Game Design programs. Which one?

[Destore117]

So, I've always wanted to design video games.
And looking at software on the Internet to start with I have the 3 popular supposedly like, good for beginners or masters. They are

Unity3D (free unless your game makes a set income I believe it's above 10,000$)

RPG Maker (can't remember pricings.)

GameMaker (I'd have to buy Pro which is 100$ or so.)

And was curious if anyone's used these programs before, what their opinions are on them. I've tried searching through forums but it's become quite a hassle. So figured I'd ask you guys and girls at iMTG.
I'm leaning towards Unity3D mainly cuz of it being free. But I've heard you need decent coding skill to use it effectively.

Also, thing to note. The kind of games i want to start with would be Megaman Zero series kinds of games. Platformers, action adventure, etc

Would Unity work for a 2-D sidescroller?

I've seen GameMaker and it seems super easy to use and could be a great starting place, but haven't seen a way to export the game. And the price is a bit high for me. (However if needed it'll have to work.)

RPG Maker seems like it'd be nice to just test out Link To The Past style games, and see what I could do with those. But again I've heard decent coding knowledge is needed and they have like 40 different versions of RPG Maker. Which one would I use?


Sorry for so many questions, but game design is my long time dream and these programs all seem like great places to start. I just need some help deciding on one.

[InfinitiveDivinity]

Unity is really good software, I have dabbled with Game Maker but not RPG Maker, both of them honestly I can't give much of an opinion on, especially the latter seeing as how I haven't touched it. You do need to know how to code for any sort of game creation, you can model characters and environments all you want, but without code, they will do nothing. Also, you can most definitely create a 2-D platformer on 3-D software, you just simply don't use your third plane. You can also add depth if you'd like, see any Paper Mario game. A 3rd dimension in a 2-D platformer (sounds weird, I know) can also make your backgrounds look realistic.

[Destore117]

Unity is really good software, I have dabbled with Game Maker but not RPG Maker, both of them honestly I can't give much of an opinion on, especially the latter seeing as how I haven't touched it. You do need to know how to code for any sort of game creation, you can model characters and environments all you want, but without code, they will do nothing. Also, you can most definitely create a 2-D platformer on 3-D software, you just simply don't use your third plane. You can also add depth if you'd like, see any Paper Mario game. A 3rd dimension in a 2-D platformer (sounds weird, I know) can also make your backgrounds look realistic.

Thanks for the input Infinite! I'm leaning towards Unity (firstly cuz of price) also, checking out their website they have tutorials on coding and how to use Unity it'll probably just be basic things but I suppose I'll learn as I go. And can always use the worldwide web to work the rest out.

[InfinitiveDivinity]

Unity is really good software, I have dabbled with Game Maker but not RPG Maker, both of them honestly I can't give much of an opinion on, especially the latter seeing as how I haven't touched it. You do need to know how to code for any sort of game creation, you can model characters and environments all you want, but without code, they will do nothing. Also, you can most definitely create a 2-D platformer on 3-D software, you just simply don't use your third plane. You can also add depth if you'd like, see any Paper Mario game. A 3rd dimension in a 2-D platformer (sounds weird, I know) can also make your backgrounds look realistic.

Thanks for the input Infinite! I'm leaning towards Unity (firstly cuz of price) also, checking out their website they have tutorials on coding and how to use Unity it'll probably just be basic things but I suppose I'll learn as I go. And can always use the worldwide web to work the rest out.

Coding really isn't too difficult to grasp, you do have to take it as if you were literally learning a new language though. It takes practice and time in order to get fluent. If you are persistent enough though, it is definitely something you can teach yourself. If you go this route, check out Snipt, it contains snippets for just about anything, (prewritten commands) and can really come in handy when you just can't seem to get your algorithm correct. There are also plenty of other sources like Snipt, it's just one of my personal favorites.