GDevelop 5

When it comes to creating video games, people always think about all the complicated code they need to be able to understand, especially if they are not programmers.

If you are looking for something to help you start off with 2D game development and you can't figure out where to go — I am telling you — GDevelop 5 is the thing!

GDevelop 5 is an open-source and cross-platform game creator engine that can even be run in a browser, where you can try it before you decide to install it on your computer. The program is powerful enough to allow you to create any type of 2D game, even if we're talking about a platformer, puzzles, shoot 'em up, 8-bit, or strategy.

You will probably be as astounded as I am to find how clean and friendly the user interface is. This is an excellent beginner's tool, as there are an absolute ton of demos available to get you started. You can play through them and see if you can find a game of similar scope as the one you are trying to create.

You can jump straight into a project as soon as you open the application. Let's say you want to create a space shooter, and to get an idea, you can first pick one of the demos and inspect how it was built. There, you will see an instance of your ship, for example, and if you click on it, you'll have access to all the properties and variables that can be added, in a new tab.

It is the same with every object, each can be dropped as a new instance and have its particular variable, regardless of whether it is a rock or another world asset. Another great feature I really like is the fact that the developers have actually added an image and texture editor directly into the program.

There is a JavaScript-powered game engine at the application's core and, as you get more skilled, you can actually have these actions call straight-up JavaScript. With all that in place, you can experience a nice transition to "I want to focus more on programming than visuals" as well.

Of course, some coding knowledge is required to customize the game, but the peculiarity of GDevelop 5 is that the code is integrated within the program, along with dozens of different commands to better customize your game. Also, if you wish to run or test your game, you only need to click on the play button and it will be previewed in a test window.

GDevelop 5 is a 2D game engine focused on usability but is also amazingly clean and straightforward. And, to be honest, I think that's the whole idea behind it, as it is geared towards people with no prior programming experience, and it succeeds in that regard with ease.