I am looking for a program to make SNES-era-looking RPGs and platformers for iOS. So far, I have looked at Cocos2d, Cocos3d, Gamesalad, Game Editor, and StencylWorks. I'm leaning toward Game Editor and StencylWorks (They look the easiest to work with) but would like some opinions on the other ones, or suggestions of programs not mentioned. Has anyone here used any of the mentioned programs? I have limited programming experience (Visual Basic), so I would prefer to use something that is not programming heavy.
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iOS iOS Game Creation Programs
- Thread starter ethan86
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I've used cocoa2d extensively and I think it is very well suited to your task. I think to get a polished product you'll have to get your hands dirty with code though. I haven't worked with the "less code" game engines by I suspect that the types of games you will be able to make with them is somewhat limited.
Cocos2d is just a wrapper over an API or programming language. It's not really a game creation program. What it does is make it easier to create a game. Its a game engine.
Others out there can be scripting engines, they bypass the native language and you write the game logic in their script.
Creating a game without coding much can be done, but this will usually be at the cost of control. Example, if you want the game to do something very specific, you may or may not be able to based on the scripting language. If you have big plans for this game, use care in selecting the tools you use, some products will drop support and die off without warning, leaving you out in the cold.
Cocos2d is user supported, no fees, open source.
With Cocos2d you are really working with the native api in the native language
Others out there can be scripting engines, they bypass the native language and you write the game logic in their script.
Creating a game without coding much can be done, but this will usually be at the cost of control. Example, if you want the game to do something very specific, you may or may not be able to based on the scripting language. If you have big plans for this game, use care in selecting the tools you use, some products will drop support and die off without warning, leaving you out in the cold.
Cocos2d is user supported, no fees, open source.
With Cocos2d you are really working with the native api in the native language
Corona SDK may be a good option. Its not free (however you can do everything but run a game on a real device and submit it to the app store for free).
This isn't so much code intensive as it is scripting intensive. It uses Lua which is very easy to use.
This isn't so much code intensive as it is scripting intensive. It uses Lua which is very easy to use.
Maybe try MOAI
http://getmoai.com/
It is open-souce, you code in Lua and you can deploy on iOS and Android!
Sounds like a free version of Corona in a way
I have only looked into iOS game development in the last week, and have decided to use MOAI. It is still new and they are working on getting the documentation fleshed-out.
For some demos of getting a lot of functionality done with pretty little coding, download the RapaNui lirary and look at the game demos. Pretty impressive I would say. Look on the Forum in the "Made with MOAI" section for the link to Github for RapaNui.
PS: I am not affiliated in any way, just looking for the easiest way to turn my gaming ideas into reality
http://getmoai.com/
It is open-souce, you code in Lua and you can deploy on iOS and Android!
Sounds like a free version of Corona in a way
I have only looked into iOS game development in the last week, and have decided to use MOAI. It is still new and they are working on getting the documentation fleshed-out.
For some demos of getting a lot of functionality done with pretty little coding, download the RapaNui lirary and look at the game demos. Pretty impressive I would say. Look on the Forum in the "Made with MOAI" section for the link to Github for RapaNui.
PS: I am not affiliated in any way, just looking for the easiest way to turn my gaming ideas into reality
You don't need xCode to develop iOS apps. xCode is the source code editor, it's best to use it, it ties in the compiler, debugger, API reference, etc...
Short answer: Yes.
Kind off yes (on the Xcode part), it will link all the libraries for you, set up basic projects, without much of a hassle..
There are others like the more expensive intellij, but haven't really tested any of those, since I rely back on my Xcode every time after a couple of minutes ^_-
(on the Xcode part), it will link all the libraries for you, set up basic projects, without much of a hassle..There are others like the more expensive intellij, but haven't really tested any of those, since I rely back on my Xcode every time after a couple of minutes ^_-
Is Xcode necessary to run all game engines? I was looking for something more akin to Visual Basic where I could edit the graphics, icons, and code from within one application. Or is that what Xcode does? I apologize for my noob questions, but this is the first time I've been serious about developing a video game and I'm pretty much learning about developing on OS X as I go along.
Xcode lets you organize your resources, build your UI, and write all your code. It also has a graphical interface for setting up Core Data. It'll compile the app for you and launch a simulator. For actually making resources like images and sounds you'll need to use a separate program (IE, pixelmater for images and garageband for sounds... not that I'd really suggest garageband so much as I haven't found a better program yet, not that I've really tried...)