Tools for gamedev
2D graphics: Hi-res art
2D graphics: Pixel art
- Aseprite
- Versatile pixel editor with animation and tilemapping tools
- $20 (or free if you build it from source, see instructions)
- the go-to tool for pixel artists atm, constantly updated
- Free option: LibreSprite
- A fork of Aseprite from ~2016
- Quite old but has enough features to get started
- Another free option (old): GraphicsGale
- Hi-res art software can also be used for pixelart
Sound effects
- bfxr
- An easy-to-get-into tool for creating new sound effects
- Audacity
- a versatile tool for audio editing
- ChipTone
- a free tool for generating sound effects
- Extra: Ableton Tone Generator
- ($1 Patreon tier + Ableton Live)
Music
- There isn’t an easy free recommendation really (LMMS exists but hnngh)
- Bosca Ceoil: the simple free option
- SunVox
- Trackers
- Otherwise, it’s a DAW of your choice
- Unfortunately they’re all pretty heavy to get into
- i’ve used FL Studio previously, nowadays Ableton
- for tracker people: ReNoise
Levels, 2D
- Unity’s own tilemap editor
- Tiled
- a free application for creating tile-based 2d levels & worlds
- importing Tiled maps to Unity
Levels, 3D
- ProBuilder
- Blender 3D
- Stupidly good for a free 3D editor
- MagicaVoxel
- A free lightweight voxel art editor
- Create voxel-based levels
- You know, the minecraft thing
- CrocoTile ($25)
- a tool for creating 3d scenes with tiles
- Free version: Saving (over 100 tiles) and exporting is deactivated.
Story
- There are two good options for making branching stories with Unity
Screen recording
- you need to showcase your game to people!
- for recording gifs
- for recording video with sound:
Video editing
- for creating teasers, trailers, etc, you need a video editor
- Best free option: DaVinci Resolve
- Blender3D works for this as well
Other creative stuff…
- Doodle Studio ($45)
- A FUN 2D drawing and animation tool for Unity.
- Playscii
- an open source ASCII art and animation program
Game engines
- sometimes Unity isn’t the best option!
- there are roughly three types of game development depending on your technology
- these aren’t undisputable facts, I made up all these types lol
Type 1: All-purpose Engine
- Unity, Unreal, Godot, GameMaker Studio
- 3D or 2D
- drag-and-drop GUI
- programming not necessarily involved
- you won’t be programming the main loop, but attaching your scripts on top of existing structures
- suited for games big and small
- jack of all trades, master of none
Type 2: Framework
- Love2D, Monogame, Pygame
- Especially suited for 2D
- no engine application window: almost everything happens in a text editor
- basically an API full of helper functions
- “draw sprite on coordinates x,y”
- suited for people who…
- want to have a tighter control on what’s happening under the hood
- want to build their own structures
- think all-purpose engines tend to get in their way
Type 3: Specialized Engine
- Renpy, RPGMaker, Adventure Game Studio, Twine…
- A tool for making a specific kind of game
- can involve code or its own scripting/description language
- very fast for the exact thing it does
- easier to comprehend fully due to limited scope