Comments on: Game Engine Choices for Indie Developers 2009

By: Karja

Karja — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:39:52 +0000

Since I’m pretty far along in the development of my newest game I’ll stick with AS3 for that one, but I’m seriously pondering what to use after that. Java and C# are both great contenders, but I found something interesting:

http://marksibly.blogspot.com/2010/08/self-compiling.html

The creator of BlitzMax is working on a new language that will deploy on literally everything I’d like! HTML5, Flash, XNA, Android, iPhone/Pad, Windows and Mac. Good thing he’s not finished yet, or I’d be drooling all over it now.

By: Nick Wiggill

Nick Wiggill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:53:50 +0000

Thanks for your reply. Well, there is always Alchemy I suppose. Some guys did a fantastic Alchemy port of C++ Box2D — latest and greatest version, called WCK. Very nice job. Shows what can be achieved.

C++ is wicked for speed of course but considering that I favour quality of gameplay over graphics, I’m pretty happy with languages like C#/Unity and even more so with Java. They are a good happy medium. Flash is obviously superb for simpler stuff. Having said that, I am really interested in Java’s PulpCore, whose API for display list management is very similar to AS3′s.

By: Karja

Karja — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:50:15 +0000

Actually, Java is fully functional for web deployment – just not optimal. Flash is integrated in such a seamless and thorough way that anything else immediately feels “less professional”, in my opinion. Java takes longer to start, for one thing.

I’ve been working with AS3 for a while now and it’s okay, but I really wish there was some way to use C++/Java/C# and deploy to Flash. I think I saw some C#-to-Flash utility or library, but I’m too far into my current project to switch.

By: Nick Wiggill

Nick Wiggill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:35:21 +0000

Hi Karja,

Just found this post and as an indie who has made similar comparisons earlier this year, and ended up going with Java (jME initially and now Slick) I was wondering why you say Java isn’t a viable option for web deployment?? I know certificates can be a hassle but I don’t see any show stoppers here… or are you referring to portals not supporting Java applets? I heard that wasn’t such a big issue, really.

My choice to go for Java, by the way, was based on the fact that my exeprience lay with AS3.0 but I wanted a great deal more processing power for AI.

By: MrPhil

MrPhil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:52:30 +0000

I knew you’d be interested in the Unity 3 announcement: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Unity-Technologies-Unveils-Third-Generation-of-Its-Powerful-Development-Platform-1128176.htm

Adding support for XBOX 360, Android, PS3 and iPad

By: Web and Downloadable Game Engine Choices 2009 | Cynical Stuff - Casual games development and cynical observations

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:44:10 +0000

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By: Linus Lindholm

Linus Lindholm — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:18:37 +0000

Make your own engine! Or wait a century or two for our SMUG engine (http://linus.lolektivet.se/archives/74) to become production quality.

By: Karja

Karja — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:11:13 +0000

Jon, pickiness is good! I’ve changed it from C++ to C#/JS now (since C# was mentioned in the comments above). To be honest, I didn’t investigate those parts very much. I disregarded Unity before I even got to code something in it.

I agree completely that Unity seems to be a (very advanced!) 3D GameMaker-like thing, and that the $1500 is a big blow for part timers. Personally I feel that if I found a tool/engine that would enable me to cut down development time by several months it would be worth spending a lot of money on. But that the thing: Unity demands -more- time from me; it has wonderful capabilities, but in order to utilize them I would need to spend months and months on learning new skills.

By: Jon Howard (techdojo)

Jon Howard (techdojo) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:41:01 +0000

Hmm – not wishing to be picky but isn’t the scripting in Unity based on Javascript and not C++ ???

Jon…

By: Jon Howard (techdojo)

Jon Howard (techdojo) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:38:58 +0000

Karja – I think your last point is very important, whilst Unity maybe “free” there is a significant cost involved if you actually want to publish on the iPhone and or other “consoles”.

I’m not decrying unity here, I think it’s a wonderful setup (and as someone who’s used the $20 GameMaker app to produce a lot of content – I think of it as a 3D GameMaker on Steroids) but for part time dev’rs $1500+ can make a big difference when there is a “code only” approach that’s truly free – excluding the obvious $99 Apple Setup fee which is applicable in both cases.

Obviously this is iPhone centric but I think the point is still valid.

Jon…