Free Gamedev Tools I Use

[@DaFluffyPotato]

After seeing all of the comments, I tried out DaVinci Resolve. I used it for the first time for my pixel art video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/apS8cp5-m81sra8). I'll probably be sticking with it. It does a lot of things better than Hitfilm Express (it's also just plain faster). Personally, I didn't run into a steep learning curve that a lot of people mentioned. I just had to google a couple things the same way I had to do for Hitfilm Express. I figured it out in a few minutes.

[@blazingblueinferno4673]

thanks for this video dude, im not exactly trying to be a game dev but an pixel art animator using aseprite, this video really helped me mainly with free easy to learn music programs, sfx and video editors, if you want you can look at my channel with these dumb freaking animations using my phone, i think ive improved allot in about two years

[@dzibanart8521]

You should try pixelorama. Free and i think OpenSource too , it was made with Godot engine.

[@sparklyspartan1833]

I actually made that same transition (hitfilm to resolve) and I don’t get why people keep saying it’s such a steep curve, at least it’s not particularly harder to learn than any other program

[@Vortex-uf2um]

After that use premiere or after effects.

[@neozoid7009]

Did you tried Cakewalk DAW ??

[@Bovaz85]

0:16 Music software 3:41 Art Software 5:24 SFX Software 6:38 Video Software

[@nicatgenceliyev3554]

thanks a lot

[@soupnoodles]

bruh saved me so much time thanks

[@ok3739]

"DAW" stands for Digital Audio Workstation if anyone was a bit confused when he said it

[@fuitbythefoot]

daw

[@thebigbadbullyt]

That's soo obvious, daaaaw

[@StdntOfTheWrld]

For pixel art, there is actually a program called libresprite which is a fork of aseprite. You don't need to compile by hand and it's basically aseprite but free

[@Code_WithUttam]

Thanks dude

[@jookie8469]

yeah, aseprite is open source so aseprite can be free too

[@mono-ub4vc]

sfxr is actually included in LMMS so you can just use it for both music and sound effects.

[@eddex.]

Other free software I personally prefer: - Video editing: Davinci Resolve - GIF capture: ScreenToGif, can snap to windows and has a built in GIF editor

[@k1j1j1j]

For anyone who doesn't know, Aesprite had a fork created for it called Libresprite in response to it becoming commercial. It's almost identical to Aesprite but is completely free.

[@xdiatia4197]

but it's broken af

[@justakid9844]

This person has saved me, great tutorials, great voice, amazing games and they even showed the software they used. Thank you for being amazing and helping me stay motivated to make games

[@lashghost]

I'd like to add, for anyone interested in LMMS, that Spitfire LABS is a great VST plugin.

[@noahbrad6123]

And vital!

[@chaosordeal294]

The Spitfire stuff seems utterly esoteric, to me. Good for weird sounds, but not great for making real music (or even bit-crushed music).

[@yogurtroyale831]

A cool tool for sound creation that goes beyond SFXR's capabilities is called "Dexed". It's a plugin for your DAW (such as lmms, although I use Renoise because I find trackers easier). It allows you to use FM synthesis to create sounds, which is very powerful and can pretty much create any sound that you can imagine if you play with it enough.

[@gingersndragons]

i was actually getting stressed waiting to hear you pronounce bosca ceoil

[@zynel413]

You Irish too?

[@adventurousash]

THANK YOU! It's nice to have all of these in one place. Plus the comment section has awesome suggestions as well.

[@0memega]

I just use Piskel for pixel animations. It has so restrictions as it isn't designed for large files, but gets the job done.

[@jtjg6619]

I used Paint 3d for textures for a long time and I'm still using it sometimes, but I'm also using GIMP

[@ugib8377]

I love Krita. I made the switch from gimp when I had trouble finding where the line draw tool was on the interface. Krita is great. I still use Gimp to make sprite sheet templates. The x,y coord function really helps me size and add markers to my sheets. Then I just export whatever res I need in a png, load it into Krita and get drawing! Thanks a ton for all the work you put into these videos. You are probably by far the best game dev from scratch resource I've found.

[@DrEnzyme]

GIMP is the most powerful, least intuitive piece of software I've ever used. Krita follows the same flow as photoshop and it makes it so much easier to use.

[@ebutter2183]

Hey, Beepbox can be advanced if you know how to use it well enough

[@DeadDamsel]

I'm glad beepbox is starting to get some more attention from game devs, I've been using it for almost 3 years.

[@gr8b8m85]

Music composition is a whole artform in itself that can take a lifetime of music exposure to master. I don't think the average indie dev has the time to get to an advanced level unfortunately. Simple is usually better.

[@jcsirron]

Very informative video! Thanks for posting it! Oh, and the mumble at the end of "six years of MS paint" gave me a good laugh!

[@95mcqueen5]

Krita is top notch for pixel art too, I use it for both hand drawn and pixel art, I never had any issues with it

[@matheusviniciusdemoraes9420]

I liked a lot the music in 3:20 it reminds me SOOOO MUCH of a ps1 game I played when child, Brave fencer Musashi

[@thethree13o]

great to see the love for beepbox! not a lot of people talk about it and it's pretty cool, if simple.

[@kiraPh1234k]

While I actually do think there are quite decent options for pixel art that are free and easy to use (Piskel is amazing and simple with features we all love, can be used online or offline - Pixel Studio is decent and lets you work on mobile. Though that one has ads); I also wanted to point out that Aseprite is free as well, one only needs to compile from source. You're not allowed to redistribute what you compile but you are allowed to compile it from source and use it.

[@islilyyagirl]

technically, aseprite is free, but it's quite hard to get for free (you need to compile by hand)

[@pinklittlepig7599]

I personally did this I ran into some trouble but after a while I got it working and was definitely worth it. They have a good guild in the github repository that you can follow

[@ishc3ice]

i don't know what people say about aseprite being hard to compile, it's only hard to compile if you're on windows (because windows sucks), i compiled it on linux, i had to do like 7 commands didnt run into any trouble took about 15 minutes

[@LordOfWizardurl]

Well if you are on linux you don't really need to compile it tho. there is flatpak available for it

[@qualia765]

Be for I became quite literate with windows I attempted to do it, but only got to not being able to figure out C-Make errors that I gave up. Might try again, but lately, I have been performing a simplistic-vector style over pixel art.

[@aargonaut5443]

Krita can be used for pixel art!

[@RomanKridd_Official]

1:25 Bruh, this sounds like JSAB level😂

[@blitzkreg335]

Bought Aseprite and I'm not disappointed. I've tried Krita for pixel art but I really struggle with it.

[@SackoYT]

LMMS is fantastic. But I still have occasional issues with the GUI of a plugin not fully appearing, which can be really annoying.

[@DaElfer]

piskel - pixel animation photopea - free online photoshop replacement reaper - audio for music and foley (aseprite though is for sure worth it)

[@jomy10-games]

Another great tool for video editing is Davinci Resolve. I mostly use it for color grading.

[@yogurtroyale831]

I use Aseprite today, but for a free, fully featured pixel art software, Graphics Gale is the best option there is. The UI is a little old and takes some getting used to however. It used to be a payed software but went free when it stopped recieving updates a few years ago. I used it for around 10 years before switching to Aseprite as I wanted to get more into painting (which Graphics Gale is perfectly capable of, but custom brushes are too tricky to impliment efficiantly).

[@ast_rsk]

FYI Aseprite is free to compile yourself. The only restriction is their EULA saying you can't distribute the built copy of aseprite. Find their github and built it yourself if you can't afford the cost.

[@Domarius64]

Blender for video editing, seriously. Choose Video project on the start-up window and it becomes a video editor. The most performant and fully featured free video editor you can get.

[@origamishadow2655]

Yeah. Blender is awesome for a lot of projects.

[@mirageowl]

Best thing about Aseprite is that, if like me you are from a country where 15$ means A LOT of money, it is on Steam so it probably has regional pricing.

[@dibyoshreepaint9241]

I got aseprite for like $5 off of steam :D

[@vincrafts7269]

I have to mention that for free pixel art programs, Piskel is really solid, and it sounds like it’s what you might be looking for. :o

[@jtjg6619]

FL studio trial is also a great option,since you can keep it forever.

[@adrianpaul3749]

you cant save your work for future tweaks.

[@jtjg6619]

@@adrianpaul3749 For quick songs as in video games it's not too bad

[@MostlySoftware]

Tracktion Waveform Free is much better than LMMS in my opinion. More people should check it out. You need VSTs to really take advantage of it, but there are hundreds of great free VSTs online, so that's not an issue. The workflow is much more intuitive than LMMS and it's more stable in my experience.

[@SolironBrightwoode]

Preciated this for the tune and sfx tools. was looking for some simple audio tools that are friendly to idiots like me. kept coming up on full DAWs which i am not ready for.

[@GrounddevLF]

I'd throw in 3d paint as well if you have it its amazing super simple and a lot of uses

[@EsportCat]

And i thought i was never gonna see someone else using LMMS but you actually are, nice vid!

[@eldelgas31]

i cant believe that beepbox is so easy to use that i actually made something half decent

[@funnyx8307]

For pixel art I recommend piskel. Easy and you don't have to download

[@BombShot]

Resolve is a better free editor, it has a way simpler cut tab, more options and advanced feature for later use, or more advanced editing, and it's just better overall. This is coming from an amateur turned video production major learning advanced 3d compositing and special effects

[@ede-uj4sz]

1:38 and here I thought I'd never see Irish outside of school...

[@bespinguard7854]

Bosca Ceoil is irish, you pronounced bosca good enough, Ceoil is pronounced more like “Key-Oh-L” though, Bosca means box and Ceoil means music, put them together and you have “Music box” or “Accordion”, greetings from Ireland

[@arthurdeleniq]

Lol

[@jumpyVi]

This version of asprite is free www.aseprite.org/older-versions/ it's very old but it work very well for pixel art,animation and more.

[@jlewis4441]

You can also compile the latest code on GitHub for free.

[@jumpyVi]

@@jlewis4441 I think it's now not open source and you need libresprite downloading a old version is way more easy

[@jlewis4441]

@@jumpyVi Yeah, but then you can't get all the new fancy features of the current version.

[@fishmaster-fq5fg]

@@jumpyVi i just compiled aseprite today it it works great

[@vyziw2517]

I recommend pixitracker,for music.Its easy to use and free.Just my opinion:)

[@thekrazydev]

A free pixel editor is libresprite its a free (but a bit older) version of asperite

[@one_man_community]

I've used LMMS almost all my time with music. I could do FL or Reaper but I'm stuck with it.

[@luismaschietto]

Asesprite is free to. It's Open Source, you ccan cline the repository abd build it

[@mcbot6291]

Or just use LibreSprite, no compiling needed.

[@Maebbie]

i make my timelapses with obs, set framerate to 1 to 6 and you are good

[@LaurentSparksMusic]

Feels worth sharing: if you need a good VST for making animal/creature noises check out Oscine, it's free and super powerful

[@MaunomauClips]

Are you talking about a VST plugin that says "Oscine Tract VST models the songbird vocal tract, also known as the syrinx." or something else?

[@RobLang]

Splendid rundown! I too am a noob when it comes to digital music, so your selection is extra useful. I agree with your asprite assertion. Much better to pay a little too save yourself time! Sub'd

[@jk-fy8on]

Hey! I am a big fan! What kind of machine do you use? Do you use a laptop or self built desktop? If you use desktop what is its spec? I am just in to that kind of stuff. thanks.

[@ofirgabay4]

Thank you so much! I downloaded some of these tools.

[@everillangel5037]

Reaper is a great daw to use and it’s pretty much free

[@upsilondiesbackwards]

Something I rarely seen noted, is that Aseprite IS free, only if you put in the effort to compile it yourself, what can be an headache on Windows, primarily for CMake (On Linux is easy as pie). if you would perfer to use Aseprite, try compiling it.

[@scratchydev]

you should try out paint.net its kind of like ms paint but it has layers (like onions)

[@gallow_]

My guy mispronounced ceoil with such confidence I almost forgot my 13 years of learning the language

[@ererbe]

For video editing i have found olive video editor, its even open source. ^^ but its still quite new so there are some problems, but it hasnt crashed on me since some months. For painting (pixel art mostly and effects and stuff but not drawing) i use paint dot net.

[@saulferreira9631]

what is the name of the online video editor

[@s.hrey_.a1]

@@saulferreira9631 I know it's been 2 years but the video editor he uses/used is Olive Video Editor

[@giffiyt]

And if you're so damn poor you can actually download LibreSprite, which fork of last GPL-Licenced version of aseprite or you can compile aseprite yourself because the sourcecode is still public.

[@DevlogBill]

Learning JavaScript, HTML, CSS and I started my learning path the first week of December of 2021. What is weird is I downloaded Microsoft Visual Studio and somehow, I don't know how? But I think I somehow downloaded alongside the visual Studio Unity. I opened up Unity and updated the software and now I am watching your videos on game development, and I am becoming fascinated!!! Is it possible to continue to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript while learning game development on the side? Or would this be too much and unrealistic? Is this possible or am I spreading myself out too thin and working on too many things? I ask because I enjoy web development and learning JavaScript at the same time, I am getting really excited by watching your videos on game development!!! I could use your honest advice please, thank you!!!! Downloaded all the free tools you recommended, and I am having a blast!!

[@lassipls]

I actually use Blender for video editing. It just works

[@yahya_649]

Aseprite is FREE if you compile it yourself. There are loads of tutorials telling you how to, and it is completely legal.

[@joserobertodantas1516]

Nice video, a lot of useful information!

[@ishc3ice]

you can get aseprite for free, you just need to compile it, people say it's hard, when it's just hard to compile on windows (because windows sucks), it doesn't take long at all on linux, and it's not even hard

[@IrvinMenezes]

i swear that’s eterna forest in the bg. edit: oh lol it says so in the description

[@coderpenguin1]

If you have like an iPad with IPadOS is you can also use GarageBand and Affinty Designer, you can make music and pixel art

[@coderpenguin1]

But the Designer is 20$ And you can just save the files, plug in your iPad to your PC, and export the files onto your game file, but the Designer can8t do animations, I might just use his pixel art program

[@coderpenguin1]

For voices, you could maybe use voice memos for iPad, but I don’t recommend it

[@neozoid7009]

awesome tutorial

[@napptus]

If your willing to build it yourself, then you can legally get Aseprite for free. Because there is this project called LibreSprite which is the code from Aseprite before it became a paid application. Also KdenLive is good for Video Editing too

[@dslowcoder]

Are you planing on releasing the level editor?

[@sudinroy7979]

Thank you so much sir sharing this technical information.Thanks a lot.

[@markeyboi6545]

If you're up for the learning curve, Davinci Resolve is miles better than Hitfilm express, and actually more capable than Premiere Pro. It's basically Premiere Pro, After Effects, (basic) Audio Editing, and industry-leading color grading, all in one. It is a bit difficult to learn, but the basics (cuts, transitions, text, and such) can be learned in a few hours.

[@HooptyDaDoopty]

fun fact: Aseprite is actually free if you can read and follow instructions on how to build it.

[@gamedevil3607]

Hey uhhh, AseSprite is free, if you can take all it's code and compile it (the code is on github), then you can use it for free, it won't be pirated, or you can look for an already compiled version on youtube

[@paulortalex6613]

I tried to do that but I rounded it simple to use actually free and open source (preference) software like krita, pixelorama, gimp, anything you can use to draw..., Python turtle (probably really painful)

[@gamedevil3607]

@@paulortalex6613 Would you like me to give you a compiled version link?

[@paulortalex6613]

@@gamedevil3607 nah I am good, it's not like I am using MS paint.

[@Adidaas]

Awesome list man. Very helpful and I'll definitely be checking out a lot of them. Thanks!

[@trycantfind9730]

delicious information

[@carcedopro7285]

Aseprite is open-source so technically if you download the source and compile it yourself you don't have to pay for anything

[@Darkry]

Gimp is very limited and is pretty outdated nowadays. Krita best art software, plus it has fanbase addons, so it can be pretty much like PS without any payment. I fell that PS has huge enemy in Krita. (Altho it can have very poor performance in bigger projects and pictures. Saving might take longer and it might crash if you make too many changes.)

[@gagliardivex9218]

Another good music software is caustic 3 and it's very cheap $8 for full version and fl studio mobile is also ok $15

[@Cassthetic_Art_Official]

what about Firealpaca? is it also good for Artwork For games?

[@user-qh3nq8np5i]

what about helm for sounds and music

[@chanlan6911]

good pixel art tool -> libresprite

[@FaKz92]

Video editing?! Davinci Resolve ftw!

[@mikesande2409]

Aseprite is great!

[@neozoid7009]

did you tried Cakewalk DAW ????

[@kronokun]

Openshot is also a good video editor for low end pc

[@amanhayer665]

Why don't you use the free version of Davincci resolve it's quite powerlfull and can VFX, color grading and all sorts of stuff on top of general cut and join tasks.

[@patriciajin6206]

Morning Hiccup, how's Toothless?

[@neozoid7009]

What about Cakewalk DAW ??

[@JB10008d]

If you were trying to save time and outsource art--Is there a place to have full rights of that art if someone else makes it for me after I pay them?

[@itsME-dc4vm]

Nice ;D

[@haikamu3864]

What software you use for rendering tilemaps?

[@Elrinth]

for video software. did you ever try davinci resolve ?

[@mcbolt1987]

Can you make a journal on px editor and are you going to update it

[@vcjg287]

You forgot to mention, that the most important thing you'll need to make a game... is a true friend :)

[@leonchi7796]

_Gee, where can I get me one of those..._

[@PadraoAndrei]

Well, not really...

[@gerickollarena]

Ah yes, I heard they give them away for free in the annual true friends giveaway

[@opanims9264]

Really?? I bought one from e bay I didn't know they give them out for free.

[@yogurtroyale831]

Also Audacity is spyware now. There are some forks but I can't vouch for them as I haven't done much audio editing recently outside of my DAW.

[@thinkingspace3438]

i use OpenMPT for music

[@sriniwasj]

You can look into kdenlive for video editing

[@NyxDiscordia33]

This video's great and I really appreciate your content, but I have some constructive criticism. 1. Please be more articulate when you speak. You mumble a lot, which is something I also personally struggle with so it's no biggie. Just be mindful! 2. Learn some music theory. Your music isn't terrible, but it's kinda all over the place. As a listener I can't really tell where to anchor my ears because there's just notes everywhere with no real structure. Practice with some basic 4 chord progressions and just keep challenging yourself. There's all kinds of videos on KZbin to learn basic theory and knowing more will probably help a lot. It puts a face to the name, y'know?

[@jaymeselliott9122]

I recommend this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGPdYWWAact9rck

[@Spectrefreezy]

I wanna voice a counter-opinion to point number 2: its nice to hear music that doesn't fall into the same boring 4 chord progressions. There's always improvements to be made, and learning theory is important, but raw experimentation can really produce some expressive and unique music! Instead of just cookie cutter homogenized loops... The music sounds really mysterious and atmospheric.

[@NyxDiscordia33]

@@Spectrefreezy There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying take some time to practice like, traditional music, y'know? Some things kinda need that structure in order to sound coherent. I'm not saying it sounds bad, per se, it's just kinda... empty, I guess? For an atmospheric track in the background I think it's fine and in fact I'm kinda jealous because I can't really write things so freeform like that, but in the future you might have to lay down some tracks that sound a little more familiar to the listener/player's ear. y'know?

[@Spectrefreezy]

@@NyxDiscordia33 Yeah I get exactly what you mean. I suppose it would depend on the style of gameplay. I always see great results for people who learn to experiment first and then, later, apply more grounding and general principles that music theory can provide. What kind of music do you write?

[@SankoshSaha_01]

This kind of constructive criticism is what the whole internet should adhere

[@sarcasticcpu5051]

Best free daw is cakewalk by bandlab

[@bludgeon1081]

Thank you very much.

[@young-ceo]

You should've put software name as subtitle

[@DaFluffyPotato]

They’re all in the description