What should I use to make mobile 2d games?

I want to make a 2d game. I've only ever made one before but it wasn't with any engine. It looks like there are two main ones... Unity and GameMaker. Anyone have any experience with these? I am not looking to get into 3d games, just 2d games. But I would like them to be cross platform if possible.

 

I personally use SpriteKit and develop the engine from there..

Unity I've heard good things about, game-maker I wouldn't be so confident in using.

 

Any reason for not wanting your game cross platform (if you didn't)? I think I am going to go with Unity because "apparently" you can release cross platform, but who knows what kinks come with that. I didn't even know about SpriteKit when I made my first game I probably should have learned more of the SDK aha. :noworry:

 

If cross platform is your priority then it makes absolute sense to go with something like unity. The only reason I haven't gone down that path is A) the license fee and B) no requirement for android phones.

However, if you'll be stuck on getting to grips with unity or c# in general.. There should be plenty of tutorials out there to assist you.

 

What license fee are you referring to? I was aware that you only are forced to upgrade from the free version when your application passes $100k revenue or something like that.

 

Meh I think i'll just stick to SpriteKit for now. Unity IDE seems so complicated I don't think I have the time to learn that aha

 

As far as I was aware you couldn't release for iOS / Android without the full license, I could either be wrong or mixed up with another engine.

However, I've always been a fan of working from the ground up, so at least with spritekit you develop your own engine.

If you're just making your first game, it's a good idea to stick to a language / software you're fluent with as well as not going too difficult straight away. Otherwise, you'll dishearten and leave a half completed project.

 

Unity is great. Yes it's cross platform, PC/Mac/Linux, mobile, consoles even. There's no catch. It uses the Mono framework which is compiled down to C. Mono's bindings are universal so that's how they achieve cross-platform shit. I've used Unity for 2D and 3D, I'd recommend it.

A) afaik they had a license overhaul after Unreal overhauled their own license.

B) Don't know what you mean by that. You can definitely export to Android.

You can code in JS too if that's a better option. C# is excessively similar to Java anyway so if you know Java then the learning curve is minimal.

It's simple as fuck dude, if you want help shoot me a PM. I love Unity to death :love:

If you've ever used any IDE for OO programming before then you'd get the swing of it in 15 minutes tops.

I mean I disagree entirely with that last statement because game development is one of the best ways to learn a new language, but to each their own I guess.

 

I meant that I didn't have a requirement for Android, as far as I'm aware you can export to Android. Sorry for any confusion.

From the games I've developed, some of the projects end up being huge and dare I say scary. I would hate to think I was in a new environment trying to hand it all. However, I do agree with you. Being thrown in at the deep end is a good way to learn, I just personally feel it would be very difficult, when there are easier options available for 2d games