Opinion on choosing tool for 2D games, Cocos2d-x or Unity?

News & General Discussion
1

Hello everyone!

Let me start with a little background. I have been developing using cocos2d-iPhone and SpriteKit(the new apple framework) for a while now. While they both are wonderful, i like the prospect of being able to develop for multiple platforms. This led me to choose between Cocos2d-x and Unity4.3 2D tools.

Language is not really the deciding factor for me since i have to learn a new language for either of them i.e Unity or Cocos2d-x.

I have a few questions regarding Unity…

  1. Does the free version Unity4.3 support texture atlases? Can i use third party tools like Texture Packer for creating atlases?

  2. I have heard the file size of the games made using Unity are significantly bigger. Is it true? If i make the same game using Cocos2d-x and Unity, would there be a significant difference between the file sizes of the two?

Thanks!

2

Yes 4.3 supports texture atlases, can generate them and also can use ones you load that you generated with other apps.

Not sure on the filesize.

3

Bear in mind they are pretty different. Cocos2d(x) is a framework and tools/libraries for building games, it much more like traditional game engine. It doesn’t have a front-end like Unity, all your work will be done writing code. It’s really a toss up depending on your end goals and skill level. Cocos2dx is going to require a lot more skill, but you also have full access to all the source code. Also, though Cocos2d is very stable and robust, Cocos2dx is still a bit new-ish. We ran in to some issues with it with our last game. (those may have been resolved). I think Unity will be a bit bigger (without stripping), but I don’t think it will be too significant.

If I were you, I would come up with simple/core thing that you would need to do in your game (nothing too huge), and trying executing in both platforms and see which works best for you. There are advantages/strengths to both, but they are mostly going to depend on needs.