Article List of FREE tools and websites for game creation

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PatrickL

Guest
When I feel out of inspiration i like using this website to generate names that help me create and give great inspiration

 
Thank you very much for this contribution. As I stated previously...I will check this out more deeply and put it in one of the lists when I have time . Thank you very much!
 
S

Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
Convert your GameMaker Studio HTML5 games to ARM64-based Web Apps for the PinePhone and similar devices running Ubuntu Touch by UBports: https://open-store.io/app/webapp-creator.jujuyeh

Edit: just tried it on my pinephone and the app doesn't work.

rip
 
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Convert your GameMaker Studio HTML5 games to ARM64-based Web Apps for the PinePhone and similar devices running Ubuntu Touch by UBports: https://open-store.io/app/webapp-creator.jujuyeh

Edit: just tried it on my pinephone and the app doesn't work.

rip
I am abit confused by this one. Converting a HTML5 game to an ARM64 PinePhone game as I can understand.
There is very little information on this software and the patreon page says that this patron is not supporting any creators yet.

I would need way more information into the using of this software, why would one use this as it's lacking doccumentation on it's usage and to know if it's usable on Windows because the screenshots seem to come from an ARM64 PinePhone device letting us believe that we can only use it with that device.

Thank you!

When I feel out of inspiration i like using this website to generate names that help me create and give great inspiration

I will post this up in the list soon. Thank you for this nice addition.
An impressive and well organized list of game resources...
https://github.com/ellisonleao/magictools/blob/master/README.md
I hesitated for this one but seeing that the list identifies the free resources from the paid, it's a good addition.
 
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Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
I am abit confused by this one. Converting a HTML5 game to Android game as I can understand. 2 things I note.
1. GameMaker Studio already has a built-in Android exporter even though it's not bundled with the HTML5 package
2. Very little information on this software and the patreon page says that this patron is not supporting any creators yet.

I would need way more information into the using of this software, why would one using other than financially because of YoYo's package pricing and of course some doccumentation on it's usage and to know if it's usable on Windows because the screenshots seem to come from an Android device letting us believe that we can only use it with an Android device.

Thank you!


I will post this up in the list soon. Thank you for this nice addition.

I hesitated for this one but seeing that the list identifies the free resources from the paid, it's a good addition.
The UBPorts pinephone / Ubuntu Touch is not android. It's arm64 architecture Ubuntu 16.04 LTS linux which GameMaker does not have an compatible export for. GameMaker has an Ubuntu export but it is not a supported LTS version (18.04) nor the correct architecture (it is amd64) so it won't run.

Although it doesn't matter now because I downloaded the app and it just gave me a "corrupt package" error.
 
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The UBPorts pinephone / Ubuntu Touch is not android. It's arm64 architecture Ubuntu 16.04 LTS linux which GameMaker does not have an compatible export for. GameMaker has an Ubuntu export but it is not a supported LTS version (18.04) nor the correct architecture (it is amd64) so it won't run.

Although it doesn't matter now because I download the app and it just game me a "corrupt package" error.
Sorry for the missinterpretation. I'll edit my post up. I still lack documentation on how to use this asset for game creation. And, as you also mentionned, you got a corrupted package error in your download. I still think that the resource can be held here if ever the author adds more to the very basic and little information we have on his page. I'm still very impressed by what people find and I thank you for providing us this information and your finding for our GM community.
 
Need some clouds for your game?

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

I have tested this software on my side. I tried to render 1 cloud and my CPU was running wild and it takes forever. I waited 1 minute and it had gone just about 10% in its rendering process. I cannto put this software up. I hate it because the preview on the webpage gives a false impression of ease of use and speed. Here is my experience:
1. Open the app
2. Draw a cloud outline straight off without touching anything
3. No render of my cloud drawing, not expected results BUT
4. I play with settings trying to see an effect, nothing happens
5. Click on the Preview button (maybe that's the problem) still nothing happens
6. Try one of the predefined presets at the bottom, still no effects.
7. Went back to website to see that I had to press "Enter" to render (Not clearly defined in app)
8. Pressed "Enter", waited between 1 to 3 minutes for a 640x480 preview
9. Preview seemed pleasing but long, tried another preset from Volcanic smoke to fluffy cloud, almost no difference in my cloud after another 2 minutes waiting for the render.
10. Play with some setting while in render mode, takes another minute or 2 to re apply the setting I just changed.

So I am a bit discouraged because I loved the idea of this cloud generating app, but I just could not generate anything easily or fast enough. It takes forever to generate and see a preview of your cloud and the sun does not affect aything else but the lighting of your background, no true light reaction from the cloud itself. I think this tool is a great idea but not good enough for a nice game creation tool. It would need better performances. Thank you for submitting this. It's good to have here for others that may want to share their experience. I may put it up in the list if I get positive reviews from other users.
 

Rayek

Member
I have tested this software on my side [...]
Well, all I can say is that Kumoworks works fine for me. But it is CPU heavy, and takes advantage of all cores. I have a very old i7 [email protected], and drawing a cloud, then hitting enter to render the preview cloud takes a second for smaller clouds, and couple of seconds for larger ones.

The light does affect the clouds, but when the "sun" is moved, each cloud layer must be selected and rendered once more (hit enter for each layer).

A good tutorial here:

The person reviewing the app also has no issues rendering quick previews. Did you lower the preview quality to a quarter? That might help. Also, what kind of a CPU do you have?

The final rendering does take more time.
 
Well, all I can say is that Kumoworks works fine for me. But it is CPU heavy, and takes advantage of all cores. I have a very old i7 [email protected], and drawing a cloud, then hitting enter to render the preview cloud takes a second for smaller clouds, and couple of seconds for larger ones.

The light does affect the clouds, but when the "sun" is moved, each cloud layer must be selected and rendered once more (hit enter for each layer).

A good tutorial here:

The person reviewing the app also has no issues rendering quick previews. Did you lower the preview quality to a quarter? That might help. Also, what kind of a CPU do you have?

The final rendering does take more time.
I'll put this app in the list. To answer your question, I have a Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 Ghz. Yeah, lame, my i7 crashed last year, motherboard RAM and CPU, I was sooo sad!!! And no more money so I had to do with what I had at hand. I still have my Zotac GTX 980 TI 6Gb that works but the PCIe slot does not do it justice so. Yeah. I will mention about this app in the list with a note about it's rendering time and its higher than average CPU usage. But yes, a cloud creator IS a nice original addition.
 
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Rayek

Member
I'll put this app in the list. To answer your question, I have a Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 Ghz. Yeah, lame, my i7 crashed last year, motherboard RAM and CPU, I was sooo sad!!! And no more money so I had to do with what I had at hand. I still have my Zotac GTX 980 TI 6Gb that works but the PCIe slot does not do it justice so. Yeah. I will mention about this app in the list with a note about it's rendering time and its higher than average CPU usage. But yes, a cloud creator IS a nice original addition.
Ah, yes, I feel you! My rig is slowly falling apart as well. Old i7, which I intend to replace after the summer with a Threadripper build.

Last year I helped a friend out and repaired/upgraded his old Core2 Q6600 machine, which is still surprisingly okay to work with. Was a good CPU, that.
 

Rayek

Member
Game Texture Viewer is now free (previously $20).


a fast, reliable and simple tool for film and game artists to preview textures and sprite sheet animations.
The code to activate is GPG7-33NS-KJ2K-CKGT

 
Game Texture Viewer is now free (previously $20).

The code to activate is GPG7-33NS-KJ2K-CKGT
Nice one! Simple app with a very nice and clean interface. Thanks for submitting this. I added this app in the list.
 
A list of very usefull and FREE for both commercial and non-commercial use softwares, links and tools used for game creation. These lists can be expanded by other users' contributions.

Feel free to suggest new or alternatives by commenting. Every section below follow their listed guidelines. Please note that this thread is for FREE tools, so paid, sharewares or demos are not welcomed here unless a free version is fully functional with no time limit and no ads.

Downloadable Softwares

The softwares on this list will follow these guidelines:
  • Works, at least, under Windows
  • Must be used under a game creation process (marketing, preview, import, export, graphics, sound, music, video, etc...)
  • Downloadable and free of malicious software
  • No assets from the marketplace as it absolutely requires a YoyoGames account
  • In the same line of though as the previous guildeline, softwares that require accounts to be used or downloaded won't be added to this list.
Alternatives can be accepted but I will have a look at it first before adding it to this list. Accepted alternatives should offer more functionalities, easier to use or more modern interface. Some alternatives could be accepted if they have similar functionalities with a different user-friendly interface that follow the guidelines above.

2D Graphic tools:
  • Paint.NET: http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
    A bitmap image editor with numorous functionalities and a large range of addons for additional effects and renders. Saves in all major image formats. Works using layers for easy editing. A very good alternative for those wanting an Adobe Photoshop replacement.

  • Krita: https://krita.org/en/
    A very nice Paint.NET alternative. Very nice GUI, professionnal and well worth the download. A nice bitmap editor with very professional tools and easy to use. Out of the box, it permits a lot of manipulations for your image and many drawing tools to make your game graphics come to life.

  • RealWorld Paint: http://www.rw-designer.com/image-editor
    Some may say that RealWorld Paint is much more complete than Paint.NET. In some ways it is but other may find it's user interface a bit more complicated but seeing that this software can export in SVG format, work with vector graphics and permits perspective modifications of images, it make's it a nice tool to have for other image needs. It exports in major image formats including Paint.NET, Photoshop and WebP.

  • Greenfish Icon Editor Pro: http://greenfishsoftware.org/gfie.php
    A full featured icon creator and editor. It also exports in all major image file formats. Can easily create gif animations. It's a very nice tool for small pixely images for those creating old-school games. A very nice and professional tool. It supports bigger images but Paint.NET or RealWorld Paint would be more recommended for images bigger than 512x512.

  • Inkscape: https://inkscape.org/en/
    A very popular vector tool with lots of tutorials, a nice comunity, lots of examples. An excellent tool to replace Adobe Illustrator if you feel that the later is a bit too expensive to begin with.

  • GraphicsGale: https://graphicsgale.com/us/
    Seems to be a popular software for some 2D artists. I personally don't like the Windows 95 interface. It does though export animations as sprite sheets or AVI. But again, after spending over 5 minutes in it, without any tutorial, I could not add a single frame to my animation, the button is there but it seems that I do not know how to work with it. So this is an advanced animation software for 2D graphics but be prepared for a bit of training and get used to. This software is now completely free.

  • GIMP: https://www.gimp.org/
    I was not supposed to put this in this list. Not because it's not a good software but because of it's learning curve. But, I've had and seen a few requests and posts and seeing that a lot of people use, I can't help but to put this powerfull image editor in this list. Supports 3rd party plugins, lot's of help. If you don't mind the awkward interface, you'll end up using a professionnal, yet, free 2D image tool. With the help of plugins you can edit GIfs and other file formats.

  • Piskel: https://www.piskelapp.com/download
    I hesitated to put this one up as many of the software above will permit to create similar things. But as a basic Pixel Sprite editor, it's clean and nice. The interface is bbasic and easy to understand. AND they also have an online version which make's it cool. Since this software is pretty similar to others, I'll mention it juste here and not on the onlibe tools below but I had to put it somewhere as it's a nice free software indeed.

  • GTV (Game Texture Viewer): https://www.gametextureviewer.com/
    A nice simple app that permits you to see sprite sheets and preview their animations. They recently switched to a free license and they have released a perpetual free license key directly on their website here: https://www.gametextureviewer.com/pricing. There's not much more to say aside from the fact that this is a viewer. The interface is clean good and easy to work with.
3D Graphic tools:
  • Blender: https://www.blender.org/
    I could not limit the softwares to my own understandings so be prepared for a bit of reading and learning before using this powerfull software. Imagination is your limit with this software when talking about 3D creations, from animated sequences to full scenes. It also has plenty of tutorials, export scripts and much more for 3D game creators. It's probably one of the most complete free 3D professional tool you will find. There's also a few tools and scripts you can find to export in GameMaker.

  • Sweet Home 3D: http://www.sweethome3d.com/
    At first, you may think this does not belong here but for a free software and those creating 3D games, it can workout to be a very neat tool with an easy to understand user interface. It permits to export in OBJ format and create videos out of your creations. At its base, it's a plan creator but it is not limited to just making your bathroom plan as you can create objects and much more with this sweet application. You also have a bunch of additional 3D objects you can import from their website apart from what is already in the software.

  • MagicaVoxel: https://ephtracy.github.io/
    OK, first, I do not use or work with voxels. BUT seeing that I try to try most of the softwares in this list to see if they apply to the guidelines, I must say that I am pretty impressed with the simplicity of this little free software for those working with voxels. If you find something even more simple that this and as fast as this, please share, but after spending not more that 2 minutes, I got the hang on a few things without having any clue of what a voxel was so for those working with voxels, you'll probably find this tool VERY easy to use and understand.

  • Materialize: http://www.boundingboxsoftware.com/materialize/index.php
    A very simply software permitting you to take an image and create your material from it defining it's shininess, height maps, normals etc. The interface takes some time to get use to if you just fiddle arround with it (like I do) but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. If you check 1 or 2 tutorials out, you'll be creating your materials within minutes.
Other graphical tools:
  • Tiled: http://www.mapeditor.org/
    Also known as Tile Map Editor or Map Editor. This software seems a bit complex to begin with but after a glance or 2 at the basic help documents online, you have a very nice tile tool for your game creation process. It can export a GameMaker Studio room with the tiles you setup. It also has built-in tile animation and a few others tools for those working with overworld maps or platform style gaming.

  • DragonBones: http://dragonbones.com/en/index.html
    For those creating animations using bones and skeletons, this is a neat little software with a nice GUI. I personnally don't use skeletons but I've been able to work in it using my logics without any to much complicated keyboard shortcuts. Just a note that the Windows version is downloadable through their downloads section as the link on their homepage seems broken.

  • AutoTiles Helper: https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/autotiles-helper-free.253/
    I fell on this nice little software created for GMS2 users or any other tile users out there like me. This software will actually take a 6 tile tileset and convert it to a 47 tile tileset correctly ordered for GMS2 if you need it there. Extremely usefull and an almost must have for those using old tilesets that do not want to remake them. There is a direct download link in the thread but also a marketplace download so it's there for whoever needs it whereever they need it.

  • Color Quantizer: http://x128.ho.ua/color-quantizer.html
    This little tool was submitted by a user who gave a pretty good explanation on what this does. This little software can drastically reduce the size of your PNG images without loosing much quality. Please refer to his post HERE to know a bit more on how usefull this can become in your game.

  • Codehead's Bitmap Font Generator: http://www.codehead.co.uk/cbfg/
    A simple tool that permits to export one of your installed fonts as a bitmap image for your game. Has numourous options. I don't personally use fonts as strips but the process of having font strips is very popular in games so I had to put this nice and simple software here.

  • KumoWorks: https://opentoonz.github.io/e/download/kumoworks.html
    The name does not do this program justice. This is a very well thought CLOUD DESIGNER/GENERATOR. Yes, you read it properly, you simply draw a closed free hand outline, hit "Enter" and the engine generates an awsome looking cloud. With my tests on my modest, too old computer after my big i7 crash last year and a big lack of budget, this software's rendering was very slow on my Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU. And as stated by Rayek, the user who submitted this fabulous tool, this app does use your CPU, check Rayek's post here for a short video. So expect a bit of waiting for cloud generation depending on your specs, but the final effect is beautiful. You can change sun direction (don't forget to re-render after you moved it) and of course set a bunch of different options. You also have predefined clouds like volcanic clouds or smoother clouds. Any person that want nice, close to realistic, clouds will love the simplicity of this program.
Video and screen capture:
  • OBS Studio: https://obsproject.com/download
    A very complete simple video capture software that can capture more than one sources at a time. This software can ease out the creation of a marketing video for your game. It's one of the easiest to configure and use screen recording software giving you, out-of-the-box, a nice resolution with a good compression ratio of what you record. It comes with a small very basic video editor but the fun thing is that you can see a live preview during your screen setup seeing your webcam and your screen at the same time before recording.

  • Greenshot: http://getgreenshot.org/
    A very simple but nice little screen capturing software. It permits the use of custom keys and automatic export and save functions. Basically, capture your screen and make it save it automatically without any prompts. Very usefull. You can also add other plugins for various uses that I'm sure others will find usefull. It's discreet and stays in the tray area.

  • ShareX: https://getsharex.com/
    Another screenshot tool. For one, this app is open source. It offers a huge wide array of configurations and many possible upload options. If Greenshot is too simple for you or you feel that it's missing a few things, ShareX will most probably get that done for you.

  • Windows 11 Built-in Screen Capture: Keyboard shortcut: Windows + Shift + S
    Windows 11's new screenshot snip tool has got a fresh new interface with some VERY interesting options. Freehand screen capture where you draw whatever shape you want in freehand style and it capture that area only, normal rectangular selection section and window select captures. If an extra software bothers you like Greenshot or ShareX and you run Windows 11, well, this is built-in Windows and adds more to the default PrintScreen keyboard shortcut. If you want to access the files that it creates though, it is not configurable so you need to get them deep inside Microsoft's horrible path. Better put yourself a shortcut to that folder. Aside from copying the screenshot in the cliboard to paste in other documents, the snipping tool screenshots are automatically saved under this path in Windows 11:
    C:\Users\{YourUserName}\AppData\Local\Packages\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\ScreenClip

  • Screen to Gif: http://www.screentogif.com/
    I just fell on this very easy, so beautiful little program that permits to capture part of your screen as a GIF image, hence its name, Screen to Gif. It also has a very usefull built-in editor that will give you all your basic tools to create a short Gif. As to save as GIF, there is not problem but there is a few bugs here and there BUT if all you want is to save as a GIF, it works flawlessly and the user interface is a real charm.

  • GifCam and VClip: http://blog.bahraniapps.com/
    I must admit that for the single executables and simplicity of these screen capturing softwares, they MUST be in this list. 2 VERY neat tools that capture screen as GIF or Video. Both softwares are easily available on the website in their respective tabs. Just a note, the download links seem to be at the very bottom of the software presentations.
Audio:
  • Audacity: http://www.audacityteam.org/
    A very well known sound recorder and editor. Plenty of functionalities. It pretty much sums it all up.

  • LMMS: https://lmms.io/
    A nice software used to create musics and sounds for your games. The user interface feels good and clean. The learning curve is not too steep as by fiddling arround in it without any tutorials you can already make a few sounds come out easily. Exports in WAV and OGG but you can easily use a conversion software or use Audacity for other export options. Comes with a few plugins and others can be downloaded.

  • SFXR: http://www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html
    A very small application that can be very usefull for generating sound effects. The interface is VERY basic but you don't need a complicated interface to hear sounds. It has predefined random sound generators for coins and lasers, for example. If you prefer a web based software of this type, check BFXR in the usefull links section.

  • LabChirp: http://labbed.net/software/labchirp/
    Another sound creation utility. After fiddling arround with it a bit. I found it pretty usefull for loop sounds although it is not limited to such sounds. Exports in WAV format, no installation required, just a simple zip file to unzip. The interface is, to my opinion, outdated and could use a bit more fine-tuning but for audio fans out there, they may feel at home pretty quickly as there's lots to customize for such a small software.

  • Bosca Ceoil: https://boscaceoil.net/
    A very neat simple beat maker with lots of possibilities to arrange more than just beats. A VERY VERY simple user interface that to my opinion, could be much more to the taste of today's technology, but it comes with lots of instruments and is very easy to understand and use. Small note: It has an online version which uses Flash but I could not have it opened in Firefox. But I downloaded it and I was not dissapointed even with it's clickable DOS like user interface.
Script Editors:
  • GMEdit: https://yellowafterlife.itch.io/gmedit
    As a user stated which is so true: "GMS2 also has a built in image editor yet most people use external tools for that. Options are a good thing.". Another user gave us a brief list of features: "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...if you're finished with assets and want to focus on the logic, nothing beats an external editor."
Usefull links

Websites listed here can be very helpfull if you don't feel like installing anything. Downloadable is optionalal here. Links in this list should follow these guidelines:
  • Content available for free (NO credits should be needed to use the contents)
  • No registration should be required to access it's contents
  • Stay in the scope of game creation tools or resources
  • No embarrassing, annoying, undesired or shocking ads (Bassically, ads are OK but there's a limit)
  • Should not contain any downloads to malicious softwares
Programming and scripts
  • GML Scripts: http://www.gmlscripts.com/
    Very nice website containing lots of scripts that are very usefull but not necessarly part of the built-in GameMaker functions. Some of these are very usefull and can save lots of time when programming.

  • GM Toolbox: http://www.gmtoolbox.com/
    This website contains a bunch of usefull DLLs and other extensions for advanced functionalities in your game.
Sound and Music
  • BFXR: http://www.bfxr.net/
    I actually used this to create some jumping sound and other small sound effects. It's pretty neat although the interface seems outdated, its functionalities are pretty good seeing that it's offered integrated on a website and no installation is needed. If you only need a temporary access to sound creation without downloading anything else but your sound file, this website is a very good start.

  • ChipTone: http://sfbgames.com/chiptone/
    This web-based engine does pretty much the same thing as BFXR above but with a very different user interface, modern and fun to look at. It will generate sound effects for your games and also permit you to adjust your sound settings in a very nice intuitive way. Exports in WAV format.

  • BeepBox: http://www.beepbox.co/
    A very easy to use online tool for creating old-school effects and music. It only took me a minute to understand how to work it out and you can make pretty impressive stuff from this nifty little sound and music online tool. Be sure to check that out if you want invent sounds or musics on the fly without additional software. Exports/Downloads in common audio file types.

  • Tamara Ryan (Voice actors): http://www.tamararyanvo.com/news/2017/3/1/how-to-find-voice-actors-for-my-game
    I struggled to put this link as most of the content seems payed BUT, I fell on a small section where you can actually hire for FREE some voice acting people. You can find a pretty neat section of voicing for your games and that for no cost. I did not check the whole website though, so if someone finds something else, please, don't hesitate to post it here too.

  • Sound Jay: https://www.soundjay.com/
    A very nice website for sounds free to use WITHOUT credits in your games. The only restrictions is not to use the sounds within music or other sounds derieved from their sounds without proper permission. The terms of use are pretty clear. But nice database of sounds wich can be used in games.

  • Online MP3 Cutter: https://mp3cut.net/
    Supports more than just MP3s. A very usefull website if all you need is to trim a part of an audio file for your game without having to install a full audio editor. Interface is extremely simple. The tools are basic but work real good and the downloading is fast and easy. A simple audio cutting tool on a simple website.
Graphics
  • CoolText Graphics Generator: https://cooltext.com/
    A very neat little website for those in need of original, free to use, titles, game fonts and other text related stuff. It gives numourous possibilities with lots of different font to draw in many different styles. If you are out of ideas for your game titles or ingame text elements, you can give this website a shot. It talks about logos but its tools go beyond logo creation.

  • Vectr: https://vectr.com/
    A very intuitive, basic but solid vector graphics tool. It has a nice professional touch to its designe. I could work with it in just minutes AND it happens to provide an online version of the software. It requires an account to save your work but you can always download what you create and bypass your save. The save seem to be online for when you want to work on it later.

  • Gravit Designer: https://designer.io/
    Well, as mentionned in the software list. Another online vector graphics tool. Available for download also. Very nice interface and suprisingly easy for a free software available online.

  • OpenGameArt: https://opengameart.org/
    IMPORTANT: Assets from this website MAY require credits to the author BUT, in their browsing section, you can sort assets by license type. Please check out the terms of the licenses. This is the only reason I put this website up because we can sort by license type, therefor, pulling out assets that don't require credit to the author. A website with lots of graphic and audio assets for your games.

  • Beaudu - Sprite Draw Generator: https://www.beaudu.com/spritedraw
    This website offers a sprite generator. To be more specific, it's a 2D image and shape generator. Programmers and graphic designers can use these randomly generated graphics to inspire them with their ingame graphical elements such as ennemies or characters and more. A few options are available on the page permitting different color palettes and sprite size. If you are in lack of inspiration, generate yourself a randomized sprite sheet from there and build upon those shapes, you could be surprised of what you can imagine with simple shapes and colors. A clever way to fill in the blanks when they happen during your game creation process
Other links and softwares

These tools and links may require you to register with a free account. The following guidelines will be used for products in this list:
  • Must offer free services or tools without any time limit
  • If it requires an account, it should be free and not offer any payment option (This means that when signing in, you should not be requested to enter a credit card EVEN if it stays free without any costs.)
  • No unwanted or undesirable ads and/or malwares
  • Used inside a game making context
  • Easy to use and clear presentation of the interface before signing in (basically, the product must be clearly shown or an easy to understand presentation with screenshots or demo/video should be available without too much searching on the website)
Graphics
  • Gravit Designer: https://designer.io/
    I had to move this product here because unfortunately, the free version requires an account, even for the downloaded version. A very nice little vector tool provided by a GM member. It's a very easy to use GUI vector graphic tool, that to my opinion, surpasses inkscape in terms of user friendliness. A MUST have for those wishing to work with vector graphics.
Productivity and time management
  • MooDo: https://www.moo.do/
    This nifty little website offers big services when talking about managing tasks. You can keep track and plan your game creation process and best of all, links easily to your Google account if you have one. If you need some task managing help to keep your project moving forward, this is a great tool.
  • Trello: https://trello.com/
    The website clearly shows what this tool does. Very neat and clear. Do your followups for your games in team with a nice powerful and flexible tool for free.
  • Hack N' Plan: http://hacknplan.com/
    Another tme management tool. Very eyecandy. Well thought and free for small projects and teams. The service offers paid features but if all you want is to plan your stuff, it's completely free.
  • AWW Board: https://awwapp.com/
    I hesitated to put this website up because you can use paint to do the exact same thing by sharing your screen using a desktop sharing tool. BUT, this tool will permit you to use basic drawing tools for project management, presentation or any other meetings you may want to have with your collaborators. The free version does not permit participants management but it is indeed a nice way to easily do some meeting stuff in a whiteboard style without using an application or fancy drawing tools or apps.
  • Drawesome: https://drawesome.uy/
    Another whiteboard style website with a better interface for public sharing. I had to ask and fiddle arround a bit to figure out where were all the tools but once inside and figured out, the screen is pretty much clean and the possibility to share whiteboards as public without registration or accounts is pretty good for those that would find it interesting for gamedev meetings and other such things.
Resources (mixed graphics, music and other)
  • Seventh Sanctum Name Generator: https://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php
    A nice tool for those in lack of inspiration. But instead of a graphic or music resource like usual ones, this is to let you have ideas for names if you have a lack of inspiration for names in your game. It will generate random names for you to use in your game.
  • Magic Tools by Ellison: https://github.com/ellisonleao/magictools
    A nice list of various resources (graphics, music, books, code and many others), free and paid, but the list is well identified to sort the free from the paid ones.
Since this list does not come out of my head alone, it's just normal to thank people who submitted and suggested usefull tools that now figure in the lists above. I simply want to thank these people specially for taking time in suggesting free softwares for us, game creators!

- GM029
- Electros
- Bingdom
- Alice
- Genetix
- Scurvycapn
- sylvain_l
- Freddy Jones
- rlKmAN
- Catan

- Cpaz
- Never Mind
- inkBot
- HayManMar
- Tsa05
- Reyek
- vegacide
- jb skaggs
- JasonTomLee
- Mick
- Rayek
- HeWhoShallNotBeNamed
- zendraw
- Lucia
- Ne7vers
- JacklTurbo
- immortalx
- zendraw
- zircher
- Rayek
- PatrickL
- zircher
- Rayek

You can suggest any other tools you may find relevant here. I will check these out regularly and put tools in the lists above if it fits with the guidelines. If you still feel that your tool or website should be posted even though it does not fit the guielines above, feel free to post them by replying below because others may find it usefull. Programs or websites with malicious software or undesired/shocking ads will be deleted or reported if required so please make sure to check that out before.

Comments are always welcomed but I'd like this thread to have constructive comments with as many download links or website links as possible so that people don't search too much when visiting. If you have any requests or comments, please DO feel free to PM me. Your contributions are VERY welcomed!

Other possible resources

This section is for special projects that deserve to have a spot somewhere. A very basic explanation is supplied but for more details, you will need to navigate to the project's page or comment for more information. These still follow the guidelines as free for commercial and personal use AND in a game creation environement. Please note that user-friendliness is not a pre-requisite and some of these may seem to be in a beta state.

The purpose of this section is to give people a chance to show their discoveries and let other poeple use and/or comment to potentially put the application in one of the lists above if the developper decides to put some time in upgrading it.
thanks
 

zaxavar

Member
Hello!
Directory.Audio - Large free sound effects library, including sound collection with Games Sounds under Creative Commons license.
It means, that you can use these sounds in any game projects,
Library also contains background music.
Hope it helps.
 
Hello!
Directory.Audio - Large free sound effects library, including sound collection with Games Sounds under Creative Commons license.
It means, that you can use these sounds in any game projects,
Library also contains background music.
Hope it helps.
A VERY nice website indeed. I have updated the list. Thanks for your submission!!! Greatly appreciated!
 

rjsice

Member
Another tool i find very useful is opemMPT. It is a nice soundtracker that supports custom samples and/or midi. You van also export your Music in a wide range of different formats.
 

Rayek

Member
(Newish) excellent image optimization tool. Works online, but it is open source and the code can be downloaded from their GitHub. It will run on your local machine too (see instructions GitHub).

It compresses really well with optional exposure of more advanced (and for most: obscure) optimization parameters.

 
(Newish) excellent image optimization tool. Works online, but it is open source and the code can be downloaded from their GitHub. It will run on your local machine too (see instructions GitHub).

It compresses really well with optional exposure of more advanced (and for most: obscure) optimization parameters.

That's a good online tool. I will be putting this on the list.

I tried many pixel art editors and personally i love Pixelorama, free open source editor (which is pretty new i believe?)
Unfortunately, I cannot put this app on the list. I really love the interface but I have encountered many weird bugs and it crashed on me while trying to do use the shadow tool. While using the cut/selection tool, the circle one does not resize properly. Also, all cutting tools are extremely slow. I think that this software needs some engine touch ups to be on the list. But, I'm still happy that it you provided this tool and it's good to have it listed here for others that may want to try it.

Another tool i find very useful is opemMPT. It is a nice soundtracker that supports custom samples and/or midi. You van also export your Music in a wide range of different formats.
I am still trying to understand the use of this tool. The website provides little information on it and I am not sure why someone would need a tool like this. You could maybe provide more information and I will do some testing on my side. It's an interesting tool and seems to have a good UI. I just want to know in what context to use this app. If it's just another music and sound creation app, it will be put on the list, We all like to have alternatives.
 
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