Retro Gaming Hacks

Use Freeware Game Creation Tools

Find utilities that will let you assemble pre-fab games for fun and/or profit.

So you want to make your own video game, but you don’t have any programming or artistic skills? Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that—you don’t have to be a math nerd or expert painter to come up with a good game design. You just need imagination. But if you want to bring it to life, you’ll need some help.

That’s where game creation software comes into play. There are many utilities out there that provide you with tools you can use to make your own game without ever typing in a line of code. Of course, your designs will be limited by the capabilities of the program, but if you’re just interested in dipping a toe into the game design waters to see how you like it, this is the best way to get started.

Elsewhere in this chapter, I’ve discussed a few game creation utilities in depth—how to make top-down action adventures using only text-based graphics [Hack #72] , how to make a game your friends can play using the Web [Hack #74] , and how to create an old-school point-and-click adventure [Hack #80] . In this hack, I’ll talk briefly about other utilities that are available, in the hopes that you’ll find one suited to your own great idea.

Tip

An extensive list of game creation utilities like the ones listed next is available at http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html.

Game Maker

Official home page: http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/markov/gmaker/index.html

Platform(s): Windows

Price: Free, ...