Easier than C2?

Hi guys,

I'll say up front I'm not trying to cause issues or promote any other software, also Scirra have had my money so I'm not doing them out of any money

That said, do any of you know of any game creating software that is easier to learn than C2? (I'm not knocking C2 at all, its amazing) I have hit up google but cannot find anything apart from the usual (game maker - harder than C2, Stencyl - monthly fees, you never own it)

If you know of anything that would be great, thanks a lot.

OldieSteve there is buildbox.com but it's VERY expensive.

Thank you. yes it is expensive isn't it.. wow.

OldieSteve

I'm disappointed for you that you've had such a poor experience with C2, but if it's not for you, then it's not for you (sorry for the tautology).

I've tried most game creation systems, and this is by far the most accessible in my opinion, and allowed me to fulfil my main ambition - to re-create old classics from the speccy and amiga days (no interest at all in mobile).

If you give us an idea what you are interested in doing with the software, then we may be able to offer a more tailored response.

For instance - I love point 'n' click adventures, and I don't think you can beat Unity with the Adventure Creator addon.

zenox98

OldieSteve

I'm disappointed for you that you've had such a poor experience with C2, but if it's not for you, then it's not for you (sorry for the tautology).

I've tried most game creation systems, and this is by far the most accessible in my opinion, and allowed me to fulfil my main ambition - to re-create old classics from the speccy and amiga days (no interest at all in mobile).

If you give us an idea what you are interested in doing with the software, then we may be able to offer a more tailored response.

For instance - I love point 'n' click adventures, and I don't think you can beat Unity with the Adventure Creator addon.

oh yes, C2 is great, thats for sure. I mean look at some of the stuff people show in the "what are you working on" thread. Its truly stunning and shows in the right hands C2 is great.

What am I interested in? well, creating very basic games but a variety of them, say anything from a fruit machine to a pinball game to a clone of Spectrum's Jetpac, Manic Miner or Jumping Jack, to a clone of the Atari 2600's Adventure or the Arcade Scramble, Lunar Rescue or If I'm really adventurous Mr Do.

If I'm being totally honest here my "main" problem is that things that you would assume to be simple are HUGE issues and take me days to resolve ..or never. I can't start a thread here asking for help every time I hit these problems as I'd be banned for spamming for forums so much. heh

a couple of recent examples:- I was working on a really simple tank combat game, rather like the old Atari 2600 combat. and setting up the play area was simple, making the tank rotate and aim for the pointer again simple, collision detection for your and the enemies shells? simple. (something I'd assume would be hard) but then I spent 4 days solid stuck on something as silly and dumb as adding an extra life every 1000 points, then I'd get stuck on why the score and lives weren't resetting on a new game.. that took me 3 days to resolve. and why my enemy tanks only fired once and never again? (that I never solved)

Then I'd had enough of that game and started on a batatelle game (simple game, you shoot a ball up the screen "pinball like" and it bounces off various things and lands into scoring zones) sounds simple huh?

Well it took me 2 days of work to get the ball working properly, although I never did quite get the "hold space down to shoot the ball harder" working and I then wanted the ball to stay where it landed and you spawn a new ball but alas no, I couldn't figure that out and after I followed several tutorials including one on this site on how to save your high scores, I could never get it working.

Sorry for a long winded post, just trying to explain the fault here is not the software but my lack of intellect/education/maths schooling and 53 year old brain. I have ideas for lots of games but sadly actually creating them seems to not be my thing and like I said, I doubt me creating 10 "help me" threads a week would be a good idea

btw.. you can see I'm almost as bad explaining things as I am at programming.

I think you are being far too hard on yourself.

It is going to be frustrating at times - sometimes for quite a bit of the time - and I have often struggled for weeks on a problem.

BTW, Jetpac and Manic Miner are two of the very first games I tried to recreate in C2 and I was quite happy with the result.

My current is a little know classic called GemX.

I would love to see your Jetpac and Manic Miner games. you have a site where I can go peek?

GemX? you mean that Amiga game?

I would love to see your Jetpac and Manic Miner games. you have a site where I can go peek?

GemX? you mean that Amiga game?

Yea from the Amiga.

Last time I worked on MM was around 2013 - prob on a backup drive somewhere.

I did find a dev build on dropbox that I used for testing different mechanics. See if this works for you:

MM test

Don't give up Steve, with all honesty I can say that you have already found the product you are looking for.

I know it might seem like you are progressing slowly at the moment but keep in mind that all the time you spend trying to solve issues ends up helping in the long run - one way or another.

You try and fail = You learn how NOT to do it (which ends up helping you get a clearer understanding of how events work together and saves you time in the future for similar issues).

You spend ages debugging something = You gain experience in identifying the problem areas quickly which helps immensely when you attempt something difficult or for the first time.

You try and succeed = Makes you feel like a genius .

I wouldn't worry about asking too many questions in the 'How do I' section. If you're asking it, you can bet someone else has the same question and can learn from your initiative. Seriously, every time I log in I check to contribute and there is rarely a question that goes unanswered.

Thank you

> I would love to see your Jetpac and Manic Miner games. you have a site where I can go peek?

>

> GemX? you mean that Amiga game?

>

Yea from the Amiga.

Last time I worked on MM was around 2013 - prob on a backup drive somewhere.

I did find a dev build on dropbox that I used for testing different mechanics. See if this works for you:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34306693/ManicMiner/index.html MM test

Wow that's great!!

OldieSteve

Hardly

The jump isn't quite right, I notice. I recently came across an interview with Mathew Smith - the MM god - and he explains the jumping mechanic in pixel movements, so I'm going to re-visit this soon.

BTW I'll be removing the link soon as it was never meant for public consumption - don't want any letigious action!

OldieSteve

Hardly

The jump isn't quite right, I notice. I recently came across an interview with Mathew Smith - the MM god - and he explains the jumping mechanic in pixel movements, so I'm going to re-visit this soon.

BTW I'll be removing the link soon as it was never meant for public consumption - don't want any letigious action!

"Hardly"? and you say I'm too hard on myself, I'd be thrilled if I made something like that

btw I doubt Matthew would really be bothered about it and I believe neither Software Projects nor BugByte still exist. But I understand what you mean.

btw I guess you can close/lock this now. I think I've realised its C2 or nothing for me. so I'm back at it.

I am relearning C2 after a few years away.

I have tried rpg maker but you are limited to rpg games.

There are a few game making software programs on steam but they all have their limitations.

My 11year old can solve many of my game making questions.

It looks like I will be settling down here as this doesn't seem too difficult as soon as I figure out where things are. Also, if you plan to publish your games, this seems to be the place to do it.

As for learning slowly, I can understand that. C2 has a benefit that they don't mention. It will help you keep your mind sharp even after you retire.

Did I forget to mention that I am also a bit slow at things at 75? I just never grew up.

You can try those other engines, but I will almost bet you will come back here later. I did.

Ken