Want to start building a 2D platformer... Unity or GameMaker Studio?

[Svejk]

 I've been making my art and animation in PS.  (I use to be a whiz with Flash, but too much rust has developed  ) The game that's been in my head for literal decades now, would be a gun and sword based platformer (think Strider, Valis, Bionic Commando, Gunstar Heroes) with some schmup levels too.  Tired of thinking about it and just need to start doing it with these programs on hand.

GMS looks nice and simple with drag and drop methods and such, but with stuff like Cuphead, Unity looks promising too.  However, it seems like it'd be more a chore to learn, when I'm wired for art.   

You all have any pointers or suggestions?
Thanks y'all!

[Tasty]

GB Studio.

https://gbstudio.dev

[archnemesis]

Team up with Bebpo and let him do the programming.

It doesn't have to be either or. You can start building the game in a tool like GameMaker. If you feel limited by its features then you can remake the game in Unity or Unreal Engine.

[Bebpo]

I don't think Unity is that great for a 2d platformer from my very limited experience. The physics are kind of stupid. Though if you use a pre-made engine within Unity like the Corgi Engine it'd probably be fine for that.

Zero experience with GameMaker studio.

Team up with Bebpo and let him do the programming.

I don't remember anything
Been too long. Code is scary. 

[Uncle]

learning Unity will future-proof you better and make those skills carry forward into other projects as you learn more about game development

GameMaker began as a project created by a teacher in order to teach fundamentals to a class and grew from there, as a result it's had a rocky history as it's changed focus over time, from what I gather it's in a better situation these days but it's still sort of designed for indie/less serious projects

Unity seems poised to stay relevant better for longer

[HardcoreRetro]

They made the Ori games and Cuphead in Unity. So it is possible to make a great 2D platformer in it.

[Svejk]

Thanks for the input!  Yeah, I lean towards Unity, just because it seems much more broad.  But I need to look into engines as well.. haven't thought about that yet.  Thanks again guys!

Of course, if I get something running, y'all would be the first to dabble with it, if interested 

[Nintex]

Whatever the Indian guy on Fiver knows how to use

[Uncle]

I'm sorry that I don't have a good suggestion for a Unity plugin that could streamline the whole process, I know they exist

that could get you to "drag and drop GameMaker with extra steps" but just getting immersed in the interface is the first step

there should be resources online like if you search for "best drag and drop 2D game creation utility plugin for Unity 2022" (or 2023)

[Tasty]

My advice: don't get hung up on *any* decision when making something. Bite whatever bullet it is and move onto the next thing. Momentum and excitement are precious resources. There will come a point you hit a wall and you'll need that momentum to get over it and get your excitement going again, otherwise you're going to look back a year later and say "Huh, I should have finished that thing."

[Tasty]

Also don't prematurely optimize and definitely don't do the George Broussard approach of changing tech just to chase the new and shiny. The grass isn't always greener and a finished project that's shitty and sloppy on the inside is MUCH better than an perfectly-coded-but-unfinished one.

[Svejk]

My advice: don't get hung up on *any* decision when making something. Bite whatever bullet it is and move onto the next thing. Momentum and excitement are precious resources. There will come a point you hit a wall and you'll need that momentum to get over it and get your excitement going again, otherwise you're going to look back a year later and say "Huh, I should have finished that thing."

This is the biggest hurdle I think.  I spend to much time thinking and then discourage myself with excuses when the hype fades.  This year alone I've managed to finish up 3 pieces of art that I left unfinished for years.  Want to keep whatever momentum I got while I got it.

Thanks for the time and pointers guys!

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

Unity is more than fine for 2D Platformers, but theres a lot of bad tutorials out there made by people who don't know what theyre doing or avoiding hard stuff to make it more beginner friendly, or who wanted to make a different kind of platform game, or... I dunno, but theres a lot of bad tutorials out there.
Like... if youre changing your gravitational constant so jumps 'feel better', you done fucked up.

The biggest problems is people will use the built in physics systems for their platform games, when the traditional platformers never used any physics systems, and platform games are inherently unrealistic and unphysics based.

If you want a 'deep dive' into 2D platforming, give this interactive video essay a go - I think he also supplies his platform scripts so you can build off them too when you've tweaked it. You'll notice how quickly you start moving away from physics in favour of fun.

https://gmtk.itch.io/platformer-toolkit

[Svejk]

Unity is more than fine for 2D Platformers, but theres a lot of bad tutorials out there made by people who don't know what theyre doing or avoiding hard stuff to make it more beginner friendly, or who wanted to make a different kind of platform game, or... I dunno, but theres a lot of bad tutorials out there.
Like... if youre changing your gravitational constant so jumps 'feel better', you done fucked up.

The biggest problems is people will use the built in physics systems for their platform games, when the traditional platformers never used any physics systems, and platform games are inherently unrealistic and unphysics based.

If you want a 'deep dive' into 2D platforming, give this interactive video essay a go - I think he also supplies his platform scripts so you can build off them too when you've tweaked it. You'll notice how quickly you start moving away from physics in favour of fun.

https://gmtk.itch.io/platformer-toolkit

This is awesome.  Yeah, I want full-on double (possibly triple) jump action, a la SOTN/Strider, in addition to possible mid-air glides and dashes.  Screw real physics. lol  One game that comes to mind of how I'd want airtime handled in the 2D environment, is the likes of Otogi.  I absolutely loved the practical acrobatics of staying airborne for ever it seemed.  There is a grapple mechanic that's going to be a crucial part of it too... So I have my work cut out.   

Thank you for the suggestion!

[Skullfuckers Anonymous]

Going to recommend Godot.

https://godotengine.org/

It’s free and open sourced. Has a pretty good community so there’s lots of tutorials out there. It also has a bunch of functionality built in so you don’t need to get a separate app for coding, tile mapping and other things.

Game maker is a simpler tool so stuck with that if you just want to quickly get games up and running. I wouldn’t recommend unity unless you are trying to get into a game dev career.

[Tasty]

Godot has a lot of love in the OSS community. From the outside, I feel like it's about the turn a corner on professional functionality and general acceptance. They're really close to breaking through to the big leagues I feel.

[Svejk]

Going to recommend Godot.

https://godotengine.org/

It’s free and open sourced. Has a pretty good community so there’s lots of tutorials out there. It also has a bunch of functionality built in so you don’t need to get a separate app for coding, tile mapping and other things.

Game maker is a simpler tool so stuck with that if you just want to quickly get games up and running. I wouldn’t recommend unity unless you are trying to get into a game dev career.

Never heard of this.  This is excellent!  Thanks for pointing this out!  This might be the happy medium.

[HardcoreRetro]

Remembered this thread. If you're still interested in doing this, Humble Bundle has a Godot Software bundle with tutorials.

https://www.humblebundle.com/software/complete-godot-game-development-software?hmb_source=&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=mosaic_section_1_layout_index_2_layout_type_threes_tile_index_3_c_everythingyouneedtoknowaboutgodot4_softwarebundle