it only supports resolution up 640x480 in VX ace, and 816x624 in MV.
See 7 more Pros & ConsSee 7 more Pros & Cons

Stencyl

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Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Block-based visual scripting resembles real code

•••
Visual scripting in Stencyl is based on the MIT Scratch project, which was designed to teach programming. Script elements fit together like puzzle pieces, ensuring that data and function types cannot be mismatched.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Free for Flash publication

•••
Starter Stencyl is identical to paid-plan versions except that it only allows publication to Flash, with a mandatory Stencyl splash screen. Commercial development is allowed with Starter Stencyl.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Easy transition between visual scripting and Haxe code

•••
The visual scripting system is internally translated to Haxe. The resulting scripts can be viewed and edited, and there is also a "code block" object for including raw Haxe in visual scripts. This is great for learning to code, and also for advanced users who can further optimize the scri...
Laura Kyle
Top Con

Annual subscription model

•••
Publication to desktop targets requires an active Indie Stencyl subscription, priced at $99/yr. Mobile targets require Studio Stencyl at $199/yr.
See 2 more ProsSee 2 more Pros

GameMaker: Studio

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Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Flexible pricing based on build targets

•••
GameMaker: Studio features the ability to purchase either separate modules for exporting to different operating systems, or the comprehensive Master Collection for all platforms at a relative discount.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Free for Windows Desktop publication

•••
GameMaker Studio: Standard is available at no cost and publishes Windows games with no license restrictions, though unlike the Pro version, Standard games are bundled with an interpreter rather than compiled to native code.
Laura Kyle
Top Pro

Easy to find tutorials, examples, and help

•••
GameMaker: Studio has a wealth of options and a long history of community-based tutorials and examples. The GameMaker Community features these for free use. The program also comes with a number of demos and tutorials. There is also a recently-opened Marketplace which offers free and sold assets for...
Laura Kyle
Top Con

Drag'n'drop coding is limited

•••
GameMaker's drag'n'drop language is limited and some things can be done only using code.
Laura Kyle
EnproGames
Top Con

Difficult to learn

•••
GameMaker: Studio isn't the most friendly for beginners. It can be difficult figuring out how to get started, and the limited drag'n'drop feature means you'll likely have to use/learn some programming to create the game you want.
Endi Sukaj
ColorfulSulis
Top Con

Not free

•••
EnproGames
Top Con

Complicated user interface

•••
User interface is quite complicated and takes time to get used to.
Endi Sukaj
ColorfulSulis
Top Con

Now for 3D games

•••
Game Maker studio 2 has gone 3D. It's no longer a 2D engine. Version 1.4 is buried deep on their website, it is obvious the makers really don't want folks to use the old version, but they also don't want to leave the old version users hanging.
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

BuildBox

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Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Built-in particle effects

•••
You can create simple particle effects with control over gravity, color variance and blend modes.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Built-in support for ads

•••
You can add banner and interstitial ads from multiple ad networks, including AdMob, RevMob, Facebook. They can work with Amazon's, Microsoft's, Google's and Apple's app stores.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Easy to learn

•••
Buildbox is a drag and drop engine, making it easy for beginners to pick up. There are many tutorials available to help get you started.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Has many game templates

•••
Buildbox has 20+ different game templates including templates for platformers, racing games and Flappy Bird clones.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Really restricting

•••
You have to base your games heavily on their pre-made templates. You can't create custom behaviours, events, object types or effects you can only slightly tweak the existing ones.
PopularIntercidona
Top Con

Expensive price

•••
See 4 more Pros & ConsSee 4 more Pros & Cons

GameSalad

Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Free standalone viewer app allows instant, live mobile device testing

•••
The GameSalad Viewer is a free app available for iOS, Android and Kindle. Once installed on your mobile devices, you can deploy and test your GameSalad games live on any mobile device running the Viewer that is on the same local network as your dev computer. This even allows Windows users to te...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Cross-Platform

•••
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Multiple publishing platforms

•••
Can create and publish games for iOS, Macintosh desktop and laptop computers, Android, Kindle, Amazon FireTV and FireTV Stick, Windows 8 and Tizen devices.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Allows you to focus on the logic rather than code

•••
Since the user mainly uses menu options there is very little code needed to be keyed in. This makes the code very easy to read and understand. Hence there are many help videos on youtube
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Extensive community of seasoned professionals for support

•••
Extensive community of seasoned professionals in all disciplines (graphics, game design, animation, physics, music, video production, marketing, etc.) producing tutorials, videos, publishing tips, free templates and who are willing to answer forum questions and help newcomers.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Powerful expression editor and functions

•••
Allows you to create expressions on par with LUA (it's back end-language).
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Custom collision shapes with JSON support

•••
Allows you to import JSON data for custom collision shapes to use with Gamesalad's implementation of Box2d physics.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Great engine

•••
Very quick to learn and great for making games. Community is very open and helpful.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

No-code editor

•••
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Drag and drop editor

•••
The drag and drop editor makes GameSalad very easy to use, no programming experience needed.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Gamepad support

•••
Gamepad support is available as of 0.13.3.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Easy to publish

•••
Software prepares your app so you can just send it to Apple. All my games are reviewed with no problems.
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Has a Windows(.exe) version on par with Mac

•••
The Windows version is now upto date with all the features of its Mac sibling.
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Bad editor

•••
There is no scene zoom, search boxes, or snap to grid. There is also no ability to focus view on the actor or use folders for file structure.
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Doesn't support Windows platform (*.exe)

•••
Doesn't support Windows platform (*.exe)
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Poor editor performance

•••
Especially when you're working on a big project.
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Product is in Limbo - company is lacking developers

•••
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Product is suffering - Lacking company leadership and no voice from corporate

•••
Some customers are currently in a holding pattern from the lack of support and messaging from GS corporate. GS is currently unstable and developers are waiting for another update that has been going on from 2015. No word or message from GS corporate about timeframes or deliverables. You can read...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

No scripting language or SDK 

•••
If a needed behavior is not supplied by GameSalad, there's no way to add it.
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Expensive compare with others

•••
There is no free version any more and it is very expensive compared with other engines.
See 18 more Pros & ConsSee 18 more Pros & Cons

53 Community Recommendations

Vũ Thanh Hải
SteamPlay22
Robert Techera
Victor Levasseur
Tyruswoo
Malakhite
Laura Kyle
surendhar kumar
Zon Petilla (Burning Wood)
EnproGames
Fermín “Letrix” Cirella
+33
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Request recommendations from the community
Malakhite
Malakhite
Contributor for 10 days
11
Total 
Recs.
720
Total 
Karma
Unreal Engine 4
Recommended 5 days ago
Best graphics, VR support, and just a great Engine. Plus, it’s free under most circumstances.
Pro
 Free
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KnowledgeableChalchiuhtotolin
KnowledgeableChalchiuhtotolin
Contributor for 3 months
2
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
Construct 2
Recommended 3 months ago
Game Compiling Problem
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JollyXamanEk
JollyXamanEk
Contributor for 3 months
1
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
Construct 2
Recommended 3 months ago
It is aimed at artists, so the tools required are adequate to create visually stunning games. Hardcore programmers should look somewhere else.
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Currently displaying 3 out of 53 total recommendations.
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