I would like to start a discussion regarding game development platforms and the pros and cons of each?. Please explain what you like or dislike from the various platforms used.
Which development platform to use ?
- Thread starter Dave98424
- Start date
- Dec 2, 2019
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If you're gonna make a visual novel, especially a kinetic one, use RenPy.
If you have experience in C#, or are completely new to programming and want to use a robust engine for quicker development then use Unity or Godot.
If you want to create a JRPG specifically, and not a visual novel disguised as a JRPG then use RPGMaker. No visual novels!
If you're looking to push the boundaries of specialized engines, but lack programming experience or are new to it, Game Maker or Unity 2D is a good place to go.
Lastly, if you want to spend a ridiculous amount of time on development because you want 3D models in a 3D space that has great lighting and scene composition, use Unreal.
If you have no experience in programming, stay away fr unity or unreal because you'll have to spend more time learning how to program and use those specific engines then you will making your first game. If your game doesn't fit a suitable specialized engine like RenPy, RPGMaker, etc then either reconsider the scope of your first game or be realistic about the difficulty of learning an engine, language, game design, and development all at the same time.
If you have programming experience, I would suggest using your language of expertise just because it puts you at a great advantage. The only exception is if your language has no existing game framework to work off of. Don't write an engine for an adult game unless you know what you're doing, or you're trying to accomplish something very unique.
EDIT: Because I'm not sure if I was clear above. My opinion is every engine offers a different set of tools for a job. Creating a 2D platformer in unreal is a bad idea. Creating a realistic 3D game in Unity is a bad idea. Creating an open world RPG in RenPy is a bad idea. This is subjective, but I feel you should use the engine that's most suitable for your project. If your project is outside the scope of your current engine, you should probably consider using a different engine instead of bending the one you're using until it breaks. (I'm looking at you, open world combat RPG RenPy games.)
If you have experience in C#, or are completely new to programming and want to use a robust engine for quicker development then use Unity or Godot.
If you want to create a JRPG specifically, and not a visual novel disguised as a JRPG then use RPGMaker. No visual novels!
If you're looking to push the boundaries of specialized engines, but lack programming experience or are new to it, Game Maker or Unity 2D is a good place to go.
Lastly, if you want to spend a ridiculous amount of time on development because you want 3D models in a 3D space that has great lighting and scene composition, use Unreal.
If you have no experience in programming, stay away fr unity or unreal because you'll have to spend more time learning how to program and use those specific engines then you will making your first game. If your game doesn't fit a suitable specialized engine like RenPy, RPGMaker, etc then either reconsider the scope of your first game or be realistic about the difficulty of learning an engine, language, game design, and development all at the same time.
If you have programming experience, I would suggest using your language of expertise just because it puts you at a great advantage. The only exception is if your language has no existing game framework to work off of. Don't write an engine for an adult game unless you know what you're doing, or you're trying to accomplish something very unique.
EDIT: Because I'm not sure if I was clear above. My opinion is every engine offers a different set of tools for a job. Creating a 2D platformer in unreal is a bad idea. Creating a realistic 3D game in Unity is a bad idea. Creating an open world RPG in RenPy is a bad idea. This is subjective, but I feel you should use the engine that's most suitable for your project. If your project is outside the scope of your current engine, you should probably consider using a different engine instead of bending the one you're using until it breaks. (I'm looking at you, open world combat RPG RenPy games.)
I have some programming experience, but I plan to hire at least one dedicated coder. I am leaning toward RenPy or Unity. I am not familiar with Godot at all. RPG is not something I am interested in either playing or developing so that is off the table.
From my experience, writing scripts for projects utilizing different engines, you should be clear with your team (of any size) about the scope of your vision. To ensure you scout a programmer, writer, etc. you should have a plan to achieve that vision.
Will you have randomized events?
Does your script make use of recurring scenes?
How many branching events & conditions do we account for? Total or per release?
Will you make use of video or animation? Now, or in the future?
Is your programmer required to edit every line of the script?
How active is the camera in a scene, or is it locked off?
How interactive are the assets on screen?
I’m not saying you need to know all of those, but you may find a programmer that isn’t comfortable with rewriting every script before release. Or, maybe they’re slow to research something that they weren’t aware you were implementing.
Will you have randomized events?
Does your script make use of recurring scenes?
How many branching events & conditions do we account for? Total or per release?
Will you make use of video or animation? Now, or in the future?
Is your programmer required to edit every line of the script?
How active is the camera in a scene, or is it locked off?
How interactive are the assets on screen?
I’m not saying you need to know all of those, but you may find a programmer that isn’t comfortable with rewriting every script before release. Or, maybe they’re slow to research something that they weren’t aware you were implementing.
- Jun 14, 2018
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IMO the answer is "use RenPy".
Simply put, the people who are experienced enough to use a different engine... already know which engine best suits their game.
My reasoning is pretty much that if someone wants to write a JRPG and doesn't already know that RPGMaker is probably the way to go... then they aren't going to know enough to build an RPGMaker game. Especially true when you consider engines like Unity and Unreal3D.
The person asking may not be able to pick up RenPy, but if they couldn't - offering them Unity as an alternative is pointless.
So if someone is asking the question, the answer is "use RenPy". RenPy might not be the correct solution for them, but if that's the case... chances are, all those other engines weren't the right answer either.
Simply put, the people who are experienced enough to use a different engine... already know which engine best suits their game.
My reasoning is pretty much that if someone wants to write a JRPG and doesn't already know that RPGMaker is probably the way to go... then they aren't going to know enough to build an RPGMaker game. Especially true when you consider engines like Unity and Unreal3D.
The person asking may not be able to pick up RenPy, but if they couldn't - offering them Unity as an alternative is pointless.
So if someone is asking the question, the answer is "use RenPy". RenPy might not be the correct solution for them, but if that's the case... chances are, all those other engines weren't the right answer either.
- Jan 6, 2020
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If you're new to game development then go with Renpy for a visual novel. It sets you up with all the basic functionality you need for a working visual novel and is as easy as it gets in terms of difficulty. You can add mini-games and puzzles to a Renpy game but it takes some programming know-how.
If you want a simple, typical RPG then you can use RPG maker, but that will limit the resolution of your game.
If you want anything more sophisticated then the 3 best options are Unreal 4, Unity, and Godot. Don't touch these programs if you're just getting into game development. You'll spend too much time trying to get your game to work and will probably just give up or produce something mediocre.
There are many programs for game development and the golden rule is: use the simplest tool that meets your needs.
If you want a simple, typical RPG then you can use RPG maker, but that will limit the resolution of your game.
If you want anything more sophisticated then the 3 best options are Unreal 4, Unity, and Godot. Don't touch these programs if you're just getting into game development. You'll spend too much time trying to get your game to work and will probably just give up or produce something mediocre.
There are many programs for game development and the golden rule is: use the simplest tool that meets your needs.
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- Jun 3, 2018
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Out of the 3 i have tried over the last year i would have to say that renpy is the easiest one to start with.
Unreal i had more success banging my head against a brick wall.
Unity was much easier than Unreal. I could build a scene and get NPC's in there but i couldnt figure out where to go from there and it took me a lot of time and watching tutorials to get anywhere.
Im using renpy atm for making some games. The only thing is you need another program to make scenes and photos with. The scripting in renpy is very easy to learn, it didnt take me long to get it all worked out. ATM i am making 2 games. One is a maths quiz game for my son and his classmates, I'm half finished but it is very basic and im using that to learn the scripting.
The other game im am making atm is interactive visual novel about a story i made. I wrote a story awhile ago when i was in hospital and am now trying to convert it into a renpy game. Omg it is time consuming and takes a lot out of me. I have a lot more respect for the game creators on this site now.
Start with renpy and when you get time in between learn unity. That is my advise
Unreal i had more success banging my head against a brick wall.
Unity was much easier than Unreal. I could build a scene and get NPC's in there but i couldnt figure out where to go from there and it took me a lot of time and watching tutorials to get anywhere.
Im using renpy atm for making some games. The only thing is you need another program to make scenes and photos with. The scripting in renpy is very easy to learn, it didnt take me long to get it all worked out. ATM i am making 2 games. One is a maths quiz game for my son and his classmates, I'm half finished but it is very basic and im using that to learn the scripting.
The other game im am making atm is interactive visual novel about a story i made. I wrote a story awhile ago when i was in hospital and am now trying to convert it into a renpy game. Omg it is time consuming and takes a lot out of me. I have a lot more respect for the game creators on this site now.
Start with renpy and when you get time in between learn unity. That is my advise
This post is so good i honest to god think it should be stickied
Generally excellent thread response by Kinderalpha. I'd just add that it *is* possible to achieve decent high end 3D performance on Unity, in many cases similar to Unreal. At the high end it does fight you, and some of the things Unreal comes with out of the box (like world streaming, the LOD system, etc) you have to write yourself. But if you're looking to do AAA-level content, you're going to end up doing extensive rewriting anyway. I'd still pick Unreal over Unity for AAA, especially if we're talking open-world-sandboxy kind of things.
Anyway; if you're starting out, and wanting to make something like a visual novel, go RenPy.
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The sheer amount of WORK required in UE4 is fucking insane though. Not that it isnt fun work and fun learning but .. welll if you want to do a aaa game you have to put in aaa work
Id compare them to MSVC++ and Vb. Yes c++ is much more powerful. But it may take you a day to do what you can do in vb in 10 minutes.. yes it can do things youd be stupid to even try in vb... but if you only need to do things vb will do youd be silly to use c++
Hi there, I am coming from the perspective of one who has never even READ any code, much less done any actual coding prior to trying to develop a game. I ended up using Renpy and Daz for art, and I think it's very learnable for a newbie if I can do it. What I liked about it is that it's kind of easy to look at a lot of good games in the same code and learn so much ahead of time before writing/coding your own game. I also like the documentation for the program, I think it really helped me a lot. I just finished a 0.1 and it took me about 2 months (started 2/18) to finish everything.
But I think Renpy is designed for the kind of style I wanted -- a visual novel with 3d art with choices that lead to different narratives in the story. If you are trying something like more sandbox, open world or something, Renpy might be good for all I know but I can't speak to that personally. Hope this helps!
- Apr 4, 2020
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If you're starting out with little or no coding experience and just want to get something out there, I'd say it's RenPy all day long. For weeks.
As people mentioned in this thread already, it's the simplest engine to get your head around and it has the easiest asset creation route. It will enable you to concentrate on writing your story/game, while only needing you to learn bit by bit what gets stuff working on the screen.
Consider Ren'Py as a cute and fluffy extension of your writing rather than an angry 500lbs monster with a dripping daemoncock that you need to feed assets, code and story, to keep it from biting you in the arse. Hard.
Just my 2 floral cents.
As people mentioned in this thread already, it's the simplest engine to get your head around and it has the easiest asset creation route. It will enable you to concentrate on writing your story/game, while only needing you to learn bit by bit what gets stuff working on the screen.
Consider Ren'Py as a cute and fluffy extension of your writing rather than an angry 500lbs monster with a dripping daemoncock that you need to feed assets, code and story, to keep it from biting you in the arse. Hard.
Just my 2 floral cents.
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- Aug 23, 2018
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That may be so, but even visual scripting needs to be learned. You get to avoid the nuances of specific language syntax but you still have to learn how to think like a coder and know how to get visual scripting to do what you want it to do.
And if you're planning on pushing the boat out and trying really complex things, you're gonna need to know how to use the engines preferred language at some point to write your own bits of code.
I think Kinderalpha hit the nail on the head with the advice.