Construct 2 vs Unity For 2D games

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  • I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVE Construct 2 so far and have put over 500 hours into the free version learning as much as I can and am basically ready to make a purchase for the full license. I am almost certainly going to purchase the license regardless but I do have questions about my future projects.

    I have not use Unity for 2d game creation yet. What do people who have used both think about it vs Construct 2?

    • I ask this because I have run into some issues with Construct 2 (most of which I eventually found a work around making me think all my issues do have a way to make them work how I want using construct 2 and it is just a matter of figuring out how to do it).

    Hypothetically with infinite time and resources can someone make an EXACT replica of games such as "The binding of Isaac Rebirth" or "Super Mario World" using Construct 2?

    • I am less interested in simple app games for mobile and more interested in retro style games like from the super Nintendo era. Construct 2 seems to have more people making games for android and ios as simple game apps.

    Are there any clear limitations of a game developer using Construct 2 compared to a professional programmer who can write the code to do anything he wants?

    • I have a programming background but find it waaaaay too time consuming to write basically my own game engine, especially with so many game making tools in existence such as Construct 2. I do however find certain times while using Construct 2 that I could solve my problem using code, but I find it difficult to get Construct 2 to do exactly what I want (probably just me still learning the syntax). has anyone else run into these issues and have not been able to fix them?

    Any insight on these questions will be wonderful and again I want to stress that I LOVE what your team has done with Construct 2 as I find it much more enjoyable making games with a more visual interface compared to staring at lines of code. Thank you so much for your work and I hope to make a game that will repay you by gaining publicity and selling more copies. Money is always great to get for your work but recognition of a brilliant idea executed perfectly is impressive. So I just want to let you know you have done something great. Bravo!

  • I think Construct 2 as an editor is one of (if not) the best for 2D games, I've used it as well as CC and similar tools for over 13 years now even though I also have done games in pure code before (well, with a few helpers like the Allegro C++ graphics library or Processing for Java, etc). Every few updates the desktop run-time gets a bit better too.

    I'm still a novice with Unity, but it feels very alien to what I'm used to and tends to feel floaty to me, especially when you use the physics, from what I've seen it is very capable as well for 2D but is generally preferred for 3D or multi-platform games (consoles, phones, etc).

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  • If you want to get into a discussion about whats better for what, that all comes down to preference in the end. I prefer working in c2 because I can make things so fast. But, I prefer unity because I can do more. I also think given the amount of games released on unity... you get the idea.

    I would classify both the binding of issac and Mario as fairly straight forward games, and yes, you could make exact clones. However, here is the thing; You are going to need to write your own collision detection and resolution code to get an exact mario clone. Which brings us to some of the problems with construct. Because there is no way to edit, modify, or otherwise mangle the inner workings of construct to suit your designs, you have to make everything work as custom behaviors, plugins, or through the event sheet. I like c2, but when it comes to something like this, I would much rather sit down in an environment that is as flexible as possible. Coding collision response in events would suck. Using the sdk isn't as well documented as scripting in unity. Also, unity offers a better environment for that type of development. On the other hand... If you make it using the sdk, you will have constructs editor side speed when you are done. But then you may have to concern yourself over janking in NW.

    If contstruct 2 offered an IDE and everything was component based, and physics was better integrated as part of the engine... I would choose construct 2 100% of the time. But right now I flop back and forth between the two.

    The major letdown of construct is that it lacks true ObjectOrientedness which is the major problem with it. Using Unity, you can blast apart any problem needing inheritance, scalability, or virtual functions and the like... if you can code. In construct, since families can't inherit from families, and functions are kind of awkward, you lose the speed advantages.

    The best example I have is a game Framework I worked on in which I had dozens of characters who could either be controlled by an ai or player. The characters were all as different as in smashbrothers (and as equally the same) and required multiple FSMs. Using families, and passing around UIDs in functions at a high level of abstraction makes c2 lose its charm. It took me two weeks get things to start working, but I had to sacrifice alot of future flexibility. Unity, on the other hand took much less time, as I could simply write abstract scripts how I wanted.

    For small things, I use c2. For convoluted projects, I use Unity. I hope this changes in c3, which it may.

  • Also... I find that it is easier to get technical advice on the unity forums. Construct 2 has a super nice community, but 9/10s of us here don't know a switch from a loop... which is important if you decide to go the sdk route or have deeper problems with c2 than the average user.

    Also, javascript. I don't like javascript. Games don't like javascript. But if you go the sdk route you get all the fun that comes with it. I would take c# or c++ anyday of the week over javascript... yet, here I am with javascript. I figure everyone needs something to keep them passionate though; and I loathe loosely typed javascript...

  • Unity

    check out:

    visual actions

    https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/10463

    2D stuff unity store

    https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/search/2d

    Godot Engine

    2D (with spriter similar for free) and 3D mode

    http://www.godotengine.org/wp/

    You can do 2D games with BlenderGameEngine too.

    Construct 2 is fast and easy.

  • I'm a Unity programmer for the company I work for

    I use C2 for my company and my projects(which doesn't get much tie do to the company I work for and family)

    To put it simply.

    For 99% of the 2D games I would make. I would use C2. I can create A Unity 2D game in about 1/3 the time.

    Having said that. I agree with another opinion here. Going to the SDK is a pain. The SDK is ironmaiden bound in limitations, and that means dangerous to use with lots' of spikes, and it's heavy. very heavy. it's not very clean to use and due to the limits code sharing(store or other wise) is annoying to implement into other projects.

    I like Unity, but I prefer C2. The ES system and the C2 api are astounding and to me outweigh the negatives.

  • Hypothetically with infinite time and resources can someone make an EXACT replica of games such as "The binding of Isaac Rebirth" or "Super Mario World" using Construct 2?

    - I am less interested in simple app games for mobile and more interested in retro style games like from the super Nintendo era. Construct 2 seems to have more people making games for android and ios as simple game apps.

    It's already been done. Look up "Our Darker Purpose" on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/262790/

    C2 is actually better for users who make any sort of game (including massive ones) for PC/MAC because its just better supported and fast without major issues. It's more messy for Android & iOS, limiting games to smaller bite sized types.

    There's very few "big & complex" mobile games made with C2.

    I hope to change that.

  • 2.5D or 3D use unity.

    2D for high end tablets, Unity.

    2D for any HTML5 compatible device, use C2.

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