Article List of FREE tools and websites for game creation

I found a nice tool for creating bitmap fonts suitable for GMS. It's called Codehead's Bitmap Font Generator (CBFG) and it it even open source:
Thank you for your contribution. I have added it to the list as it's one of the rare font softwares in the list. It took me a bit of time to understand but that's just because I don't deal much with fonts the bitmap way but I figured it out. The interface is a bit too small and could be optimized for higher resolutions but that's just a detail.

Thank you!
 
What about free tools for making games? Frameworks or...?
You are on the GameMaker Studio forums asking for an alternative to GameMaker Studio for free. Your answer is: Search on Google, we use GameMaker Studio here and some of us use GameMaker since it's birth with Mark Overmars.

Materialize is now free! Create PBR texture maps with ease.
http://www.boundingboxsoftware.com/materialize/index.php
I will definately add this tool. I'm not a 3D person but after playing arround with this gem, I'm pretty surprised by it's simplicity and overall, fast interface. Thank you!
 
https://awwapp.com/#

a whiteboard thing, very convenient for explaining people and planning out ur collab game, also you can export what you draw.
Thank you for submitting this great tool. Although the free version is somewhat limited, you can still use this a simple drawing tool for meetings with your project team. I have added this website in the list of productivity and time management.
 
David, can I add also other links?......
Thank you very much for your contribution. I have only included SoundJay because it does not require us to give credits.

Dig.ccmixer (you should remove the www because the link works only without the triple "w"): The website does have some royalty free music but requires multiple clicks to easily see what can be used without credits or not. The website could be more polished and give us a clear look or an easy sortable list. BUT, good source without any doubts.

Bensound requires credits.

As for Pixel stitch, I do see that the tool COULD come in handy but most of the softwares in the list already have similar function and I doubt that a serious designer will use a single function website for their drawings.

As for hosting websites, YoYo Games already provide such services within their marketplace or forums. I still don't mind these links to appear here in the comments but not in the first post as I think this post lives and will continue living as long as we encourage our prefered game creation program and website.

I may add an extra section for credited author assets if more people request or suggest such websites as the assets are INDEED free, but if someone decides or forgets or does NOT read the license or terms of use on the websites by misguard, this can bring problems further down the road for new game creators. But I am not closed to such websites as these authors do merit their credit for their creations and their generosity for their free to use assets.

Because of the way we can sort assets from OpenGameArts, I have added it to the list.

Thanks for your contibution, very appreciated!!!
 
https://drawesome.uy/#
another one of these collab drawing sites, i think this one is better.
Thank you very much for this suggestion. Although we can consider the collaboration part of it, the website is a bit more complex than the one submitted and shown in the list. BUT, not being too familiar with such websites and tools and seeing that I could not find an easy way to change my brush color. I would not mind putting this up if you could give us more details in why this collab drawing is better than the other one.

Thank you for your suggestion, VERY appreciated!
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
its quite easy. you donot need to create an account also.
-so just go to create or host room and then choose the draw option and start. then in it you simply start the match. the colors are on the right side of your browser, these are preset colors. but you can make your own colors by pressing on the current color itself where it is written the color code like $FFFFFF you can even set the transparency there.
-other then that you can join any room there or a specific room and draw.

i sayd is better then the last becouse its more comfortable to use and not so complicated with the whiteboard site. here you just create a room like in a game and thats all. please doodle with it until you see everything it has and dont just discard if you dont get it in the first 2 mins.
 
its quite easy. you donot need to create an account also.
-so just go to create or host room and then choose the draw option and start. then in it you simply start the match. the colors are on the right side of your browser, these are preset colors. but you can make your own colors by pressing on the current color itself where it is written the color code like $FFFFFF you can even set the transparency there.
-other then that you can join any room there or a specific room and draw.

i sayd is better then the last becouse its more comfortable to use and not so complicated with the whiteboard site. here you just create a room like in a game and thats all. please doodle with it until you see everything it has and dont just discard if you dont get it in the first 2 mins.
I have added Drawesome to the list. A very big thank you for your time in specifying a bit more. I don't judge apps and softwares just with the time I spend on it. I do take into consideration what you people say. I just find that they should have put their color palette elsewhere in a clearer place, but once you know it. Interface and style is great indeed. Again, Thank you very much for your contribution!!!

I'll throw this program in: ActivePresenter 7. It's a free program that can be used to record programs that are open on your destop (i.e. Game Maker). You can also edit the video, but it's rather limited in that isle.
https://atomisystems.com/tutorials/ap7/record-video-demonstrations-activepresenter-7/
There is already a video recording software: OBS Studio. They do indeed present a free version but it shows a watermark in your video which is a free to use limitation. Their price tag is also pretty expensive for casual game devs. But, since it does have a free version even though it has a watermark, I still want to thank you very much for this nice tool.
 

PlayerOne

Member
I have added Drawesome to the list. A very big thank you for your time in specifying a bit more. I don't judge apps and softwares just with the time I spend on it. I do take into consideration what you people say. I just find that they should have put their color palette elsewhere in a clearer place, but once you know it. Interface and style is great indeed. Again, Thank you very much for your contribution!!!



There is already a video recording software: OBS Studio. They do indeed present a free version but it shows a watermark in your video which is a free to use limitation. Their price tag is also pretty expensive for casual game devs. But, since it does have a free version even though it has a watermark, I still want to thank you very much for this nice tool.
Odd. I use active presenter on and off and when I export I don't see a watermark in the video file. The only limitation I found is the format you can export to. Perhaps they changed it in future updates.
 

flyinian

Member
Each time when I come across a forum or such and it has useful information then the idea of making a game from scratch and as a beginner makes it substantially easier. I wouldn't even have shooting or movement if not for the help/tips/tutorials and so forth from others. Even though it's still a pain to develop a game with all of the resources for a beginner, you are still able to gain ground.
 
N

NeonBits

Guest
GraphicsGale:is nice for animations. But GM is also good. I was wondering if someone knows something that allows to rotate an image and then save it without pixels lost; it's frustrating to see those programs give almost pixel perfect precision when rotating but then return a bad result after clicking "ok".
 
B

Bayesian

Guest
I was wondering if someone knows something that allows to rotate an image and then save it without pixels lost
In Photoshop at the top set interpolation to nearest neighbor when transforming something(ctrl+T)
In Gimp on the left side set interpolation to none when transforming something(shift+T)
 

Rayek

Member
@NeonBits I assume you mean low resolution pixel art. One of the first rules of pixel art is: don't rotate pixel art unless by 180 degrees. Otherwise you either wind up with a very fuzzy image (using a interpolation method other than nearest neighbour), or a pixel mess (nearest neighbour).

A special interpolation method RotSprite may result in a more or less acceptable result, but never great (Asesprite supports this).

A trick is to upscale pixel art first (at least 300%) and then rotate. But you will have to adjust the resolution of your game accordingly to make this work.
 

Evanski

Raccoon Lord
Forum Staff
Moderator
Not sure if its already been said
freesound.org
a list of creative commons sounds and music
 

Rayek

Member
Does 90 not work?
With square pixels, yes, of course. Silly, I should have mentioned. Some pixel art relies on non-square pixels, though. A couple of weeks ago I was working on Amstrad-style pixel art, and those pixels are double the height (2:1). Can't rotate those by 90 degrees.
 
N

NeonBits

Guest
will have to retry gimp, don't have PS. Don't remember if I've already checked interpolation..

Would realy like a program that makes a new image with the one rotated; it's beautiful and clear until "ok" is clicked.

Heh, we can create a fake face and a fake environment in realtime for the chaos we seem to want in the futur... but we're still unable to rotate and save pixels perfectly in a simple program despite today's computer power... I think someone wants us to believe we're not technologically advanced... Well I wouldn't jump in their teleporter if we're unable to get "pixel perfect"...
 
N

NeZvers

Guest
I think such things as IDE editors also should be added - GMEdit is AMAZING!
EDIT: link
@David Richard, I know many dislike code editor in GMS2 too, not only 1.4 so this tool makes coding experience very pleasant.
I know that Gloomy Toad Studios dislikes it and use Sublime for coding.
 
Last edited:
I think such things as IDE editors also should be added - GMEdit is AMAZING!
Since GMS2 already has a built-in editor, I don't really see why one would only use Code editors outside GMS2 as when changing code, often, there are tests to be made by running the game. I think that it would be good for us to have a list of advantages to use an external code editor instead of the one built-in GMS2. BUT, seeing that the tool is free, you could maybe edit your post with a link for those interested. If the advantages are good enough, I'd have no problems putting it in the list seeing that it is indeed free.
 
I

immortalx

Guest
It also has all events for an object into a single listing with pre-set code folding. All rooms' creation code in one listing as well. It makes navigation between code files a joy. Not to mention the countless useful features like namespaces and optional typing in variable declaration. And its a WIP. Imagine what a mature version could do.

I'm not ditching the in build editor. It's nice that it's there, but as notable GMS1.4 users reported, it lacks features that used to be on GMS1.4. You may initially feel "disconnected" using an external code editor, but you get used to it like you get used to the myriad quirks of GMS. As for testing, you can use a script that compiles the project through GMS with a simple shortcut. It more than makes up with the list of features it provides.
Besides, I believe that the ideal game IDE is one that focuses on the flexible importing/organization/presentation of assets, and has a clear separation between handling these resources and the programming logic.
In conclusion, having a capable in build editor is welcome, but if you're finished with assets and want to focus on the logic, nothing beats an external editor.
 
Because GMS2's editor stinks?...
This is in no way a valid, good and constructive argument.
It also has a built in image editor yet most people use external tools for that. Options are a good thing.
There's nothing else for me to say. You are absolutely right.
It also has all events for an object into a single listing with pre-set code folding. All rooms' creation code in one listing as well. It makes navigation between code files a joy. Not to mention the countless useful features like namespaces and optional typing in variable declaration. And its a WIP. Imagine what a mature version could do.
...
but if you're finished with assets and want to focus on the logic, nothing beats an external editor.
Thank you for the nice explanation. I will be using what you said for the small presentation in the list of apps. Very appreciated!

Thank you again for those helping to expand this list of usefull apps!
 
https://mp3cut.net/
cuts mp3`s. 1 thing that its cool for it, it automatically detects where there is no sound and marks only where there is sound. this is very useful for people that use lmms for exporting sfx becouse lmms aways exports in chunks of time, like 3 sec 6 sec 9 sec etc. it cant export 1 sec wav file. so theres aways a silent 2 sec after the sfx.
with this suite you basically, upload, cut, download. easy as that.
I retried this site as Firefox upgraded since then. I found it pretty simple and I think this may interest someone who does not want a full audio editor and just wants a piece of an MP3 file. Thank you for your contribution, I have added this website in the list.
 
I've just started making premium quality free extensions. Add my blog too : https://gmdevblog.com under Programming & Scripts category.
There seems to be effort in the website and extensions but the descriptions on the MarketPlace and on your website don't make it clear as to why we would need such a thing. Could you provide us with examples of which situations your extensions would be usefull and what they actually do in other words as even on the website, it's no too clear. ALSO, there is no "Programming & Scripts" category on your website.
 
A

Andrew R. C. Beck

Guest
Just wanted to say that this post is really helpful to the community and it was a very beneficent gesture :)
 
Interesting little pixel art shape tool for idea generation:
https://www.beaudu.com/spritedraw
OK - @zircher mentionned it as good for game jams...But these sprites don't represent anything. I would not mind poosting it up but I cannot think of a use for this weird tool. Maybe just light me up on the usefullness and I could post it in the list. Sorry for the delay in answering. Got caught up with life issues...Go figure - LIFE!
 
Z

zircher

Guest
It's inspirational and easy to hack. It stops the 'blank page' effect and gives you shapes and ideas to enhance upon. Just looking at a page of random shapes and I'm already envisioning how to tweak them and give them Space Invader animations. Similarly the diagonal aligned shapes immediately puts me in mind of enemies that come down at angle to attack you ala Galaga. The ones that look like creatures remind my of the hordes of enemies that a Rogue-like or similar turn based game might use. For a more modern example, the hordes of enemies that you would need for a tower defense game. That's a heck of a lot of inspiration and creativity for a small package. And sometimes, that is more powerful and useful than a tool with ten times the complexity. The ease of use is an important as well. You spend time being creative and not learning another tool.

For example, these two unedited sprites reminded me of dungeon critters so much that I saved them for a future project. :)
 

Attachments

Z

zircher

Guest
Oh, as far as category, Useful Links -> graphics. It's procedural random pixel art and just as valid as the non-procedural stuff on OpenGameArt. Not every tool fits every user, but I got plenty out of this one.
 
Interesting little pixel art shape tool for idea generation:
https://www.beaudu.com/spritedraw
I have added this to the usefull links section. Thank you for sharing this with us. I would though ask if you would not mind resizing the images in the previous comment just for the ease of scrolling. But I do love the examples. We get the idea and that's super great and people can see what it's used for!
It's inspirational and easy to hack. It stops the 'blank page' effect and gives you shapes and ideas to enhance upon. Just looking at a page of random shapes and I'm already envisioning how to tweak them and give them Space Invader animations. Similarly the diagonal aligned shapes immediately puts me in mind of enemies that come down at angle to attack you ala Galaga. The ones that look like creatures remind my of the hordes of enemies that a Rogue-like or similar turn based game might use. For a more modern example, the hordes of enemies that you would need for a tower defense game. That's a heck of a lot of inspiration and creativity for a small package. And sometimes, that is more powerful and useful than a tool with ten times the complexity. The ease of use is an important as well. You spend time being creative and not learning another tool....
Thank you for this explanation. Usefull indeed.

It's been a while I did not update this but I keep my eye on it. A very rich source of tools and I'm proud of every single person who shared their knowledge here. I may be the author of this thread, but I most certainly do not take any credits for it's contents. Thanks to YOU the community for being generous and mostly, helpfull for all of us, Game Creators.

Thanks for your supportive help, clarifications and discussions. A polite and constructive thread is always welcomed and feels good. Everyone's opinion is welcomed and helps understand how others get inspiration for their games and how others work in their game creation process. You may have noticed that I tag the users in my spoiler tag who have submitted stuff or have given any information to help us understand what certain programs did. If I missed anyone, please DO let me know.

Cheers!
 
Need some clouds for your game?

Draw an outline, render the cloud. Work in layers, change the lighting!

Thank you for this nice app. I unfortunately cannot test anything right now and I only have a phone where I can watch over my threads. I tried to edit my initial post but I have a very hard time editing because of problems copy and pasting using the mobile version of this website. There are also scroll issues. But this app seams very nice and creative. I sure will take a look at it and find a place to put it in the list once I can get back in front of my computer.

Thank you for your contribution!
 
Top