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[Craig Stern]

Of the above, I've only used Adobe Flash to make games. It seems that Game Maker (and to a lesser extent, Multimedia Fusion) are awfully popular around here. I've heard a few other folks mention Flash. I haven't seen anyone mention Director once since I've been here.

So, please share: what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these tools, which one do you prefer to use, and why?

[Renton]

I prefer MMF, since I have little programming experience and have a history with Klik 'n Play.

[Hideous]

I use Construct.

[deadeye]

I use Construct.

I too use Construct.  It's similar to MMF in that you create objects on a layout, and do your code in an event-sheet, but it has some (I think) advantages over MMF, in that you can re-use your event sheets for any layout you want (no copy-pasting your entire engine into every frame and then tearing your hair out later when changes need to be made).  It also has ditched the spreadsheet-style checkmark system for a more intuitive line-by-line code style that lets you easily see what your events are doing.  The HWA and physics are way better than MMF's too.

Oh, and it's free and open-source.

It's beta though, be warned.  It's getting better (and closer to v1.0) all the time, but it's still a kinda buggy and there are some features that aren't complete, or just plain broken.  Right now they're revamping the sound from DirectSound to XAudio2 because Vista support for DirectSound sucks.  And the Python scripting is currently completely broke, though it's reportedly being fixed for the next beta release.

Also, MMF has way more plugins and 3rd party support, so if that's what you're after then it might not be for you.  MMF also has a handful of other advantages over Construct, but yeah I'm rambling already.

Suffice it to say you shouldn't get into Construct right now thinking that you can make a bug-free game because you'll just give yourself a headache.  But it's an interesting project and I think one to look out for in the future.

[awesty]

I either use flash or code them myself. I've never tried MMF or director.

I've tried gamemaker at school but didn't really like it much.

I just had a look at construct and it's looks pretty cool. I'm about to try it out.

[diwil]

I code everything I can from scratch. Not a big fan of libraries or ready-made tools.

[policedanceclub]

i am a game maker.

[Hajo]

"We stood on the shoulders of giants." I guess there is something to learn from this quote. Having said that, I often rather code my own tools than using what the market offers - but I think I should change that.

[diwil]

"We stood on the shoulders of giants." I guess there is something to learn from this quote. Having said that, I often rather code my own tools than using what the market offers - but I think I should change that.

I have full intentions of establishing myself on the game development scene, and there are game designers thirteen in a dozen, but game designers with a profound understanding of programming and the technological challenges opposed, and ways to solve them, aren't that common.

As I fear there's another global recession looming ahead, I wouldn't dare to set up my own game company until the financial crisis clears out as I have loans to pay off... But if by showing a company what I can do, hands down and dirty, I could possibly grab a nice job doing what I love (I mean, I already am doing what I love, just not related to games - programming is where I excel) until the economy's a bit more suitable for me to start my own studio.

Also, the experience gathered during these next few years should be well worth the time spent. And even if I never make a break to the gaming industry, I'll probably never stop making games, or programming.

There's something to think about when making games; are you willing to go the extra mile and learn to make your own tools, or are you going to stick with what you know and try to build from that?

[Valter]

Ha! You all deny the power of the world's most powerful game processor: Klik N Play! The wonders wrought from its loving caress surpass all others! 

Actually, I'm making a game of battleship from scratch with java. It would probably take about 3 hours even with Klik N Play (less if you really know what you're doing), but the teacher is forcing us to code it from scratch, so it's gonna be a few weeks.

[ChevyRay]

Game Maker. I've gotten so familiar with the layout and language that I can accomplish all I need with it, and have games that look good and run fast. Not only that, but I've been using it for about 5-6 years now.

Except sans Linux/Mac support. Sorry folks.

I have some larger design docs put away that are probably too hefty for Game Maker to handle, and I really need to explore other languages and software more.

[Craig Stern]

What language do you code in with Game Maker? Does it have its own scripting language, kind of like how Flash has Actionscript?

[Alevice]

Yes, GML. WHich I have never really liked, much less its api.

[Hinchy]

I mostly use Flash. Sometimes I also use Game Maker.

[Hideous]

I mostly use Flash. Sometimes I also use Game Maker.

Or Batari Basic

[muku]

I'm very surprised that 'code from scratch' is coming out so far ahead here, I would have expected differently.

That said, yes, I also code myself. I do so in D as I find it to be cleaner and more powerful than C++ while almost matching its performance.

[Soulliard]

Game Maker does all I need it to do. And supposedly the next version will have mac support.

[Crackerblocks]

'from scratch'. but that isn't really accurate given all the excellent free code to be found on the net.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

There's something to think about when making games; are you willing to go the extra mile and learn to make your own tools, or are you going to stick with what you know and try to build from that?

I think that's a false dichotomy. Some of us do know how to make our own tools and still prefer things like Game Maker, because it's faster. It's incorrect to imply that people only use engines like that because they don't know anything else; I know C, C++, Qbasic, etc., and have made games in each, and still prefer Game Maker. A lot of the time I feel that people go the "from scratch" route just out of pure pride, it's like "I'm not going to use some training wheel program, I must have ABSOLUTE CONTROL over everything!" -- which is good for their pride, but bad for their ability to finish game projects.

I think it's a matter of whether someone cares more about game design or programming, i.e. whether they consider themselves a "game designer" or a "game programmer". The best-designed games tend to come out of the engines like GM and MMF -- consider you don't often see indie games the caliber of Knytt, Cactus's games, Seiklus, Iji, etc., coming out of the "make your game from scratch" camp. There are very few indie games which were programmed in C++, etc. that I've enjoyed, most of them are just unfinished tech demos, because that's all they have time for when they have to make it from scratch. There are some exceptions, though (such as Aquaria).

[David Pittman]

I'm firmly in the from-scratch camp, but it's not a matter of pride or NIH syndrome so much as it is an opportunity to learn things and work on more low-level engineering problems. I do try to use existing code or tools where it makes sense, though; I'll never write an XML parser or JPG decompressor, for example, and I'm using Blender as my modeling/level tool instead of writing a custom (and undoubtedly inferior) tool. I'd still be making games faster if I went with an established engine, though, and I've given some thought to putting my project on hold for a month or so, learning Game Maker, and ever actually finishing something.