Top 10 game engines to build casual games

Have you ever imagined, how it feels when people around the world download and play what you’ve designed or built! Since so many resources are now available online you don’t have to wait and can start finding out thousands of ways to make your own game right away.

And nowadays you get tons of game engines online, where you don’t require lot of professional coding skills to build a game. Just by knowing basic Java, C, C++ or HTML and JavaScript programming you can build a simple game which can run on Desktop or platforms like Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

I have heard from many students who want to create game apps, but are not sure where to start from. For some, making a game app from scratch was too cumbersome a job. So here in my post today I am introducing some of the best game engines for you which will help achieve your goal of developing mobile games easily.

Some of the engines provided in the list may have a slight steep learning curve but the following engines are the best in the business. I am sure if you try you can definitely build a 2D game and earn some bucks for yourself by hosting it on Google play or app stores. You can also have a look into one of my post other post “An Average Video Game Designer Salary in 2014” to let you know the current state of the gaming industry.

1. unity

Languages: C#, Javascript, Python

Target platform: Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, BlackBerry, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Windows 8 (coming soon)

Pros:

• you can try it for free and release a game
• Easy to learn
• Allows a choice of scripting languages
• Great community

Cons:

• Confusing pricing scheme that can get expensive fast
• Mobile builds (Android, iOS) take about 8MB at least
• MonoDevelop is used as default code editor
• Hard to maintain projects

2. Construct 2

Languages: HTML5

Target platform: Windows

Pros:

• Powerful drag and drop editor
• Supportive community
• Built in physics systems
• Cheaper than lot other options
• Easy to create particles and animations

Cons:

• Free version is limited
• Editor is Windows only
• Doesn’t work on all browsers

3. LÖVE

Languages: Lua

Target platform: Windows, OS X, Linux

Pros:

• Open source and free
• Good documentation
• Active and friendly community

Cons:

• Mobile support is still experimental

4. MONKEY X

Languages: Java, Javascript, C++, C#, and Actionscript

Target platform: Android, iOS, Windows, Flash, OS X, Linux

Pros:

• Native code support
• Low cost license fee
• Built-in modules for quick game developing
• Drawing Commands
• Fast and stable
• Lots of great examples
• Free for commercial releases

Cons:

• Minimalist documentation
• No real asset store

5. Angel2D

Languages: C++, Lua

Target platform: Windows, iOS, OS X, Linux

Pros:

• Low-level code is easily accessible
• Provides convenient features

6. GDevApp

Languages: C++, JavaScript

Target platform: iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, HTML5

Pros:

• event system display can be edited visually.
• You can easily add your own graphics on your DropBox
• Flexible to create simple as well as advanced games
• Open source and great community help

7. HaxeFlixel

Languages: Haxe

Target platform: Android, Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS, BlackBerry, Flash

Pros:

• Active development community
• Fully free
• Lots of demos
• Open source language

8. MOAI SDK

Languages: C++, Lua

Target platform: iOS, Android, Windows, OS X

Pros:

• Fast
• Total control
• Full source code is available
• API interfaces
• Helpful and detailed documentation

Cons:

• Limited documentation
• Not for beginning developers

9. libGDX

Languages: Java

Target platform: Android, Windows, OS X, iOS, MacOS, GNU

Pros:

• Good performance
• Active forums
• Easy To Learn
• Free & Open Source
• Easy to customize
• Good reference tutorials and open source code to understand

Cons:

• Documentation is decent, but could be better

10. GameMaker

Languages: Java, GML

Target platform: Android, iOS, Windows, HTML5, Linux, OS X, PS3/4/Vita

Pros:

• quick and easy to use
• Free version allows creative game development
• EASY to find resources/tutorials
• Good Quality customer support
• Best mobile performance due to Yo-yo Compiler

Cons:

• community is a bit newbie
• Programming language is limited
• Exporting to some formats can be expensive

With the tremendous increase of games platforms over the past few years picking the right game engine can be a tricky part. Honestly speaking, there are lots of mobile engines out there which can help you get the job done. 

Knowing that it’s huge and vast, I have found out some of the most popular game engines as your best bet. All of the above engines offer 2D support which I think will help you to achieve your goal pretty easily with free mobile deployment.

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