Game development tools

Every developer once in their life has thought about making a game (yes, all of them), Until they realize how hard it is and give up. Some of them actually go mad in the process and become "indie game developers". If you are part of the first group, and still have some sanity, you are probably looking for tools to compensate your lack of skills. Worry not! I have a list of tools that will help you make your dream game (or not).

Game engines

I will say my journey really started with RpgMaker and GameMaker. As a big fan of RPGs and from the platformers golden age (90s), I started to fiddle with both of them. I made some crappy, unfinished, unpublished games. I had fun but that was it. RPGMaker as the name says is mostly oriented for RPGs and GameMaker is more versatile. My biggest problem was the lack of assets. I am not an artist and I wanted something "original". RPGMaker assets are very generic and GameMaker assets are mostly pixel art. Also you are still limited to 2D-types of games and both engines are pricey. I then discovered Unity and Godot. Tell me you didn't see this one coming. Unity is the most famous game engine out there. It's versatile, powerful, and has a lot of assets. It's also free (for personal use). Godot is the new kid on the block. It's open source, free, and has a lot of potential. Still, I am not good at making games so I didn't go far with them. I also tried Unreal engine as this is the engine used by most AAA games. It's powerful, versatile, with amazing Graphics capabilities, and has a lot of assets. It's also free (for personal use).

Now there are also "game makers" I wanted to mentio: Gdevelop and Buildbox. Gdevelop is a free and open-source game engine that is very easy to use. It's mostly oriented for 2D games. Buildbox is a paid game engine that is also very easy to use, mostly oriented for 3D casual mobile games. Both are good for beginners.

Assets maker

Now all those engines are great but you still need assets, especially if you want your game to look cool and original. I am not an artist and I can't afford to pay one. I tried to make my own assets but once again, I am not an artist (I suck) I know how to use some Adobe tools (You know I didnt buy them, right? right?) but photoshop is not enough. If you too are very broke you can use the open source options Gimp and Inkscape or anything on pixls.

I then discovered Blender for 3D art but damn, I wish I was good at this one! Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. Master it and you might need nothing else.

canva is for quick design, not really recommended for game assets but you can still use it for your game's logo or promotional images or whatever floats your boat.

pixlr and pixilart are my favorite pixel art tools. I am not good at pixel art too but I like to fiddle with them.

In conclusion, if you are not an artist, you are screwed. Jokes aside, you can still make a game with free assets but keep your expectations low. Game development is not easy but as long as you are having fun, that's what matters. We did not even talk about sound design, marketing, and all the other things you need to make a game. I will let you discover that on your own. Good luck, have fun!