Make Games Without Coding by Using These Engines!

Do you want to be a video game maker but don’t know how to code? Well today you have options – modern game engines have made it so that you can make hit games, without knowing how to write a single line code. In this blog we will review the best engines for creating great video games without having to do any programming . We’ll also show you the types of games that these engines have created in the past. After watching this video you will know how engines allow you to create without coding, and which is best for your specific development goals We’ve seen indie developers use these engines to create their own games – with impressive levels of success.

Welcome back! 

Before we get into naming the actual engines,

let’s talk about some game development basics. That way you can better understand why it is indeed possible to make games and not just basic games- great games, without knowing how to code.

Let’s start by thinking of games as building blocks. Games are made up of building blocks or objects. A game will have hundreds or even thousands of objects. A game engine will display these objects, but also do up to three more things based on the needs of the game designer: The engine will give life to these objects by giving them attributes, and characteristics. The engine will allow these objects to interact with one another. And The engine will allow these objects to interact with the user. To illustrate this concept, let’s take a super basic example, like a platformer.

As we just mentioned, a game engine will (where needed by the game designer) give attributes to objects, give them a set of rules on how they interact with each other, and how give them a set of rules on how they interact with the player. Let’s apply this concept on the four objects, one by one, and go from the most basic to the most complex. The background is the most basic. Its job is just to be the background. No physics, no interactions. It's just there. The floor has a physical attribute. Objects that touch it need to be able to stand on it. If it didn’t have this attribute, objects would fall right through. The Bad Guy, like the floor, has a physical attribute. When the bad guy touches the floor, he stops.

He also has some rules in place.

For example when we walks, a rule for him, is that he has to play his ‘walk’ animation. He also has rules regarding his interaction with Super Robot - like attacking him. This might mean, playing a different animation when he is near Super Robot, and also modifying Super Robot’s health, should his attack be successful. one if his rules is also to play a ‘walk’ animation when he walks, and there is also a set of rules built in him related to his interactions with other objects, like the bad guy. He probably also has attributes like health and ammunition, that are linked to their own rules. The most unique thing about him though is that the player controls him, so he has a whole set of rules related to that.

For example, when the player presses the A button on their controller, that might fire off a rule, like a ‘jump’ action for Super Robot. So as you can see, it’s all just a combination of objects, attributes, and rules. If you understand these core concepts, you can understand how and why it’s possible for an engine to require no code at all.

Because - what if an engine already had the freshly authored game code for telling object show to react in the situations above? What if there were already built in scripts for things like platforming, running, jumping, and fighting bad guys. And what if you could control all of these interactions using a simple interface, and drag & drop commands.

Well that’s exactly what’s possible today, with the engines that we’re going to talk about in this video.

Essentially it works like this:

Take your object, say Super Robot

Find the rule you want, say ‘jump’

Drag that rule from the rule box, and drop it onto Super Robot

Tweak the values to your taste, and now you’ve

given your character the ability to jump without having to write a line of code.

And with that, here are 3 engines that we

Recommend for making games without coding.

Please note, for this list we tried to focus on engines where you could create a game from start to finish, without having to write script. There are other great engines that beginners should check out like
Godot, and RPG Maker,
however users of those engines may benefit from having some coding background. This also isn’t to say you won’t be able to use an engine that requires coding. It’s common for engines to have add-on scripts, that make it possible to script visually.

For example, for Unity, there’s an extension available in the Unity asset store called playmaker that makes visual scripting possible.
The indie title, The First Tree, was actually made using Playmaker. When it comes to add-ons though, there are a lot, and some may be better than others, so its best to do your homework.

Now onto the list!

The first on the list is Construct 3.

If you want an engine that does exactly what we mentioned above, look no further than Construct 3. With its drag and drop interface, and its library of built-in rules you can make a game like the Super Robot example in no time!

There are also great tutorials on YouTube for Construct 3.
In fact, one of our favourite YouTube channels, Gigantic, has a great tutorial where they show you how to make a platforming game, step by step, using one of their asset packs, and Construct 3. If you don’t know where or how to begin, this is exactly where we recommend you start! Construct3 has a free trial available, and licenses start at $99 a year for a personal license.

Some Construct games include 8Bit Fiesta, Glokar, and Klang.

Next is fan-favourite, G Develop is an open-source game engine designed to be used by everyone - no programming skills required. It has a drag & drop interface, built-in events, and tons of tutorials. When ready, you can export your games to iOS, Android, Mac, Linux, and even Facebook Messenger. The best part of the G develop is its price! G develop is an open-source project and is licensed under the MIT license, meaning you
can use it for absolutely no cost. In terms of games made using G develop, you can check out and even play G develop-made games right on their website’s showcase page (https://gdevelop-app.com/games-showcase/)

And last but not least, is the classic, Game Maker has been around for years and has developed a great community. You can find an endless amount of tutorials on YouTube and you even buy books on Game Maker! It’s drag & drop interface does exactly what we mentioned in the example, and only if you choose to, you can do a few more things using their scripting language. The latest version, Game Maker Studio 2, starts at $39 for a basic license, and goes all the way up to $1500 for it’s “ultimate” edition. A free trial is also available.

There are tons of Game Maker games - way too many hits to name, but recent and upcoming Game Maker-made games include Nidhogg II, Way of the Passive Fist, and Wander song.

And there you have it, 3 engines, where you can drag and drop your way to a hit game!

Let us know what you think is the best no-code game engine in the comments below.

Thanks for watching our blog and
Let your fellow viewers know what engines they like