Game Maker vs. Construct 2

I have most of the game makers like Clickteam Fusion, Game Maker, RPG Maker, Blitzmax, Monkey, etc. and I still think Construct 2 wins in productivity. Of course, every engine is different and some of them may be better in some aspects than C2, but not one of them gives me the ability to create a demo game in a matter of minutes and with a few events as C2. Game Maker is great but the editor is a major turn off for me and the need to use GML for every simple thing is another disadvantage. But to each their own. For me, it's a matter of having fun while making the game.

I'm a a software developer, a database analyst, a musician, husband that has no patience in spending the rest of my time having to code every single breakout clone from the beginning.

C2 has been my choice since its release. I use Unity too, but that is only because of Playmaker, and Shader forge. For 2D games there is no better faster way to learn. Ashley's tutorials are really great to get you started.

Game maker has its neat points too, but it is a bit more complicated to make anything useful with it.

UNity has the ability to make 2D HTML 5 games too, but the import and 2D tools really feel like they where an afterthought. Please excuse my terminology, but the way Unity handles textures is a real "Pain in the ass" compared to C2's drag and drop.

The way C2 will not allow you to make mistakes on syntax is my favorite part. With Unity I have to use C# for the core elements, or buy pre-rolled middle-ware. C2 has the sprites as Icons on the events sheet. This makes Debugging a breeze for me. I can quickly scroll through the entire game, and find exactly what I am looking for without reading a single word. Unity, I am stuck in Mono's C# development hell thanks to my Dyslexia, and poor typing skills..

I think the best part about C2 is the way we can make all of the assets right inside the game engine editor. I love having an idea, and being able to scribble out some quick proxy graphics.The only other game engine I know of that does this is the Blender Game engine.

With Unity i am waiting till i make the $50,000 to buy the commercial license. C2 I am buying one as soon as possible. I will also be one of the first C3 customers too.

When I decided to attempt creating game builds, I downloaded both Game Maker Studio and Construct 2. I used GMS first and followed a few tutorials to make some semblance of working games.

Then I decided to try Construct 2. And now I have no idea how anyone who doesn't know code and cares to learn it would ever stick with GMS. It's just too code heavy. Construct 2 seems to run on logic that is/isn't its own. And code is hardly needed (if you can call it code).

GMS and C2 are practically 2 completely different engines that you can't compare, even if you can make the exact same game builds. For me, personally, I will never ever go back to GMS. I immediately deleted it from my PC after following just 1 tutorial in C2. GMS is very impressive but it's really for those who can code.

First off, I hope this thread is allowed. I will not be asking people to fund a Game Maker made game this time, which got my last thread deleted, which I am okay with.

Second, this is not a blank, inflammatory comparison of Game Maker to Construct 2. I started making a Game Maker game and am converting it to Construct 2, because I can't afford the $200 Android exporter for Game Maker. So, to save $200, I am once again using Construct 2, and I will tell you my experiences.

First off, I have personally benchmarked Game Maker and Construct 2, in a many-objects test of my own. Game Maker handles loads of objects 33% faster according to my own benchmark. However, what matters more when making a game is your methods. If you can't optimize, no engine is going to save you.

Okay so Game Maker makes it easy to draw duplicates of an image to create reflections, using Image Alpha and overlaying it. I could not find how to do this easily and automatically in Construct 2, so to create the same effect, I am using Glow Shaders. So because of my methods and lazyness, not the engine itself, my game runs faster in Game Maker, because it's not using so many shaders.

Game Maker files end up being half the filesize of Construct 2 files, due to the way Construct 2 needs 3 formats of a sound including WAV while Game Maker doesn't.

Whether you want to use Game Maker is also a question of whether you want to write 5 lines of code (Game Maker), or create a detailed event (Construct 2) to perform an action.

I'm not going to even say what my preference is. I'm just stating the facts as I see them.

Each software has it's own purpose and style.

Unity 3D is strong, Game Maker Studio is Cool and Construct 2 is Fun and Easy.

Thanks for sharing

And the point was...

First off, I hope this thread is allowed. I will not be asking people to fund a Game Maker made game this time, which got my last thread deleted, which I am okay with.

Second, this is not a blank, inflammatory comparison of Game Maker to Construct 2. I started making a Game Maker game and am converting it to Construct 2, because I can't afford the $200 Android exporter for Game Maker. So, to save $200, I am once again using Construct 2, and I will tell you my experiences.

First off, I have personally benchmarked Game Maker and Construct 2, in a many-objects test of my own. Game Maker handles loads of objects 33% faster according to my own benchmark. However, what matters more when making a game is your methods. If you can't optimize, no engine is going to save you.

Okay so Game Maker makes it easy to draw duplicates of an image to create reflections, using Image Alpha and overlaying it. I could not find how to do this easily and automatically in Construct 2, so to create the same effect, I am using Glow Shaders. So because of my methods and lazyness, not the engine itself, my game runs faster in Game Maker, because it's not using so many shaders.

Game Maker files end up being half the filesize of Construct 2 files, due to the way Construct 2 needs 3 formats of a sound including WAV while Game Maker doesn't.

Whether you want to use Game Maker is also a question of whether you want to write 5 lines of code (Game Maker), or create a detailed event (Construct 2) to perform an action.

I'm not going to even say what my preference is. I'm just stating the facts as I see them.

Why of course it does, the way Game Maker works with the hardware is just better optimized -- to an extent.

It is also horribly slow, in other ways, which can be further extended with custom made .dlls. Which sadly Construct 2 does not support. (Although it does support compiled js files.)

But one thing I liked about Game Maker is the GML scripting. Alot of control

Game Maker 8 is > GMS though, for just raw power.

Game Maker's EULA is TERRIBLE.

Construct 2's EULA is PERFECT (as far as the last version I read is concerned.. maybe they changed)