Whether your game fits into an existing genre or is something entirely unique doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you think about your potential customer before you write a line of code. You’ll also want to take into consideration your coding experience. The good news is that if you’re already a proficient coder, you can start writing your game and pretty much port it anywhere. But this is a beginner’s guide and most Indies aren’t really hardcore assembly line type coders.

Most indie game developers use some sort of engine or software to code and create their games. There are tons of choices and they all have their pros and cons. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular choices starting with the platforms considered to require the least amount of programming language up through the most technical and programming heavy choices:

RPG Maker: Free
Pros: Free and gets you designing the game quickly
Cons: Windows PC only, RPGs Only, Lack of Flexibility

I’ve never used RPG Maker since I’ve never made an old school Japanese style RPG, but it’s very proficient at creating a unique RPG. RPG Maker is free and makes creating maps, characters, and events very easy without any real gameplay coding. Obviously the drawback is that it’s not very flexible – it makes only RPGs and you don’t have any control over the gameplay mechanics. If you’re thinking about an RPG, this tool does substantially streamline the process though.

Game Maker: Free, Pro Version $25
Pros: Cheap solution, Easy to Use interface, Great for 2D games
Cons: 2D games only, Only Windows PC Platform

Game Maker is a great choice because it’s cheap, great for 2D games, and offers a nice and easy point & click /drag & drop user interface. You don’t need to code a thing and can make any type of 2D game. Plus GM has some great flexibility in the optional advanced mode. This solution focuses on Game Designing rather than Game Coding, which is really nice. The major drawback for Game Maker is that it builds games for Windows PC only and is restricted to 2D.

The Games Factory 2 / Multimedia Fusion 2: $59 – $369
Pros: Great for 2D Games, Easy to Use Interface, Java/Mobile enabled, New Features in Development
Cons: Developer version is expensive, Originally Built for Windows Only Development, Framerate Issues

Multimedia Fusion 2 is very similar to Game Maker in that it has an easy to use point and click user interface and event editor. You can pretty much make any type of 2D game with MMF and there’s a ton of 3rd party extensions that can be added into the engine. Multimedia Fusion has also recently been Java enabled, allowing you to create games for mobile devices and allowing you to port to Mac and Linux. There’s also Hardware Acceleration and Flash Export in the works. The problem with MMF2 is that to get the full set of features, you have to shell out for the Developer version. It can also be difficult to develop for Linux and Mac since MMF was originally built for Windows Only Development.

Adobe Flash/Air/Flex: $699+
Pros: Online standard, 2D/3D Games, All Computer Platforms, Other Revenue Streams Available, Great for Animation, Tons of examples/resources
Cons: Expensive, Coding/Scripting Language must be learned, Steep Learning Curve

Flash is the standard for online web games. Flash is incredibly flexible and allows an indie developer to sell their game as a downloadable for PC, Mac or Linux or generate cash thru licensing, sponsorship, or online advertising of a web-based game. If you make an ad-supported flash game there’s great opportunities to get it onto a ton of free flash game portals. Marketing a free flash game is somewhat viral andrelates to the quality of the game. It’s relatively easy to get your game on a ton of flash game sites, so if people like it and keep playing it – you can earn some nice advertising loot. You can always sell the game online at places like Flash Game License. Flash is an excellent animation tool and offers the flexibility to do 2D or 3D games. The problem with Flash is that there is a learning curve and its user interface and scripting language almost guarantees that you’ll be purchasing some books. Flash takes a significant monetary and time investment to get the hang of before your game will hit the top spot on Newgrounds. However, I believe it to be one of the most flexible tools available to an indie developer. Adobe Flex and AIR just further enhance Flash’s set of features.

Torque 2D/3D Engines: $100 -$300
Pros: Incredibly powerful, Impressive graphics, Flexibility, 2D or 3D Games, Content Packs ($), All computer platforms and can port to iPhone, Wii, Xbox, and more, Good Level and Graphics Editor
Cons: Documentation is poor, Must learn TorqueScript, Helpful to have C# or C++ Knowledge, Separate 2D and 3D versions

Torque is really the solution that sits somewhere between the strictly coding options below and the point & click options above. You’ll need to learn TorqueScript in order to actually code your game and take care of all your events, but you’ll be able to drag/drop game objects and design levels in a pretty good and intuitive user interface. Best of all, once you code your game you can pretty much release it on any platform – iPhone, Wii, Xbox. Torque is very impressive graphically and has built in particle effects and other graphical goodies. It’s annoying that the 2D and 3D versions are different and that you have to pay more for the source code, Torsion editor, content packs etc. Object Oriented Programming Knowledge is certainly helpful and can give you unlimited flexibility with the engine. The biggest downfall of Torque is that the documentation is poor. There are some decent tutorials to build specific games, but none of the documentation lays out everything about TorqueScript’s idiosyncrasies very well. If you want to learn how to code, but want some visual assistance laying game objects out, Torque is a good solution.

BlitzMax / Blitz3D: $60-$100
Pros: Built for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, 2D or 3D Games, Cheap Multiplatform Option, module customization, GUI package ($), Streamlined coding/debugging
Cons: Have to learn Blitz BASIC coding language, No visualization of graphics, levels, etc.

I have tried out the BlitzMax Demo but never really used the program. There are a lot of Indies out there that swear by it though. It is certainly flexible and offers a nice streamlined coding and debugging platform, but you’ll have to learn Blitz’s scripting and BASIC coding language. BlitzMax is the first solution on this list that has no visualization of the game space, your graphics, levels, etc. It’s purely a coding environment and that will make it difficult for beginners.

XNA Game Studio: Free – Creator’s club $99/year
Pros: Xbox and PC Platforms, 2D & 3D Games, Easily get on Xbox Community/Indie Games, Cheap, XBLA sales are Great!
Cons: Requires C# programming knowledge, Microsoft Only – absolutely no Mac or Linux, Xbox Community Games Sales have been Poor, Microsoft Certification can be expensive for XBLA

XNA Game Studio Express is free from Microsoft and has some decent tutorials, videos, forums, and documentation to get you started coding your very own Windows or Xbox game. Like BlitzMax, XNA Game Studio is pretty much all code – there are no game visualizations to help you along the way. If you’re considering doing a hardcore action type game, this is certainly something worth downloading and trying out. You’ll need to be dedicated since you’ll need to learn Programming in C# to use XNA, but you can make any type of game that you can imagine 2D or 3D. It’s great that you can make a game for Windows with the software for free and then signup for the Creators Club and work at getting your game on Xbox. The bad news is that PC games require a lot higher requirements when made with XNA and additional installations (.net framework, C# redistributable, etc) which can frustrate customers. There’s also no way that Microsoft is going to support Mac or Linux OS in the future. The good news is that your game is easily ported to Xbox! Well, you can easily get on the Community/Indie Games Channel, but games have been selling poorly there…the most popular downloads being controller massage programs. If your game is really well produced and of a high quality, you can attempt to go the Microsoft Certification route for XBLA, but it’s expensive and time consuming. It is where the money is though.

There’s really way too many options to list here. Unity recently went free and Unreal Engine has adjusted its pricing too. There’s certainly the pure programming route (C++, Java, etc.) too. If you’re not a programmer, you’ll certainly be more successful staying near the top of the list, though Flash is an excellent starting point. Ultimately, whichever coding platform you choose will affect where you can take your game when it’s finished. Mac and Linux are consistently ignored by developers and Indies have seen that they have significantly higher sales and conversion rates from these users (though there are less of them). If you’re just starting Indie Game Development, it’s probably best that you stick to computers and keep the flexibility of some of the other choices in mind.

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