Why I don't use Unity, Godot or Unreal Engine - Which Game Engine I use?

[@Zizaco]

WIshlist my game: store.steampowered.com/app/2609620/Awful_Marco_Bros/ or get the source-code: forms.gle/iyPiTjGYCo5jbTdUA

[@scriptworld]

You should have mentioned that it costs 24 dollar a month which is quite a lot to be honest. Especially if you are a hobbyist! The big engines let you code and take a share when you sell your game and thats more fair tbh. You only pay if you earn money. With Construct you have to pay upfront which always hurts more in the beginning, but MAY be worth it in the end :)

[@Zizaco]

Indeed, I should have mentioned it. I agree with you. I think it's a fair price and I pay for it myself. 1 - I don't have much time, and it allows me to save time. 2 - even for solodev / hobbyist, most hobbies are more expensive than that.

[@scriptworld]

@@Zizaco of course, if it saves you time and you actually make money with your games, thats worth it for sure! me, who just likes to tinker around with some game programming, that is a little blocker for me :/

[@zabulb]

24 dollars a month for a hobby still seems accessible to me especially if you are already familiar with web dev. If you have zero programming experience or experience in a language supported by the free option then the free option would probably be a better choice.

[@jamesmunroe6558]

I completely agree. This is a huge turn-off, especially when there are such good viable free alternatives out there.

[@MandosaWright]

Damn, good thing I checked comments before searching for the engine. I almost wasted my time. But in all honesty my time is actually worthless...

[@Inf4mousKidGames]

"Unity was Mac only" that explains the Mac UI elements for over a decade in the Windows version

[@Zizaco]

Exactly!

[@CoolModderJaydonX]

Wait, what?

[@Inf4mousKidGames]

@@CoolModderJaydonX most Mac devs like to be lazy with UI of their apps and will straight up use tools to port the Mac UI on another platform. This happens when porting mac apps to windows though.

[@litjellyfish]

Yup remember when Unity was small. Must be in 2008 or so. I just mailed David Helgasson and then one hour later I was on a Skype (yes we used that back then) call with him pushing to port Unity to windows and also and animation features (it has not curve editing etc at all back then) - feels like a complete different universe

[@12kenbutsuri]

Unity united us to try out new game engines and explore.

[@jamesmunroe6558]

Except Unity betrayed everyone. Back in September, Unity announced that in January 2024, they're going to start charging everyone 20 cents per install. They modified the terms later that month to make it look like they rescinded that change, but it still applies to future versions of Unity. I don't trust these guys. #StallmanWasRight

[@chaos3088]

Currently have to wait until unity has fixed their pricing problem

[@dibyaudhdas1978]

I'm just after learning so much from brackeys tutorials, I need to look for new one. To this day, I haven't found such a well detailed and perfectly explained course is that.

[@ManwithNoName-t1o]

i'll never touch unity after that fiasco

[@ClearTheRubble7]

I loved the old days of Unity, late 2000's, and it laid a great foundation for me to learn game dev. Then the prices shot up and the whole Unity atmosphere changed. I fled for the hills, exploring other engines and learning that hey, the whole world isn't Unity after all...😂

[@drakenskag]

RIP my fav flash games. nothing will ever replace you in my heart 😔💔

[@alinbot5836]

You still can play them with Flashpoint tho

[@12DAMDO]

the new Swords and Sandals (best Flash game ever) was made in Godot..

[@cubodeneon3547]

they are back!

[@HamdiRizal]

It's like nothing close to Flash (the development app). You can draw directly on it, make it a movieclip. Add script. Done. Prototyping is super2 fast.

[@yolamontalvan9502]

Thank you Unity for helping find Godot, Cocos 3D and maybe Phaser.

[@Zizaco]

Indeed! Let's look at the bright side :)

[@ClearTheRubble7]

Wow! I wasn't expecting Construct 3 to be your final choice at all, but it's where I ended up, too, along with PlayCanvas, since I'm developing an html5/webgl game that uses both engines. I started with Unity back in 2007, then fled when their price structure went through its first major change. Babylonjs is also great, but both PlayCanvas and Construct 3 do most of the heavy lifting, as you said, allowing me to just concentrate on artwork, animation, game mechanics, and the "light coding" of JavaScript. Thanks for an entertaining video, and an assurance that I've made the right choices!

[@windwalkerrangerdm]

I am so happy Construct is gaining traction. It's such a joy to use, and Construct 2 helped me transition from Math programming into game programming. Great video, and congrats on the win.

[@Shodan-0101]

Well done and congrats with the award! Well deserved!

[@Zizaco]

Thanks! :)

[@pixelart0124]

Thank you for making this video. While watching it, I realized something deep about myself that's really important. I'm grateful to you. Thank you.

[@Zizaco]

I'm glad the video was helpful in some way, shape, or form. Take care buddy :)

[@nile1528]

I love your "being productive" approach. I really like how you explain your thinking path to see which tool(s) may suit you the best. You make me realise again, that there is a lot of different possibilities that I should be considering, if again I just take a look at my game, what do I actually need, what can help me speed up the process? Looking into my specific needs. You made me think a bit better I appreciate it.

[@Zizaco]

Awesome, thank you!

[@FoozleCC]

Nice job on the video! Totally agree that C3 has done a great job of building out examples that are easy to pick up and learn from. Cheers

[@novantechstudio]

You mentioning Dark Basic brought back some memories.

[@RikusLategan]

Congradulations with your jam success, and an amazing video, too

[@Zizaco]

Thanks Rikus!

[@diegofloor]

I paused at around 8:00 just to write this comment. You are speaking directly at my soul throughout this entire video! And I can't wait to hear what you are going to propose next.

[@Zizaco]

I will let you down

[@diegofloor]

@@Zizaco haha Not at all. I was surprised to see Construct! But my only gripe with it is that it's not open source and it's subscription based. But rapid prototyping is my holy grail right now, and this is super tempting.

[@arimill1045]

Been programming for near 14 years now, Unity always kept me out of game dev, then I found pygame during the unity controversy and realized I'm living this video. Keep up the good work!

[@WillSams]

+1 Programming for 17 years myself. Found Unity and Godot to be unproductive for me. Great thing about Godot is that it's GDScript reminded me I should give Pygame another look. Wow, it all felt right this time around especially when using an editor like LunarVim! Pygame unfairly gets a bad reputation! Python 3.11 plus pygame.sdl2_video is a bit of a game changer.

[@Vercidium]

The point about context switching is spot on. I use Mac + Typescript at work, and Windows + C# at home, and it's not easy switching between the two

[@Zizaco]

the struggle is real!

[@EwelinaWes]

Thank you for this video :) It was very helpful!

[@patrickmuenster]

Thanks for sharing yout thoughts and also thank you for the comment on Phaser. After you praised Phaser at the beginning, I felt like an idiot because it took me ages to get into it and both the doc and editor versions were hell. For the same reasons I'm also working with Construct 3 for a couple of year and GDevelop. And I'm really happy with it.

[@SputnikFive]

I’ve been using Construct 3 for game development for a few years now for one of my client’s web games (and a couple mobile games), and was really surprised when you announced it as your game engine of choice. Despite writing over a dozen games with it, and paying $400 a year for the license, I guess I never really considered it a “real” game engine. While you can do a lot with very little “code”, or events I should say, I find the non-coding nature gets in my way sometimes. Maybe throwing some JS in there is the way around that. Subscribed and interested to see what you do with it!

[@Zizaco]

I know right? Since Scirra added better scripting support (with modules) and now TypeScript, I don't feel it gets in the way of making any kind of game (2d or basic 3d). It's easy to get caught up with all the optimization and theoretical technical scenarios (and I'm guilty of that!). With Construct I can focus in shipping games and only code what matters, not what is expedient

[@envilonscript]

Great video! Good luck with your next project. :)

[@Zizaco]

Thank you!

[@joanfase2693]

Very inspiring story sir! I really like your approach, how you seem to see game engines / frameworks as tools and just try to find the one most fitting your particular needs. Lately I tried to learn Godot but your content made me realize I just follow the "hype" and didn't think about what I wanted to accomplish, what my strong points are and what tools are best suited for my personnal use. Thanks a lot for making me realize that! I'll be sure to follow you from now on, seems like I can learn a lot by doing so. Good speed sir!

[@CorTec]

Awesome review , you give really good insights

[@cuca_dev]

Nice decision! I’ve been looking for something else for my next games and so far I’m still thinking about something like Defold and Monogame. I do also really like the web as a medium for games and have a bet on it being an even more interesting market to focus on the future. But as someone who also have been working with JS/TS and web for the last ~6 years I’m having some kind of fadigue of it. Maybe for games it wouldn’t be the case, but it’s an option to evaluate later. I do also hate the fact that my current engine have that useless language (GDScript in this case) Really cool video!

[@lorenagonzalessaar6488]

I like your channel and the explanation 😊

[@Sworn973]

2:37 "Mindustry" and show factorio....?

[@Zizaco]

my bad

[@PaconskY]

I first tried Construct when it was Construct 2, and it was great. back then I barely ever coded anything, so the visual scripting sounded good, and boy was it good! I could prototype and try different ideas so fast, without looking up tutorials. So if you are new or almost did not code at all, its a great way to try to make some games. I did not get far with it at that time, but your video made me want to try it again.

[@linuxrant]

wow, the Solus Sector Tactics looks a lot like something I've been dreaming about to make for last couple of months. I'm gonna take a look at it right now!

[@wojtekczerski8534]

Great video with well thought out points! I appreciate the effort in making it accessible for non-developers. As a fellow programmer, I would suggest considering specialization in a specific path to enhance your expertise. Keep up the good work!

[@Zizaco]

Well said! Thanks! : )

[@partymantis3421]

You are not a masochist for enjoying coding, you are gifted! Thank you Zizaco for sharing your wisdom, helping us all! Shine on you crazy diamond !

[@Zizaco]

Wow, thank you!

[@WoodyGamesUK]

Game engines like Unity and Unreal aren't just useful for high fidelity graphics, they should increase productivity even for the most basic stuff like manipulating sprites (spawning, destroying, moving), add some code logic, physics if you want (but even that is up to you), and other useful things like input, sound... You don't really need anything else to make a game, and it's up to you to organise it the way you want. You can really do anything, there's not one type of game that is more suitable for an engine. If the engine doesn't make these tasks easier or make you gain time, then it's not useful and you should try another engine, or framework, whatever. I see engines or frameworks as a way to give easy and fast access to the simple building blocks that you need for any game, be it the simplest type. Then the rest is left for me to do. That's why I think it doesn't make that much different which engine or framework you're using, when it comes to making a game.

[@Zizaco]

I agree with you. Currently, I'm all about productivity, that's why I went with a Game Engine once again. My point is that people who require high-fidelity graphics have a more limited choice of engines (Unreal, Flax, Unity and not much else). In my case, I'm free to also pick from Godot, Construct, Defold, Solar2d, GameMaker, Gdevelop, etc. As a bonus, these engines tend to be less bloated.

[@anarchoyeasty3908]

Dark Basic was the programming language I learned how to program on. I will always love that engine :)

[@Zizaco]

It was great! With a few lines of code you could get a lot going on! And later they released the "professional" version: DarkBasic Pro 😅 And have you tried Blitz3d at the time?

[@anarchoyeasty3908]

@@Zizaco I had heard of blitz 3d but I was like 10 at the time so I never learned it or anything. But blitz was big back then and then if you wanted to go c++ you also had ogre3d as well. Early 2000s good time for indie game development lol

[@Ferenc-Racz]

Hi. I just found your channel. I see there is not much content yet, but I think this is a relative new channel, so I subscribed. Thank you for the video. I will wait for the followings. :)

[@Zizaco]

Yes I'm still new to the whole KZbin thing. 😅 Thank you for subscribing! :)

[@anthonypimentel7218]

​@@ZizacoI'm gonna subscribe too, nice vid!

[@HumanityAsCode]

Bevy has been a really fun engine for me so far. Writing web games in JavaScript has always been a tough sell for me but it's a much tougher sell now that I can use WebAssembly. I can write my game in whatever I want and run it on the web in 3D

[@Zizaco]

JavaScript is indeed a tough sell, but have you tried TypeScript? :) WebAssembly ecosystem is in its early stages, but I agree with you that it holds great potential for multi-platform solutions in the future. I'm a big fan of Rust and Bevy. I can't wait to see what's to come!

[@Yous0147]

I'm also trying out Bevy and it is quite nice although I feel like making a game in Rust requires that you rewire your brain on how to make applications. The component based approach is super cool, but as an analogy it sorta feels like working "on site" with a portable set of tools and components that you take with you and unpack, as opposed to working "from home" with a library of books and a workstation on hand. I'm like you though, JS (or TypeScript despite it being better) I really do not like using at all, and that's despite loving the strengths and simplicity HTML5 can afford me, but the headaches in having dealt with confusing errors, obfuscated object and return types (especially from libraries), breaking changes and having to deal with versioning with package managers all together on top of focusing on developing a game is too much for me.

[@LeonardoTx1000]

Sir! Thats not Mindustry... thats Factorio! Anyway, great video.

[@Zizaco]

You caught my mistake! 😅 BTW mindustry is also made using a game framework: libGDX

[@igorthelight]

A small story about Factorio: it was created in Allegro. After a few months of tweaking it, developers decided to switch from it (to SDL) because it's very outdated and cumbersome (there is an article where they explain that in details). They were REALLY trying not to call Allegro "shit" xD

[@purringraven3648]

"Mindustry", proceeds to show Factorio

[@ScottAllanJensen]

Just as a side note you can use C# with godot its not perfect but it has and is currently getting better intergration. That begining said every project will have the right kind of tool to use for it. So in your case seems like you found the right one for you.

[@Zizaco]

I'm very happy to see the growing list of supported languages in Godot! I think Godot have a bright future!

[@saulogamedev]

Great video! New sub here! Really love the content so far. have already made more than 10 games in Construct 3, most of them published on Steam. This engine taught me how to make games in a professional, practical, and user-friendly manner, especially for someone who is an artist and not a programmer like myself. I recommend it if you have never made a game and are starting on this journey. However, in terms of publishing on consoles, which is where you can diversify your income, it is quite lacking. This reason led me to migrate to Unreal. If you're developing for mobile, web, and simple games for Steam, it's very worthwhile. But anything beyond that, you might have serious problems finding publishers or even a team to create games.

[@Zizaco]

Thanks for the sub! :) Indeed, it's always complicated to bring games to concoles. There are many games made in C3 that release on PS4/5, Switch and Xbox, but it was always through a third-party porting company. BTW: É nóis!

[@saulogamedev]

​@@ZizacoHue Hue, it's a BR? Hahaha

[@Zizaco]

Sim mano!

[@tony355367]

I also agree that the concept of game design must ultimately return to tabletop games, not just beautiful graphics.

[@charlesabju907]

Dude went and made the best case for Construct. Just when I was falling in love with Godot. Back in the day I'd use ClickTeam Fusion and it seems Construct drank from that water, but improved the concept in every possible way.

[@khanstruct77]

Concerned Ape himself has said that you shouldn't take the approach he did with Stardew Valley.

[@mfcfbro]

I used Construct 2 back in the day and it was great then. Makes me want to pick up a copy.

[@igorthelight]

Construct 2 is still a thing. It can be used offline while Construct 3 can not. Construct 3 is much more modern and have more features but it's subscription based. If you just want "buy once" - Construct 2 could still be your choice. Of course it will not support any new features but it was updated just a year or two ago, so it's not THAT obscure.

[@thechosenone729]

For 114 euros a year im staying with Godot.

[@mfcfbro]

@@thechosenone729 Totally fair. I didn’t realize it was a subscription license when I wrote that. I’m using unreal and enjoying it. I’ll stick with it. Lol

[@TackerTacker]

@@igorthelight Construct 2 is no longer an option if you not already own a copy. You can no longer buy it. I would also not recommend an engine that no longer gets any updates.

[@igorthelight]

@@TackerTacker I didn't know that it's not selling anymore. So fair point!

[@leslieviljoen]

I only used graphics and sound libraries for decades. When I tried Godot: wow, so many conveniences!

[@nowonmetube]

Could you explain please? And tell me what Godot has that GDevelop doesn't have for instance?

[@leslieviljoen]

@@nowonmetube I've just started with Godot, but I had a sprite following a path and rotating to face ahead as it went. And there's conveniences to help move diagonally such that a character doesn't go faster diagonally than vertically or horizontally etc. Maybe these are in GDevelop? My previous experiments have been in GOSU and SDL and way back, my own low level VGA libraries.

[@JohnCena-te9mi]

I downloaded Godot, created empty project, compiled release build, started: 50% CPU load. That's a big HMMMMMM

[@leslieviljoen]

@@JohnCena-te9mi hmmmmmmmm!

[@WyMustIGo]

I use my own engine. Then again, I have over 40 years development experience and use assembly, C and C++ primarily (I know many other languages, but those 3 are the most used).

[@parabug]

Indie and retro games have that good old times feeling the 50yo developer in me is always going back to.

[@pegasusearl]

I used to use Construct 2. Nowadays I'm using Godot and Unity professionally. There are many people when they asked me what is the best way to learn how to program a game, I always told them to use Construct, most of the times they will roll their eyes. I felt like people underestimate the power of Construct game engine, it's powerful enough. It's even better for beginner. Event sheet in Construct is basically real programming, except you had a logic brick you can work with and every time you pick a logic brick it will show you what other logic bricks are relevant. Which means you don't have to learn any syntax and you will have a list of what you can do with certain things directly as you editing it, no need documentation. You just focus on making games and have fun. And you won't pull your hair out because how slow Unity is when making minor script modification. I don't use Construct anymore since they do subscription now and not a cheap one. If not, I would probably use it along with Godot. I wanted to buy Construct 2, but last time I checked they didn't sell them anymore. I wish I had purchased them back them.

[@sergi_diaz]

Construct 2 is really fun, GDevelop is free and is very similar, has evolved quite in these years, not perfect but the change is smooth and for funny little quickly projects its useful, you should try it ;)

[@rodneyabrett]

I don't know if you ever saw the GDC talk for the making of Thumper. It's really impressive how that game was made in this low level pure code way. I even ran that game on a really old Surface Pro and it ran very smoothly without any frame drops.

[@happygofishing]

Bro really called faxtorio mindustry 💀

[@TheSensei88]

This reminds me of a Game Engine I used a long time ago, when I did not know how to program, I don't remember it's name but had LOADS of examples and tutorials incorporated that allowed me to create a few different games. I recently looked for it everywhere but could not find it, this is not it but has seemingly all the features I liked from that one, plus: it's typescript! Gonna test it now, thank you for the video!

[@Zizaco]

YW! Maybe you are talking about Clickteam Fusion, formerly known as Multimedia Fusion. The ability to combine (no-code and code) with a clean API is what makes Construct interesting IMO.

[@BastetFurry]

Yep, sounds like Klick&Play to me.

[@TheSensei88]

@@Zizaco Well, I'm sure it's not that one, but yeh, combining a graphic interface with the posibility to add code was what it also did. But I guess it's not important anymore, I don't even have the games I started to make, they are forgotten in some old hard drive from a PC I used to own. Guess I could start over with this one now that I also program lol

[@TheSensei88]

@@BastetFurry And nope, I'm sure that's not the one either!

[@Gepitonium]

Very interesting! 👍 Subscribed!

[@Zizaco]

Thanks for the sub!

[@FullyBugged]

Nice video, and that's great you found your game engine of choice! Even if 'not surprised because less known, you might have been interested during your search, and with your specific background, by the open-source 2.5d ORX engine (no GUI editor, but that does not make it a framework). Well, maybe some day, 'just for the curiosity of it, you'll take a quick look at it and it's data driven approach? It's worth to check!

[@Zizaco]

Thanks for the comment. ORX seems interesting. Kinda like Bevy but for C++

[@FullyBugged]

​@@Zizaco yes, kinda, from far ;). Bevy is promoting itself as Data-driven, but is actually not and is more data oriented. An other difference, ORX is C, or C++, Bevy is Rust. and ORX is older too and 14th yearly version, Bevy is not 1.0 yet ;). So Orx is crazy optimized already. Not perfect, but for a one man engine, is very strong, and its real data driven approach is super interesting for "pros" on the long run. (that was my "picky" two cents).

[@bioburden]

Curious to hear your thoughts now that Phaser Editor is available

[@clustersnake]

I am currently learning defold and it's going very well so far. I am learning Lua in the process so it comes with a plus

[@bramble-east]

My guy, that is Factorio, not Mindustry.

[@kabaoum1519]

Being able to code in your most proficient language to avoid context switching is a huge benefit. I stopped using unreal after 4+ years because the context switching was starting to wear on me. I found I was way more productive with godot because gdscript is so limited and it's so similar to python that the context switching cost is almost non-existant for me. What packages do you find useful from npm? as a webdev I'm somewhat horrified by the prospect of pulling in npm packages for game projects. I worry a lot about packages being both inefficient, hard to understand, not fitting well with the problem space and having dependency management added to the already complex art of building games isn't something I'm keen to takeon.

[@Zizaco]

I agree, gdscript would be almost zero context switching for someone who works with python. Good for you : ) Dependency management got a lot better in the last few years (package-lock.json, semantic versioning, and more). It's true that it is not ideal to bloat a project with all sorts of dependencies, but sometimes it can be quite helpful (even if it's to fork things to make it your own). So far I've used packages for MessagePack, Voronoi, Curve Interpolator and Wave Function Collapse.

[@fuarrkk]

Have you tried Defold?

[@Zizaco]

Not yet, but I should definitely give it a try, especially since there's a way to use TypeScript with it. : ) ts-defold.dev/

[@robinandersson99]

Got really excited but when i went to get construct 3 i noticed it cost nearly $25/month and im broke :(

[@PixelsLaboratory]

It brought tears of joy when you mentioned DarkBasic and Blitz3D ♥ we're so alike :)

[@MangaGamified]

I still base on case studies, as Tupac Shakur once said -- "I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world" In short, everyone wants to be the spark if not influencer but those things don't actually have popular case studies except extreme outliers like Stardew Valley, those are not the top

[@ChristopherCricketWallace]

Dark Basic!!! That takes me back.

[@lordkjwilliams]

What if you create a full functioning program that is not a game, from using a game engine? How do you explain to others why you used a game engine to create something that it was not intended to do? Thanks

[@nowonmetube]

1. Because it's fun 2. It's better to use the tool you know than a new tool you don't know how to use. Is there a phrase that's similar to that?

[@john_avernia]

Why do you need to explain? I made a to do list for grocery app for my mother and families using godot. As long it works, it doesnt matter. I can use node js to do that, but I like using godot because it was easier to do the UI.

[@Jyodann]

It's okay to use tools that you are familiar with since it helps speed up your development process, and if the application can achieve the same goals and give the users a good experience, users usually don't think too much about the engine/tool it has been built with.

[@Zizaco]

Indeed! I've seen a few apps that were made with Godot for example. It can definitely work! If you are picky with performance, then apps made with game engines tend to use more CPU & GPU because they clean/draw everything on every frame, contrary to most desktop apps that only draw when there is a visual change (example: notepad don't need constant 60fps) [over simplified explanation].

[@nowonmetube]

@@Zizaco thanks for the information, that makes sense

[@RedPlanetPictures1]

You mention at the beginning of the video running on consoles, with a picture of a Switch, but according to Construct's website consoles aren't supported? (other than running in Edge browser on Xbox) I was very tempted by Construct as a first-time ever game dev who hates coding, until I saw their pricing model combined with the inability to release on consoles, so ultimately settled on GM. But if there's some workaround you're aware of for releasing on consoles (specifically Switch) I'd love to hear it! That might change my mind although the pricing is still irksome. GM just updated their licensing model and the free version has no engine limitations, so being able to work with it for free with the option to pay a pretty small cost later if you want to commercialize is very enticing, even if it is less beginner friendly.

[@Zizaco]

Porting a Construct 3 game to consoles is similar to getting a Godot game to consoles. You need a third-party porting company. There are many C3 games in consoles. Check this websites: www.madewithconstruct.com/ Here's an example of a porting company: www.ratalaikagames.com/games.php AJ Ordaz talking about his C3 game on switch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2q8qWdppcxpoMU About pricing, it's all relative. For me having the ability to use TS, npm, and making games much faster are worth it. All my other hobbies are more expensive than C3's license. =P

[@alzblb1417]

9:11 "... something that I use on my daily work." - is the key takeaway, you merged the tech stacks of your hobby time and work time.

[@catalinpreda4666]

thanks for sharing this! I'm working with TS on the web as well and now I'm trying to pick up Unity thinking C# seems nice and I could use that on the backend if I learn it; but I would definetly try this to play around with 2D web games

[@Zizaco]

Glad it was helpful! C# is awesome. If you have the time and don't mind the context switch, go for it!

[@isaidstream4547]

Yes, you are right!

[@darknetworld]

Dev have freedom chose, skills level and understanding. That why game engine are made for users that like to do must. It will have pros and cons any game engines.

[@hldfgjsjbd]

Hot take: solo indie devs should always choose engines and don’t shy to utilise assets

[@arthurwiebusch9292]

cool but i'll stick with godot! Makes sense to optimize when needed, but the out of the box tools from godot make everything so much streamlined. I guess this is a matter of taste in the end.

[@Zizaco]

Fair point! That's why I chose to use an engine at the end of the day.

[@DocHollidayGames]

I made my Steam game in C3, but I am having some regrets. My game could sorely use Steam Workshop integration, and I just can't figure out how to get that implemented in C3.

[@Zizaco]

Hey Joseph. I'm curious to know why are you having some regrets? @__sleepingpanda wrote an interesting article about releasing C3 games on steam. Maybe it can help: twitter.com/__sleepingpanda/status/1721948609678082543

[@DocHollidayGames]

@@Zizaco The biggest regret is lack of Steam Workshop integration. I got achievements working great in C3, but I can't find a way to set up Steam Workshop so users can share levels made with the level editor. Also, Greengrinds and Greenworks both lack the option to allow the overlay to open directly to the game's main storefront, so I have no way to, for example, make a button in the demo that opens the overlay straight to the main game so they can wishlist or purchase the full game.

[@Zizaco]

Oh the Workshop I got it! Indeed, there is no built-in support. I don't know how tricky it is to integrate with the Steam Workshop with other engines, but UGC is often not a simple thing to do. Even thought there is no "built-in" support, as a web developer, It seems totally possible to achieve via Steam's Web API partner.steamgames.com/doc/webapi to search, subscribe and fetch UGC. You might need a server or some lambdas to get that to work though (to secure your API Key). I haven't tried to use the Steam Overlay yet, but I remember playing steam games made in C3 that had the overlay working. Maybe this video can help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emK9d2mmo9h5m6Msi=Qd7TXjYr-QRf8UFo Please let me know if you get it to work!

[@Zizaco]

Hey@@DocHollidayGames I'm preparing my game for the Steam release and I just found a way to use the Steam Workshop: You can create a code/javascript block within your event sheet, require greenworks and use the API const greenworks = require('./greenworks'); greenworks.ugcGetItems(...); github.com/greenheartgames/greenworks/blob/master/docs/quick-start-nwjs.md github.com/greenheartgames/greenworks/blob/master/docs/workshop.md

[@DocHollidayGames]

@@Zizaco Thanks! I’ll give it a shot

[@WanP1su]

What's about GDevelop with Javascript?

[@Zizaco]

I have to give it a try!

[@Shining4Dawn]

I wonder if you've ever compared Construct to GDevelop. GDevelop's UI is very similar to Construct, it also has a large library of example projects and assets and it also runs in a browser. The big difference is that GDevelop is FOSS and Construct 3 is not.

[@Zizaco]

Hey @Shining4Dawn That's a good point! I still have to take an in-depth look at GDevelop. Construct has an advantage with its custom runtimes (third-party), allowing games to be ported to consoles. Still, GDevelop seems like a great option. I plan to make a comparison video soon

[@NorthernRealmJackal]

"Think about games like [...] Mindustry [proceeds to show a still of Factorio]". Listen here you cheeky bastard...

[@Zizaco]

😂 sorry for that

[@bookvee]

I weirdly kind of miss darkbasic... I still have the disc somewhere.

[@NaveenSiddareddy]

what about ebitengine ?

[@Zizaco]

I don't know much about it, but I love the idea of writing games in Go! The downside is that It lacks an editor. So, depending on the game, one may not be as productive when using it

[@danielbitencourt]

And about Defold engine?

[@Zizaco]

Defold seems interesting, and it looks like TypeScript can be used with it. I didn't have the time to check it out in more detail, but I should find some time.

[@danielbitencourt]

@@Zizaco i'm switching from Godot to Defold due to export sizes and web compatibility. Defold promises looks very good to me.

[@Zizaco]

Small, non-buggy exports and web compatibility are huge for me. They reduce the friction when people want to try your game. That's why I went with Construct. Indeed Defold seems promising too.

[@danielbitencourt]

@@Zizaco i think the same, defold pomises it.

[@grzegorzpedrycz2630]

Btw did you consider Gdevelop engine for you work ? Its even more pawerfull than Construct and both working with JS as a native language

[@Zizaco]

I need to check Gdevelop more in depth tbh. The main thing missing for me are games that were ported to other platforms (like Mighty Goose with Construct). Still, I have to give it another try.

[@grzegorzpedrycz2630]

@@Zizaco you should, from what i read there are few game ported on Nintendo switch from Gdevelop. And open source foundation gives us plenty of possibilities ;)

[@Zizaco]

I'm glad to hear that! Can you please share which games have been ported? I'm interested in learning more about it. This makes GDevelop an even more interesting option.

[@grzegorzpedrycz2630]

Sure I will try find that info, btw did you try phaser 2d editor? For fan of that library like you it should by very helpful;) ?

[@Zizaco]

Yes. I gave it a try, and I think it is very helpful! It's an generic level editor that can work well for most games. At the time Phaser Editor had less features and it was not a good fit for the game I was making (hex grid tiles) so I decided to make my own editor. I think I should have mentioned Phaser Editor, Ogmo-editor and Tiled on the video. Yet we shouldn't forget that these are "mostly" level editors, one still have to put a lot of work to make a game out of it.

[@SirBrAZy]

I got a proyect in visual basic 6! what i will like pass to another language but i cant programe.. i need help!!

[@ywenp]

Which version of Construct are you using? The free version seems limited, and the paid version is a bit pricey (and it's subscription-only, it seems...) That pricing model seems a bit of a bummer when compared to the concurrence.

[@Zizaco]

I pay for it. Indeed, Construct is not the cheapest option, but for me, it's worth the price.

[@bioburden]

@@Zizaco Which package do you subscribe to?

[@ShatedSpirits]

I used the godot C# and its just C# and suport external libs but need some little tweaks to make it works, theres just a limitation with the steam api community plugin thet needs some tweaks and extra instalations to make it works with C#, and because I really need some things of Godot 4.3 and the C# "gambiarra" do not work with this version, makes me abandon the mono version for now at least for this project.

[@Zizaco]

I'm happy to see that C# support is improving. Godot will be much better when the C# support matures

[@ShatedSpirits]

@@Zizaco There's lots of better things to Mono build the most simple is that when you build your code now the exports already appears in editor, but i'm still missing the @export_category hope that they implemant this soon for mono.

[@ekagaurangadas]

Can you use a descent IDE with Construct?

[@Zizaco]

Yes

[@JonathanPriceArt]

I made my first (and so far only) released game in Construct 3. I started to lean away from it because of the feeling of my projects being held hostage by its subscription (which recently went up in price). I still love it and consider it the easiest engine of them all (as someone who dislikes traditional scripting and has given up on learning any programming languages) but I'm looking into other tools for the time being. But honestly, I feel like there's a 20-50% chance I'll just give in and stick with Construct though--I'd rather just keep paying them than keep wasting time trying to learn a new tool at this point in my life.

[@Zizaco]

Awesome! I would love to check the game you made. Indeed it costs, but so far it has been worth the time saving benefits for me :)

[@carlosleyva-calistenia6400]

Here it comes too much text. I hope I don't get you bored. I know you aren't looking for advice, but I think the fact you have given up on learning languages is a shame because you CAN actually program. I think almost any human can. What you may lack may be the true basics of programming: making algorithms. It's way easier than you think if you have a technique for doing so. Search for something called "top-down, stepwise refinement". If it helps, it's in the 10th edition of "C++ How to Program" (Deitel & Deitel), chapter 4.10.1. That's where I learned that form. As deceptively simple as it looks, it's quite powerful. Back in my day, when I was at university, my algorithms used to outperform the ones from the cool (and obnoxious 😛) kids that loved to brag how good they were at math and programming. Another thing I would suggest you is to try another language and by that I mean a DIFFERENT language, not yet another C clone. You may find a language that actually reflects the way you think if you try one that is actually different, like Haskell, Prolog or Smalltalk. I've been programming regularly for almost 30 years by now and I even took a formal programming degree at my university (though I never cared to work in that field) and I tried many languages in all those years. As of late, I've been openly vocal about how if had to teach someone how to program, I wouldn't go for the usual stuff people want to learn because it's cool, like Python (I personally like that language), Typescript, Rust or (gasp!) C++. I would go for F#. I you like the way it works and really like to learn solid programming principles, Scott Wlaschin has a website with tons of articles about it and wrote a book called "Domain Modeling Made Functional". In that book he teaches you a way to program with F# that feels like you aren't programming, but just describing what your program should do. Anyway... too much text. I hope at least I could convince you to not give up on programming. There's nothing wrong with you. Maybe it's just that you haven't found yet a way of programming because you haven't found a language that actually suits you and you like the basic skill of making algorithms (that last one can be learnt in a single afternoon, since it's a natural way to think for all humans).

[@Darkyahweh]

What does Construct charge?

[@PoorlyMadeSweater]

"Ive done my fair share of C++...the code you write in something like Unreal is very different from what you would write for a non-gaming C++ project" Bro, the code you would write for a non-gaming C++ project is different than the code you would write for a non-gaming C++ project 🤣

[@miscetc-tm2yt]

I wonder if there's a way to make high-fidelity games, but using JavaScript.

[@Zizaco]

Yes. 5:41 - 5:57 is BabylonJS. It's written in javascript / typescript.

[@ManaPie]

Got me interested, but it seems Construct requires a monthly/annual subscription?

[@Zizaco]

It does. I find it worth it.

[@javascriptboy3486]

Have you considered Bevy ?

[@Zizaco]

Hey javascript kid. Yes, I did. Bevy is really nice! However, I don't think I would be as productive as I am with Construct. Also, even though I really like Rust, I'm still very slow when writing rust code.

[@Yous0147]

I very much share the exact same background and inclination you have to try and find a more code-first game enginge/framework. I just think we have one core difference which is that I don't like working in Javascript or Typescript, despite really enjoying HTML5, and although I've tried construct (as well as other JS based engines) they just don't mesh well with me. I've tried LibGDX for Java, MonoGame for C# and most recently I'm trying Bevy for Rust to see how that feels to work on. I think, what I really want is HTML5 but without Javascript and instead with a more typesafe language such as the 3 mentioned before, I feel like the closest thing to that is developing something custom with HTMX or something similar.

[@Zizaco]

I like Rust and Bevy. But my priority is not to make games as optimized as possible, so I prefer to pick something that prioritizes productivity. Have you looked into Haxe? It's a very "portable" programming language that can compile to any platform. Maybe that's what you are looking for :)

[@grzegorzpedrycz2630]

When we can expect a video about your aproach for work in Construct nad JS ;)?

[@Zizaco]

soon : )

[@grzegorzpedrycz2630]

@@Zizaco let me know why you choose a construct than Gdevelop;)

[@Zizaco]

I just answered your other comment. It's mainly because Construct 3 has more examples of real games that were ported to consoles (just in case I want to do that in the future).

[@tftc97]

honestly, pretty nice vid

[@Zizaco]

Hey, thanks

[@sophisticated]

We use C# with Godot for the same reasons that you've mentioned. It works well. You don't have to use GD script.

[@PomuLeafEveryday]

I love Phaser and respect Construct, but you are simply incorrect at 5:05, please do not use web tech expecting to be able to port your games to console. There is simply no support for it. Cross Code is a bad example, publisher Deck13's in-house porting team had to make their own Javascript interpreter and rendering pipeline to make a wrapper for the game. This is like making your own web browser for consoles, which isn't feasible for most game devs and they've gone on record saying how much of a headache it was. It took them 2 years to make the Switch port, after the release on Steam. And even then, the Switch version of Cross Code is notorious for bad performance, at least at launch, seems they've patched it since.

[@Zizaco]

I agree. Web games are not as easy to bring to consoles, but with Construct it's getting easier with time. For example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqCromxup9Z7hrs

[@PomuLeafEveryday]

@@Zizaco Curious video, he doesn't mention in the video or anywhere on his channel how he brought the game to console. Construct 3 doesn't officially support console. So either he did what Deck13 did, which I doubt, or he hired a porting company who would most likely take all the assets and remake the game in another engine. It's a small and simple enough looking game, so completely remaking it in another engine seems feasible.

[@PomuLeafEveryday]

@Zizaco It seems the most viable option right now for Construct is a company called MP2, who have made their own C++ engine called Chowdren which makes it easy to translate Construct games into native games for desktop and consoles. The engine is not free to use, you'll have to contact MP2 and pay them to port the game to Chowdren. You still can't port a Construct game yourself.

[@Zizaco]

@@PomuLeafEveryday his game (made in construct) was released on PS5, Switch, Xbox, Wii U and Android. AFAIK his publisher hired porting company (ratalaika games)

[@PomuLeafEveryday]

@Zizaco Yeah, I'm gonna guess the answer here was to just remake the game in their in-house engine. Ratalaika doesn't have an extensive history of porting html5 games, so I doubt they have a magic solution for it, otherwise they'd be swimming in html5 porting commissions. Which means that web games are only viable for console if your game is simple enough to just completely remake, if you're aspiring for larger scale games then you'll be pressed for options. I still wouldn't gamble on html5 games as a commercial game dev when the issue of consoles is so iffy, and you have a plethora of other options like SDL or actual game engines which are confirmed to have console support. Please don't advertise html5 games as having console support as you do in the video, it would be saddening to know that someone put years of effort into a game in Construct or Phaser because of your video, only to find that there is no support to bring it to consoles.

[@3zzzTyle]

>Unity was just for Mac Finally explains the instinctive disgust I've always felt for it.

[@SharifSourour]

C# is easier than C++, no? I don’t code in C++, but I do C#.

[@Zizaco]

You're right

[@engame1702]

Your video speaks to me ngl, i've been dabbling on many game engines and game frameworks heck i've even tried to made my own game engine. But it lead nowhere.

[@computernerd8157]

In the end, its always a skill issue. If you are good at the fundamentals, your game will be good no matter tools you use.

[@alexsilva42361]

Really nice video you make! Can you explore in details, maybe, doing some tutorials, about the workflow to work with javascript/typescript into the Construct 3? I think that is lacking videos about that on KZbin. It will really help people who want to dive into this process.(I'm one of them, I have to admit). Thank you for the video you made! Have a nice day!

[@Zizaco]

Great suggestion!

[@Zizaco]

Hey @alexsilva42361. Scirra just dropped a video about a workflow to work with TypeScript on Construct 3. Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqa5Zot4m9plqpI

[@viktorhugo1715]

Even using construct 3, I would really recommend giving a try to Godot U can program in almost any language with it and Gdscript is kinda eazy, plus in Godot composition is so eazy to do and state machines that heavy coding almost doesn't exist (and it still being very optimized and user friendly)

[@viktorhugo1715]

There are pretty much plugins for everything in Godot, so every error that the engine has it still being easily corrected with some plugin or a bit of c++ programming since it's open source

[@Zizaco]

Indeed. Godot is an excellent choice! Especially for those familiar with / fond of Python. I am keeping a close eye on Godot, particularly the increasing support for other languages : )

[@LMach1]

I was excited until I saw the price. For a hobbyist, Godot is the way to go.

[@Zizaco]

It depends, most hobbies cost some money. (think playing games, camping, art resources, sports, etc...) If you value your time you will find that many "free" options are not really 🆓. Nevertheless, Godot is indeed a good engine : )

[@LMach1]

@@Zizaco if you stumble across one, that is similar to the one you recommended here (greatly appreciated) but it’s free, please let us know.

[@Zizaco]

Ok! I will

[@espacemaxim]

Rpgmaker?

[@FlygOnLiTe]

This was insightful for me coming from a web dev background and getting into games. You mentioned that you were spending a lot of time building your own editor while working with phaser, were you extending the phaser editor? What did you mean by this?

[@Zizaco]

At the time Phaser Editor had less features and it was not a good fit for the game I was making (hex grid tiles) so I had to make my own editor from scratch. TBH, I should have mentioned Phaser Editor on the video. Yet don't forget that this editor is "mostly" a level editor, one still have to put a lot of work to make a game (or prototype) out of it.