Hey, guys
I am trying to make Castlevania or Hotline Miami style PC/console game.
I know some basic coding part of Unity(C#) (had made simple shooting game for iphone)
but as it is a one person dev. I would like to get some advice;
which engine, Game Maker or Unity could save more time and life potion…
Thanks!
You are asking in the Unity forums, buddy.
DarkBASIC.
edit: In seriousness, this sort of question has been asked a million times before. Just… search for it.
There are a few cool titles that have come out of Game Maker.
That being said, everyone I know that uses it generally ends up over here.
Game Maker definitely has a much smaller feature set then Unity. And its more expensive too, at least at the low end.
If you want to restrict yourself to 2D games and don’t mind shelling out for some basic platform support try game maker, but otherwise go for Unity.
Disclaimer: I haven’t used Game Maker. I can’t comment on the workflow. Just their front page.
I have searched but only old ones come up. You know, unity had developed some features for 2D, so that is why I ask this question again; just looking for someone who used both tools in depth recently.
GameMaker. Unity is more flexible but if you’re willing to work with the limitations of GameMaker then it will be quicker for development. Infact Hotline Miami was made in GameMaker.
I’ve done a bit with GameMaker and it’s really quite cool.
Unity is cooler though.
Sounds like you have no programming experience so at this point, I would recommend game maker for this task, if it’s like hotline or simpler.
I seem to remember @GarBenjamin doing a comparison of the various 2D tech tools a little while. I can’t find the thread, but it was pretty comprehensive.
Evaluate both and find out which works best for your needs.
I never used GMS. Although I actually bought the Pro version on sale for like $10 at one point. I was looking for more of just a straightforward programming approach and GMS seemed to be very much into the GUI Editor stuff. I narrowed my choices down to HaxeFlixel and Monkey X and ultimately decided on Monkey X because HaxeFlixel had built-in physics and such. Basically a game engine.
I’d say that GMS is quite a good choice for making 2D games if you are looking at either Unity or GMS. Just based on the games I have seen that have been made with it.
These are all by Locomalito made in GameMaker…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqCkx_qzQ5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40sbLQj7yw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryPeKEhhtlM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSSqXTOgNvI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo4HXRtXknI
Obviously, you can use whatever graphics style you want. These just happen to use a retro style.
In the end it is just a tool. I agree with the others who said try them both and use the one that works best for you. You will likely be more productive working in one or the other.
Unity. A million times Unity
Game Maker is baby’s first game engine. It’s a good learning tool for kids who are just getting started (I first used it back when I was 15, around the time of Game Maker 6) but if you want to make something serious, Unity is just better
I remember thinking Unity’s 2D tools couldn’t be as good as Game Maker’s when I first tried them, then I learned how to use Mechanim and Unity’s other 2D tools, and to me, Unity vs Game Maker began feeling like the difference between making Easy Mac in a brand new Microwave vs trying to cook mac and cheese over a campfire from scratch.
Now granted, the last time I used Game Maker was Game Maker 8, and I had only tried studio when it first came out and the full version was some hilariously expensive price reletive to the features you were getting, especially compared to Unity at the time. Perhaps they’ve upped their game since then, but I highly doubt it.
Either way, C# is just plain better than GML in terms of functionality in my experience. Again, if you are just using the little graphical interface for doing really simple stuff because you know nothing about programming, then it’s a great learning tool for basic programming concepts like if statements and simple loops and such. But as you improve, you learn really quickly that learning how to write code yourself is just plain more powerful and will allow you to do so much more. That being said, the concepts I learned from screwing around in Game Maker made my first programming course in college way easier.
So really, I’d say if this is just a hobby for you and you are just messing around trying to teach yourself some skills, then just download the free versions of both, and start messing around in both. In the beginning, you’ll probably like prototyping in GM more, but then as your ambitions grow and your skills improve, You’ll naturally grow into Unity.
…that’s been used to make some massively profitable games - Hotline Miami, Spelunky (original), Gunpoint, Undertale, Nidhogg, Hyper Light Drifter (to name a few).
It’s a perfectly valid development tool. Definitely not to be written off with comments like “learning tool” 
…Seriously?
Man, I guess maybe they have changed. I just remember back in the day all Game Maker could do was make Windows games on Windows, and basically Game Maker stuff only really worked in Game Maker, and the rumor was they were working on a way to get their games on PSP, and years passed, and nothing ever came of it, because they just didn’t really have their act together. It just felt so…limited back then.
Then again back in those days, Unity had only just come to Windows, and had just started being able to make builds for Wii. I guess a lot has changed in a decade, ha ha
I think that was Unity 2.x? Man I’m old…
Game Maker supports 14 different platforms now according to their website. Its worth noting that only Windows is available on the free version.
Its a long way from Unity’s 24. But if it has the platforms you need, then go for it.
Woah. Thats interesting. Looking into it, it does look like they are trying to reach a different market than they used to, back in the day it definitely felt more like a teaching tool than an actual game platform like they seem to be marketing it as now.
Very interesting.
Based on what you posted I would go with GameMaker. You might also want to look at AGK2 (App Game Kit 2).
Thanks for these serious replies, guys. I should start this project soon, so I will try out Game Maker to save time. I did not know that some of my recent favorite games were made with it. Thanks again!