There is hardly a person who at least once in his life has not played at least one computer game, no matter on a laptop or mobile device. And who of you, dear reader of our blog, has not dreamed of creating his own game and, if not to become a millionaire thanks to his project, then to become famous at least among his friends?
But how to create a game on Android from scratch, without special knowledge and without knowing even the basics of programming? It turns out that to try yourself as a game developer is not such a difficult task. This will be the topic of our today’s material.
What you need to know
So, what is needed to become the author of a unique masterpiece:
- An idea or script.
- Desire and patience.
- Game Designer.
And if everything is more or less clear with the first two components of success, the third component should be discussed in more detail.
What is a Game Designer
This is a program that greatly simplifies game development, making it accessible to people who have no programming skills. Game Builder combines integrated development environment, game engine and level editor, which works as a visual editor(WYSIWYG – English abbreviation for „what you see is what you get“).
Some designers may be limited by genre (for example, RPGs, arcades, quests). Others, while providing an opportunity to design games of different genres, at the same time limit the imagination of a novice developer to 2D games.
Even after reading only what has already been written, it becomes clear that for a novice developer who decided to write a game for any operating system, including OS Android, the choice of a suitable designer is the main task, because it is on the functionality and capabilities of this tool depends on the fate of the future project.
How to choose the right builder
You should start by assessing your own level of knowledge in the field of programming. If it tends to zero or is absent at all, it is better to try the simplest options. And even if you do not have the necessary knowledge of English, even in this case you can find a program that will suit you.
And the second important point when choosing a designer is functionality. Here you need to very accurately analyze the scenario of your project, because the more complex will be the game, the more for its creation will need a variety of tools, respectively, and the constructor will need a more powerful.
To help with the choice, below we will present the best programs-constructors, which, in general, does not exclude the fact that you, thoroughly digging on forums or specialized sites, will pick up something else for yourself, the range of this range of programs is quite wide.
Top 5 best game builders
Construct 2
This application invariably occupies the first lines in the ratings of game builders. With Construct 2 you can create 2D games of almost any genre for various platforms, including Android, as well as animated games for HTML5-enabled browsers.
Given the huge number of auxiliary tools, the program can be easily mastered even by beginners.
There is no need to buy a license to master working with Construct 2. The free Free-version offers quite sufficient tools and the ability to export the finished project to some platforms. However, coding the finished product on mobile platforms and access to the full functionality will give for $129 Personal-license. If your skill in creating games has reached its peak, and you have already started to receive income from your project more than 5 thousand dollars, you will have to shell out for the Business-version, which will cost 429 dollars.
And now, watch some practical video tutorials on creating game applications with Construct 2:
Download on PC from the official website of the developer (Scirra)
Clickteam Fusion
Clickteam Fusion is another example of an excellent full-fledged game builder that helps even a beginner to create a complete game. The program provides the ability to export created applications completely free of charge in HTML5 format, which means that it will be possible to publish browser games and, in addition, convert them for publication in various mobile markets, such as Google play.
Among the main features we can note the simplicity of the interface, support for shader effects and hardware acceleration, the presence of a full-fledged event editor, saving projects in formats compatible with various platforms, including Android.
Paid Developer-version of the program is not available for residents of the Russian Federation, but its license disk can be ordered from the same Amazon, easing the personal budget for an average of $ 100. The menu can be russified using a third-party russifier.
How to work with the application, watch a special video course:
Download on PC from the official website of the developer (Clickteam)
Stencyl
Stencyl is another great tool that allows you to develop simple 2D computer games without special knowledge of codes and programming languages for all popular platforms. Here you have to work with scenarios and schemes, which are represented as blocks, and you can drag and drop objects or characteristics with the mouse, which is very convenient.
The developer of the program also offers the possibility to write your own code in the blocks, but for this you will need programming knowledge.
The presence of an excellent graphical editor Scene Designer gives the user the opportunity to apply his imagination to draw game worlds.
The optimal set of functions will help to create high-quality games of different genres, but the most tile-based graphics Stencyl will be relevant for „shooters“ or „wanderers“.
The program is distributed on a free basis, but exporting to desktop formats requires a subscription, which will cost $ 99 for a year, and a license for mobile games – $ 199. Per year.
Watch a crash course on working with Stencyl:
Game Maker
The program exists in a paid and free version. The budget version allows you to create good 2D games for desktop. While the paid version gives you the opportunity to write rather „tricked out“ 3D-toys for Windows, iOS and Android. For now, we are interested in a free opportunity to learn to realize ourselves in the game industry, and Game Maker is the option that will allow you to create games with your own scenario without restrictions in the choice of genre.
The program offers a selection of ready-made templates of locations, objects, as well as, characters, sounds and backgrounds. So, all creative work is reduced to dragging and dropping selected elements into the working area and selecting the conditions – location and interaction with other objects. Although knowledge of programming language will not be required, but users who are „in the subject“ will be able to use GML, something similar to JS and C .
Game Maker is distributed in English, so those who do not know it sufficiently, will need to download a russifier file.
If you are interested in this program, we suggest you watch the tutorial video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJVAABUK55I
*Note: The video shows only the first part of the tutorial, to watch the second part click here, the third part here and the final, fourth part.
Unity 3D
Unity 3D is probably the best program to create a high-quality 3D project. The program integrates fully ready models, as well as textures and scripts. In addition, it is possible to add your own content – sound, images and videos.
Games created with Unity are compatible with all popular platforms from iOS or Android mobile devices to SMART TV receivers.
The program is characterized by high compilation speed, easy-to-use interface, flexible and multifunctional editor.
All game actions and character behavior are based on a good physics core PhysX. Each object created in this game builder is a certain combination of events and scripts controlled by the developer himself.
It is important to understand that although the program is positioned as a game designer designed for beginners, a certain level of knowledge to work with this application will still be needed. Well, working with 3D-graphics requires a fairly modern computer equipped with a hardware graphics card.
A series of lessons on creating games with Unity 3D:
So, you have decided to realize your dream of creating your own unique game. We have tried to provide information that can help you with this. Please note, if you have carefully read the material presented, and at least briefly watched the video tutorials for each program, you will probably notice that the work with each game builder is based on the same principle. Therefore, it is quite possible that you will be able to find something more suitable for your needs. We at least hope that at this stage the question of how to make a game on Android is closed. Good luck!
