CYBERLOUS'S PROFILE

author=Reavenator
Actually, the newest RPGmaker doesn't have a resolution limit, you can change the resolution to 1080X1920 easily with a script.

author=hedge1
It's hard to beat RPG Maker at this point, sadly. Most 2D makers I've found have the following two issues:

a) they're made for "action" games, not RPGs, and don't have great database designs.

b) they require a lot of additional work for core assets, like sprites, that you simply don't want to go through when designing huge numbers of NPCs or something.

There are a lot of assets out there for you to use if you're willing to do some actual coding, however. And if you want to do any significant customization, that's probably going to be a better route than trying to forever hack RPG Maker. Here are some resources I know about. Everything I'm listing is free.

Tiled (http://www.mapeditor.org/)
Tiled works great with many of the resources I will mention below, and is probably what you'll want to go with for map creation. There are some pretty good tutorials online about this (I watched them just today actually), so don't worry too much about the learning curve. It integrates with a variety of coding languages.

libgdx (https://libgdx.badlogicgames.com/)
This is what the creator of Starless Umbra is using, and so far as I can tell, it's pretty good. It's mostly a resource layer (graphics, sound, input devices, physics), which opens you up to just code the core logic of your game. There is a lot of documentation out there to help with game creation, and if I remember correctly it integrates well with Tiled. It uses Java as it's programming language, and has compatibility with Mac, PC, Linux, and mobile.

SDL (http://libsdl.org/)
SDL is similar to libgdx in that it does all the heavy lifting for you with regards graphics, sounds, input, etc. No physics, however. SDL is coded with C++, which means it's most compatible with other C++ programs. That said, there are "bindings" (basically ways to use it with other coding languages) for a ton of different options. SDL is old as dirt and extremely well supported. They have a whole page on how to make a game from the ground up (http://lazyfoo.net/tutorials/SDL/index.php). SDL is also cross-platform compatible with everything, though the code you're writing to use it may not be.

SFML (http://www.sfml-dev.org/)
SFML does basically the same thing SDL does. Once upon a time it had a ton of advantages over SDL, but SDL's caught up and the larger user base of SDL means that I generally prefer SDL to SFML.

Box2d (http://box2d.org/)
Box2d is a physics engine that you can use with other resources, like SDL for example. Box2D is actually what libgdx uses for physics, and is a very popular addition to game engines and games in general. Box2d works best when coding in C++, though you're not strictly limited to the one language. Like other things, Box2d is cross platform.

Mono (http://www.mono-project.com/)
If you want cross-platform compatibility for your C# projects (say if you're combining Tiled, SDL, and Box2D), then Mono is for you. Unity3D is actually built on Mono, if that gives you any indication on how powerful the system is. I've tried it use it, however, and found it not nearly as easy to implement as it says so on the website. I'm a pretty novice programmer, though, so maybe someone with more experience won't have the problem. It is, of course, completely unnecessary if you don't care about cross-platform.

MonoGame (http://www.monogame.net/)
Want something that does more out of the box? MonoGame uses Mono as the back-end and adds in a bunch of standard game resources on the front end. It's pretty sweet, but I'll be frank: I haven't seen any good RPG come from it, and my investigation tells me you're best off looking elsewhere if that's your goal. MonoGame is all C# based, and is actually based upon the old XNA framework from Microsoft.

Chocos2D (http://www.cocos2d.org/)
Even easier than MonoGame is Choco2D, which is actually built on MonoGame and just adds some new features. It also is compatible with a ton of standard languages (C, C++, C#, objective-C, python), which makes it easier to get into than MonoGame if you don't know C#. Yet again, though, it does not appear to be RPG friendly.

Gamefromscratch (http://www.gamefromscratch.com/)
This is a pretty good resource if you're looking to learning about various game maker options. He has my favorite tutorial series about Tiled, and also has stuff on libgdx.

Beyond the above, here's a list of game makers not already mentioned that may or may not cost money and may do more or less than those above. As before, I've checked out most of them and haven't been impressed.

Esenthel
Leadwerks
Ogre3d
Irrlicht
AppGameKit (AGK2)
Corona
LOVE
Starling
Torque2D
Turbulenz

Unity3D (http://unity3d.com/)
Unity3D right now is easily the premiere game development engine...for 3D games. For 2D games I'm with Liberty -- it's just not very good. Sure, you can manage, but it doesn't play as nicely with tiled maps as one would hope, and as those who have developed 2D games with it can attest, there are all sorts of weird issues cropping up. Until they have a legit Unity2D available, I'd probably stay away for your RPG needs.


Finally, here are two actual RPG Engines not previously mentioned:

Engine001 (http://www.engine001.com/)
This is actually GG Maker. Technically it has a fewer features, but from what I understand you probably won't care. It's also free, at least for now. It requires no scripting and is feature rich. It's also a total pain to use. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but after a day of monkeying around with it I went straight back to RPG Maker.

rpg20xx (http://rpg20xx.com/)
Straight from this site, this can do some cool things (seriously, check out it's panorama or animation options!). The one thing I haven't figured out yet, however, is really how to customize the battle system and all that. I might just be an idiot again. That or maybe the game editor isn't that far along yet. Either way, I don't think it's at the point where you'd prefer it to what you already have. Development is ongoing though!

author=Liberty
For all that is good and holy, don't use unity or other game engines of the like if you're going to make RPGs which are designed with normal RPG systems. I'm playing a Unity game that is an RPG and there are so many issues with the menu systems - it's clunky as all hell, for one, and it lags when trying to load choice menus for another.

Say what you will about RPG Maker, but at least all the systems are by default smooth and work.

author=unity

author=CYBERLOUS

author=mawk
I think just the last one. anyone low-key calling you a weirdo would be pretty far off base.

Well, everyone at school does(plus the stares I get when I walk in.....)

Don't let it get you down. Same thing happened to me through a lot of high school, but things got better ^_^