5 Reasons why Construct is better than Game Maker
January 5th, 2009 by Philip Gamble
| Categories: Game Maker alternatives
Construct is a free open-source DirectX game creator with a drag-and-drop interface.
Last weekend I spoke with one of the people behind the project, Ashley Gullen, who asked me why I thought Stencyl [official website] was so much more well known than the Construct project which has got considerably further along its development. Unlike Stencyl who consistently refuse to give details of their release schedule Construct is available for public download now.
Clearly I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to take a look at Construct (current release 0.98.3), and I liked what I saw. Construct, which has support for integrated Python scripting, has a PowerPoint style layout and several advantages over Game Maker.
1. Behaviors
Frequently used object actions are precoded in Construct as ‘behaviors‘.
Want your player to to have 8 directional movement – simply select the ‘8 direction’ behavior and set up properties such as maximum speed and the rates of acceleration and deceleration.
This saves time when you want to prototype or make a quick start to a project without having to set 8 different events and actions as you would in Game Maker. A physics behavior is also bundled.
2. Layout Editor superior to Game Maker’s room editor
Whilst Game Maker may require different sprites for each direction an object is facing Construct doesn’t.
All objects can be rotated after you have placed them on a Layer (Construct’s equivalent of Game Maker’s rooms) and at any angle you desire. Resizing an object can also be done directly on layers and you can also zoom in and out of layers – something not possible in Game Maker.
3. Built in Object types
Construct has built in object types that make it easy to add different elements to your games.
Want to add text to the screen? Simply drag the text module to where you want it and change its properties. Want to use input from a webcam or output data in a Bar Chart? – easy. There are currently 60+ and anyone can write a plugin to add functionality to Construct.
4. Active development
Construct is actively being developed based on the suggestions and ideas of users of the software.
5. 100% free and Open Source
Game Maker is neither of these and Stencyl have announced that their project will no longer be promoted as open source.
I await your ‘10 reasons why Game Maker is better than Construct’ posts…
I have used Game Maker for almost 2 years and even bought the book (which is great BTW). And while only working with Construct for 3 days I am very close to finishing my fist game.
Here is may assessment:
Game Maker is much easier to learn. Has much better documentation, and the scripting is very intuitive.
Construct has a steeper learning curve, the docs and wiki is not finished, and some of the Objects are imposable to use with out help. But…
The forum is very friendly and helped me though the rough water. And while some people say that Game Maker Scripting is more powerful, or you need to learn “real” coding they are missing the point.
The objects in Construct are exactly that OBJECTS. The future of programming. If you pick up a C# or Java book they are totality built around Objects. What Construct is really just true visual code. Instead of subroutines running to check on things Objects sit quietly doing there thing until needed.
Game Maker has the graphic building too, but it is much different. In Game maker you need to code to get to the real power. Construct’s real power is in the Object graphics that you build from. It feel like you are coding Objects in C# with pictures.
IMHO The more you understand about OOPS programming the more you will appreciate what Construct is and how great of program it is.
Finally I am thrilled that I have both. Competition is good and it will only serve to make both better.
something i like bout game maker runs is well on low end pc. but something i totally hate about game maker is softwrap, that pathetic company who scams with my registration.
I havent seen it yet, but i just want to comment devid d’s response.
Devid youre ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! Omg, i once changed my time like 2 days. And then the stupid SoftWrap form came up, and i couldnt use game maker at all!
So i had to change it back, but now i cant scam winzip anymore
Bye^^
Now ive given it a better look, and i dont agree with you, Mr Gamble.
Based on what youve told, i think that Construct is a program with alot of pre-programmed stuff in it.
In game maker the controls are limited, but you can strill control alot of aspects of the application/game.
And, how much coding do you think youve got to do when youre programming a game in C++ or C# or Java? Its alot more than in game maker.
So i dont think thats an argument.
Besides that, im still going to download and try it
Bye