Game Development Tools

Game Maker

You have a couple options with GameMaker. You can download GameMaker 8.1 and use either the free version or pay $39.99 for the Pro version on Windows, or $19.99 for the Pro version on Mac. Or you can download the free version of GameMaker: Studio or dish out ridiculous amounts of money for the Standard, Professional and Master versions. This list is about free tools, though, so let’s talk about the free versions. First of all, most people know about GameMaker already. It’s a prominent game creation tool by YoYoGames, with drag-and-drop options and other easy-to-use features for non-programmers, as well as a built-in scripting language for people with a little more experience. The original, freeware version of Spelunky, as well as Hotline Miami, were developed in GameMaker, so despite seeming like a simple tool, its possibilities are vast. The issue with the Lite and Pro versions of GameMaker 8.1 is YoYoGames will no longer be updating them as they’ve shifted their focus to Studio. However, the limitations on Lite vs. the limitations on the free version of Studio are very different. Lite limits your use of certain advanced functions, like 3D, blending, data structures, etc. There will also be a watermark on your game. The free version of Studio, however, limits your use of resources, like objects, rooms, sprites, sound files, etc. Which one you use depends entirely on your priorities.





Unity 4

Unity 4 was announced on June 18, 2012 and includes several new additions to the technology in the initial Unity 4.0 release. The Unity 4 release cycle will, like previous releases, include several updates with additional features over the course of its lifespan, such as the new Retained GUI, which is due in a future 4.x update. It was released on November 14, 2012. New features include DirectX 11 support and Mecanim animation. Mobile graphics enhancements include real-time shadows, skinned mesh instancing, the ability to use normal maps when baking lightmaps and a refined GPU profiler. Furthermore, the Adobe Flash deployment add-on has also been released with Unity 4.0. While deployment has been possible for those with the Unity 3.5 compatible beta tool, the final release of the deployment add-on will require Unity 4. Unity 4.2 is rumored to feature shadow support for the free version. However, it has some limitations such as restricted to only one directional light and "hard" shadows. Unity 4 also includes a new deployment option to publish games to Linux desktops. While the deployment add-on can potentially work with various forms of Linux, development is primarily focused on Ubuntu for its primary release. This deployment option will be provided to all Unity 4 users at no additional cost. Engineers from Unity work with Ubuntu in Canonical's team for games. Since version 4, Unity is working in collaboration with Facebook to launch an improved Unity experience on the social platform through its Unity Web Player.