ALTERNATIVE TO RPG MAKER

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Hello,
I'm finding myself frustrated by RPG Maker (or perhaps my lack of knowledge about it).

Anyhow, do you know of any other game making software which especially designed for beginners? I essentially find myself stumped every time I want to implement an idea I have which isn't natively supported by RPG Maker. I subsequently need to rely on other people which either slows down development or never happens at all (or with a programmer disappearing with the money I've paid him).

I've done some research and came up with that list:
https://www.slant.co/options/1085/alternatives/~rpg-maker-alternatives

From what I understand, GameMaker Studio seems to be my best bet. It seems easy enough to use although the price is quite high. From what I understand it can go up to 1,500$ for development. That's a pretty major hurdle unfortunately.

I want to do something 2D which is pretty simple so something like Unity would be overkill I think. Also, I didn't think Unity was that user friendly either.

Adventure Game Studio, while free, doesn't provide much for anything but adventure games from what I understand.

Godot seems overly complex.

Anyways, I figured I would ask other people for suggestions. Thank you.
The essential GMS2 dev version is only $99, do you really want to port to every console/OS at every point in time? If your game is doing well enough to port something to Switch you've got bigger challenges than worrying about dropping 400 for a quick port (companies outsource entire studios to do ports...). Feel like people get hung up on this stuff too much.

But yeah go with Game Maker and follow the Shaun Spalding tutorials. Once you get over the GML coding hurdle it's way more efficient than RPGmaker when it comes to just drawing a sprite that does a very specific thing that has little to do with making an RPG. There's drag and drop but honestly I'd just go with GML for the long run.

Every person I know who's had problems with other game engines (godot, MMF, Construct) always ends up sticking with game maker. Game maker has its limits, but if you just want to get a simple game going with your own logic it's really good in that regard.
Yup, im looking at making my own base RPG engine in GMS2 once I am done with my current project.
Reminder that we DO have an Engines page with most engines out there, including links and details about them.

Hover over Development and click on Engines to find the list.
RPG Maker is one of the most beginner-friendly of them all. If you want to make an RPG.

I don't think Gamemaker is remotely easier. But it does depend on what you're trying to make I guess.
Mirak
Stand back. Artist at work. I paint with enthusiasm if not with talent.
9300
Since the op specifically asked for THIS:
any other game making software which especially designed for beginners?
It's surprising that people are suggesting GMS2. That engine is most definitely NOT especially designed for beginners. It has drag and drop, yeah, and with the "beginner" features of gamemaker, you'll be making precious jewels such as this one:



Or THIS one, if you want to get Dangerous with the engine's powerful features. ;)



But if you want to make the engine do, you know, ANYTHING you REALLY want, at all, you'll be forced to learn the programming language. Knowing about Toaster's projects, this means coding almost everything. He mentions he's already losing time to hiring people to code the features of his games that aren't easily doable in RPG Maker. Now picture having to make someone code such features inside GMS2, without the convenience of having a shitload of tons of work saved by RPG Maker's built-in features.

Idk, seems to me that, for the purposes of this thread, something like GMS2 is not exactly THAT beginner friendly, even though I will admit GML is a lot easier to learn than other languages, if anything because it's basically just a more polished version of blatant pseudocoding.
GMS and GMS2 are great engines, but I wouldn’t say they are as engineer friendly as RPG Maker. I’d stay they are a couple steps above it.
author=Mirak
He mentions he's already losing time to hiring people to code the features of his games that aren't easily doable in RPG Maker. Now picture having to make someone code such features inside GMS2, without the convenience of having a shitload of tons of work saved by RPG Maker's built-in features.


You're conflating two things that aren't strictly equal. For one RPGMaker requires JavaScript/Ruby for coding, which is a lot more advanced than GML in most cases. If you're going to strip out or modify features of RPGMaker anyway (which I assume if you're relying on programmers) then the work saved is a moot point. Coding your own features in GMS2 vs modifying the RGSS2 with Ruby language is a hard thing to compare anyway.

The main question I would pose to Toaster is "What sort of game do you want to make?" If it's not anything close to an RPG or Adventure type game that uses dialogue boxes and tile based movement then yeah I would reconsider if RPGMaker is the best option. Disputing whether or not GMS2 is for beginners is well, subjective, since it's easy to assume RPGMaker coming with a template project to boot automatically makes it easier. But as far as being the easiest program to make your own features from scratch? GMS2 definitely. Though to be fair, GMS2 has tons of template projects and assets/plugins to use.
AtiyaTheSeeker
In all fairness, bird shrapnel isn't as deadly as wood shrapnel
5424
Honestly, I've seen a couple of fun games made with OHRRPGCE before. Not sure if that engine would work to your liking but I think you're allowed to sell games you make with it, if that's important to you? It's also free and it has its own simple scripting language to make things outside its default engine.
SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

I'm actually currently learning Unity. I practice a tutorial for about 30 mins every day.

If you want to do a turn based RPG, RPG Maker is the best there is. I wouldn't use anything other than that unless you want 3-D options / a different genre of RPG? What exactly are you trying to implement into your game?
I want to create an adventure game with slight rpg elements.

What always gets me is the coding. I find Java Script excessively difficult to understand. I've tried online tutorials and hours of practice and I still can't figure out where to start to code something I want to have (either with a combination of various events or pure script).

So I'm looking for an engine which makes coding accessible for a beginner. A coding language which is simple to understand would be really neat. Then I can have the systems I want to have without relying on anyone but myself.
Maybe check out the other aspects of the engine and see if there's a CodeAcademy course for the language that engine has.
author=Toaster_Team
I want to create an adventure game with slight rpg elements.

I mean if adventure game is what you're trying to make then Adventure Game Studio is not a bad choice. Sure the RPG elements, depending on what they are, might be a bit of a pain to get done (but not more than in any other non-rpg maker), since there's no built-in database to do simple edits in.

I don't have much programming background and the scripting in AGS always felt fairly easy and intuitive to use to me (with a really good help system, with comprehensible examples). I think that with a bit of preplanning even I could have gotten a rudimentary RPG system (character stats) to work in it.

It kinda depends on what the RPG elements are, but if they are stuff like skill checks in dialogue or other situations then that's very simple in AGS. If it's a battle system then that's a very different thing.
SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

Adventure is not very descriptive.
What does that mean?

Something like Zelda?
If so, I would suggest trying out the Solarus Engine.
(This runs on Lua code, but is much more code heavy than RPG Maker.)
I've considered AGS (adventure game studio) but like you said, circumventing the limitations seems to be daring to me.

Maybe check out the other aspects of the engine and see if there's a CodeAcademy course for the language that engine has.


I've actually done quite a few of those courses. I can manage some courses on their own fairly well. The problem I have (with JavaScript for example) is the very, very high level of entry.



So I have quite a bit of background under my belt. I've also done quite a bit on FreeCodeCamp:



Despite all this, I don't feel any closer to coding anything on my own, even something very basic. As you can tell, I'd really like to but I can't.

I would've hoped to put my coding knowledge (as limited as it is) from the get go, but the amount of coding know-how is so vast even for the most basic things, that despite the time invested in understanding coding, I'm not any closer to the goal I've set myself. Which leads to mounting frustration.

I even tried reading books about rpg maker mv. None really discuss the programming aspect, I suspect because the author are unsure as to how to tackle the coding aspect of RMMV themselves. They mention (or rather he) it's there but sort of as an afterthought.

So, ultimately (and after some thought), I'm looking for en engine which would make code-writing accessible to new comers (without having to hold a degree in computer programming).

Adventure is not very descriptive.

That's because nothing is really set in stone just yet. I do want to make my own tailored combat experience and I've been told that's the hardest thing to do coding wise.
Gonna reiterate but I recommend giving the free GMS2 trial a shot, GML was the main entry point of programming for me. It's baby's first coding language as far as I'm concerned. One thing is nice is that theres 15+ years of archived help topics on game maker that you can just google for like "game mechanic gml" "issue gml" if you ever feel lost or don't feel the standard tutorials cover.


JavaScript is weird, but its the "thing" these days. Just jump in!
Well, I have jumped in, that's the thing :). I've done over 100 coding exercises. What I'd need are exercise related to RMMV as opposed to abstract exercises grounded on theory alone.

I'll look into GML 2 then.

Another crucial aspect which is important to me is to be easily able to use custom maps without having to use a plug-in and parallax mapping since I don't use RTP.
You might want to check out Clickteam Fusion 2.

My first game was actually made using one of their old products called Klik 'n' Play. There's no programming needed. Their products use this grid based event editor that I was able to figure out, and it has a drag and drop map editor.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Toaster_Team
Well, I have jumped in, that's the thing :). I've done over 100 coding exercises. What I'd need are exercise related to RMMV as opposed to abstract exercises grounded on theory alone.


This is something I've never done. Even when I was young trying to learn C++ from programming books, I almost immediately took what was in the book and applied it to what I was trying to do instead of going through the lessons and "learning it correctly"...whatever "correctly" means. When I started working in Unity3D, I knew what things I wanted to do, what mechanics I wanted in the game, what specifically needed to be done at the base level, and I looked into coding specifically those things. I started with tutorials on character controllers and follow cameras, initially used the code as given, but have since learned to design them as I needed and I have character controllers and camera controllers that I'm very pleased with. Everything I need, I learn to code as I need. I don't know if I'm doing it right, but I feel like diving into theory instead of just doing it is holding you back. As long as you're focused on theory, you're never going to be focused on actual practice.

EDIT: You know, you can't be afraid to screw stuff up. People always worry about that. People think, "Oh, if I screw this up, I'll have to do this, that, and the other," but it occurs to me that if you code something and screw it up, then you've learned something about coding.
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