Best zero-programming game making method? Thread

I'm about to start my own commercial indie game and am amazing at everything but programming (3-D art, 2-D art, video creation, writing, voice-acting, utilizing royalty-free music and sound effect resources, etc) so do you have any advice for what's the easiest software or method to use to handle the silly, you know, "game" part of the game? Zero programming is a must, so it would have to be any kind of game maker that allows me to use the awesome that I do have to make an at least aesthetically amazing game. (for example my best idea so far is something called 'GameMaker Studio' by a 'YoYo Games', but it looks pretty simple so far so I don't know if it can use full video clips, but let me know if you know something better) A one-player 2-D fighting game interspersed with video clips of my fully animated computer generated characters and story would be nice, but game genre matters less to me than ease of use and having a blast on the game-making side of it. And yes I already thought of just making a film or webisodes but I want to hit this from a game angle as well. Thanks

All game engines whether you have to physically type code or not, still require some semblance of programmers logic, as most things in games are based on if else then logic. Game Maker Studio still requires you to use pre-made actions & queries to develop your game, with an option of using the GML scripting language, if you want to extend upon what is already possible.

Construct 2 is an engine that is dedicated to zero programming (writing) & comes with lots of nice pre-made actions & queries, but I believe it is limited in terms of extensibility & platform distribution (web & mobile). Scirra.com

Another alternative is to acquire a programmer to your team, thus resulting in more options without you having to learn any programming languages.

Edited by: AFRLme

You can make a VN with Joilly
Forums.fuwanovel.org

I just spent hours testing several game-makers, including: Unity with all sorts of plugins (PlayMaker, Universal Fighting Engine, Platforming Starter Kit, Adventure Creator, and uFrame), Construct 2, Fusion 2.5, GameMaker Studio, Stencyl, and Ren’Py. But in my initial explorations of each, nothing immediately stood out as something super fun and easy. I’m willing to buckle down and use the tutorials much further to become proficient in whichever software I go with, but I’m really looking for the absolute easiest, least detailed way of making my own game, no matter what kind. (If I got to choose, I’d probably want a super-simple fighting game maker: One background, two characters, boom bam.) What game-making software and/or plugin is so fun and easy that it’s almost like playing a game in itself, as if I’m simply modding an already-complete game with my own awesome 3-D and/or 2-D art and story-writing, but which I will also be allowed to sell as a commercial game when I’m done? I’m willing to sacrifice tons of control for the sake of simply making ‘my own version’ of a game or game template.

Construct 2 wasn't easy enough for you? There's no code writing involved. Simply drag, drop & select from a list of pre-made actions, queries & events. There is no magical big red shiny button that can instantly build a game for you.

The game engine I work (pro-bono) for is similar to Construct 2 in its own way but we allow extensibility through Lua script, GLSL & an object model. The engine is called Visionaire Studio. It's a 2.5D engine specifically tailored for point & click adventure games (first person & third person), although it is also valid for Visual Novels too.

Edited by: AFRLme

I'm a huge fan of Game Maker Studio as I come from an art background and don't have a lick of programming experience as well, but even it will require some programming. It's drag and drop features are good, but once you get into its own programming language, GML, you'll begin to see just how powerful the software is. With that being said, I found GML much easier to learn than C or other languages - the downside is that this language is exclusive to GM so you won't be able to use it elsewhere. Last year, I couldn't do much more than load a background into my game and play some sounds, and after a few months with Game Maker, I am almost finished with my first level, which is fully functional.

Whatever you do, best of luck to you!

Multimedia Fusion 2

Edited by: Nightshade

I 100% back Game Maker. Super powerful and flexible for starting out (even making professional quality games also). There is also tons of books and tutorials on it and it works on a ton of platforms.

Another vote for Gamemaker - it's a great 2D engine with a lot of upside. Unity and others are probably as good (and maybe better) in some ways but for ease of ue and general power you can't go wrong with Gamemaker.

-Tim

Edited by: DonleyTimeFoundation

Why don't you just team up with a programmer and build your own game from scratch. You stated that you have awesome skills, so it wouldn't be a problem to find a programmer willing to work with you.

I'm deciding between GameMaker Studio and Construct 2. The latter looks more fun and easy and effective in every way so far, but its apparent lack of exporting to the major gaming consoles, Xbox 360/One and PS3/4/Vita, leaves me wondering if GMS, which clearly exports to those consoles, is my only choice. So my question is: Is there ANY way for me to make a game in Construct 2...and then export it to those consoles with an extra step?

I can't say about how the "porting" part works as I'm not familiar to it.
I use Construct 2 because I think its easy to import stuff into your game, has very intuitive UI, awesome forum & community, and using it is a breeze to me.
I recommend it.

I use GameSalad. Pretty easy to use, totally drag'n'drop.
Look at my game made with this engine.
You can get it here.

Edited by: iknikitin