this post was submitted on 17 May 2024

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What's the best game engine for me? (self.gamedev)

submitted 6 months ago by Penbrook to c/[email protected]

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Hey folks! First time poster and keen to get involved with the community.

I'm looking to all of you for any recommendations for an engine that'd suit what I'm looking to do. First and foremost, I have next to zero experience in developing, coding and all that jazz but once I know what engine to work with I'm keen to get to learning.

What engine would most suit a RPG game that's 2.5D isometric view, is kind to new developers and has a whole load of reference material so I can teach myself as I go?

I'm fully aware that y'all probably need more information to work on so I'm happy to answer any questions that'll help narrow down what I'm after.

Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (3 children)

Unreal is heavy, and while you can make games without any coding knowledge, it's more for super fancy 3D games.

Unity and Godot are a bit simpler and more casual. Unity is ripe with issues and Godot is a little more immature. I would recommend Godot if you care about open source/community vibes, or Unity if you want more powerful features.

I wish there were better 2D or 2.5D dedicated engines, since imo most games don't require 3D to be cool, but I don't personally know any good ones (RIP Flash)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

GameMaker is a pretty good 2D game engine. I used it up until Yoyo Games pushed me out by making it prohibitively expensive with the release of Studio - but from what I hear, they've recently reversed course on their pricing in a good way.

I originally learned how to write code using the (very easy to learn) drag and drop editor in GameMaker 6, and I'm now a professional software developer, so I guess it holds a special place in my heart, haha.

[–] Penbrook 6 points 6 months ago

Thanks for the suggestions. I was initially looking at RPG Maker but when I saw that it can't really handle isometric views I was a bit put off it. Well, that and the price of it....

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

I have zero trust in Unity given recent events. In this case, I'd recommend Godot, unless OP is trying to build something that's intended for a large-scale/mass release.

[–] NocturnalMorning 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Godot is my goto engine for 2D and 2.5D stuff. It's fairly easy to pick up, it's free, and open source, and there's plenty or tutorials for it.

It uses GDscript which is a python like language, so it's not too difficult to learn. That's usually my recommendation to newbies.

But, I'd say try different things, and you'll figure out what you like personally. You may find something totally different suits your personal taste and interests best.

[–] Penbrook 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think Godot is what I'll go for. Looking in to it, it seems like it'll be pretty forgiving.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I found that they had some nice starting tutorials in their documentation. I found they got me up and running.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I'd point you to godot but I'm pretty biased because I just really love godot.

I will say though that depending on the scope of the project you have planned, it might not be best to make your dream project your first one. Test the waters with a few really small games first, and then once you're comfortable and know your tools well enough do your big idea.

[–] Penbrook 4 points 6 months ago

You're right. I looked at Godot and it seems really good.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What engine would most suit a RPG game that’s 2.5D isometric view, is kind to new developers and has a whole load of reference material so I can teach myself as I go?

I only have experience with Godot, but from that I can say its documentation is really good and has helped me so far to teach myself important stuff (am really new to game dev, but had some programming experience), and I do know it has support for isometric tilesets.

Unity, I have no experience with, but I guess it's overall more mature from being in use so much. It does come with some issues, see the scandal around their planned profit sharing policies a while back, which Godot circumvents by being free software.

[–] Penbrook 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, I remember seeing the news about Unity a while back but I thought they decided against it?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

AFAIK, yes, they pulled it back after the backlash - it just highlights that you will always be dependent on their decisions in the end. But overall - go with what feels better for you.

[–] 9point6 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

They did, but also they showed that they can never be trusted again.

If you're starting from scratch, Godot is a much more sensible choice—any unity studio with the ability to do so, will be dropping it as soon as they can

Edit: also gotta add if you have no coding experience whatsoever, you're probably best addressing that first. If you can't build a simple application, you will probably not succeed in building a game.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Definitely Godot, if you want a quick overview of it and or an introduction course it's very much worth checking out Brackeys on YT. He is an excellent teacher.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)