Since the 1970s, video game players have wanted to create their own games, and while it was possible by the 1980s for individuals to create their own games using their home computers, for a long time technological limitations and cost made it impractical to produce more than simple games.
Yet in recent years, that has begun to change. Numerous game making apps have become available, which make it increasingly feasible for gaming fans and budding gaming developers to produce their own games without having to win the lottery! Here are three of the very best modern game maker apps.
Construct 3
For those who are unfamiliar with coding, indeed, for those who have never written a line of code in their lives, Construct 3 is the ideal game maker app. The entire app is completely GUI (Graphical User Interface) driven, which means that you simply drag and drop elements to construct your game.
One of the best features of Construct 3 is that there is no need to adapt your game for different platforms. Once the game is finished it can be exported onto everything from HTML5 and Linux to the Microsoft Store, Windows, Android and iOS platforms.
You can purchase various game assets to assemble your game, though the more professional assets will be relatively more expensive, and there is a wealth of information to support you in your use of the system, along with a free version of the app that can help to familiarise you with how it works.
GameMaker Studio 2
This popular game maker app is based on an original program called Game Maker Studio, which launched in 1999, although it has been re-written from scratch.
Like Construct 3, it is essentially a drag and drop set up, but it offers a little more game making power than its rival through the use of its special Game Making script, a programming language that provides more flexibility to the game developer.
One of the most appealing features about the app is the range of additional features that it enables you to add to your game, including analytics, multiplayer networking, and in-app purchases. It also enables you to export your game to a huge range of platforms, though not through the free version.
Unity
Launched as a 3D games designer in 2005, the Unity model has since enabled 2D game making, although it remains most effective as a 3D platform.
Unity’s great breakthrough was in utilising competent-entity design. This means that everything in your game is an object and components can be added to everything that control different aspects of that object’s behaviour and its logic.
Unlike Construct 3 and GameMaker Studio 2, Unity does require you to use the C# programming language, although it is so widely used that there is a huge resource of videos and tutorials available, along with many tutorials provided by Unity.
The Unity asset store is particularly impressive, providing everything you could need, with many assets being available free, and it has the widest exportability of all three of the apps discussed here. Best of all, the Personal Plan is completely free as long as your game doesn’t earn more than $100,000 per year.