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Moving from Game Maker Studio to Unity

karl182karl182
edited in General
Hi Everyone!
Has anyone here moved over from working in Game Maker Studio to Unity?
I'm working on a 2D Arena Fighting Game, and I'm currently making it in Game Maker. At the moment I can do everything I need with Game Maker Script, but I'm wondering if it will be easier or better to switch over to Unity in the long run?
Do you thinks it's worth it and will it be a big adjustment to move to Unity?(I have not used Unity at all)
Thanks!
Karl

Comments

  • CrocopedeCrocopede
    Hi.

    I have not used Unity. But considering Unity does have 3D capabilities it might be a good move in the long run. It will familiarize you with the interface and the workings of Unity.

    That is if you want to at some point do something other than 2d i don't see it as a bad move for a long term plan.
    Take into account what the unity engine is capable of.

    Personally the pricing of Unity has deterred me from using it, but after seeing games like the forest i reckon Unity is a solid engine.
  • FengolFengol
    I think you should stick with GM if you're comfortable with it. Professional games (like anything made by Vlambeer) are made in GM, so if your goal is to eventually sell this game, it's a viable platform.
    Thanked by 1duncanbellsa
  • Gazza_NGazza_N
    edited
    I'll second what @Fengol said. GMS is more than capable for 2D games, especially if you want to keep yourself away from the technicalities of programming. If you plan on doing 3D work in the future or find that you're continually bumping your head against GM's limitations, and aren't afraid of a bit more technical legwork, Unity is your engine. Unity's ultimately the more powerful beast, but it takes a bit more effort to get the hang of if you're starting from scratch.
    Thanked by 1duncanbellsa
  • TuismTuism
    Yep yep, the switch to Unity isn't for "ease of use". I've been using Game maker for a long time (well ok 2 years now) and I've started to learn Unity for the past... 6 months to a year, can't remember exactly, but it was definitely not easier. In fact I've gone back to GMS for prototyping purposes - it's just so much easier and faster.

    So you'll want to use Unity, it'll be for:
    1. 3D. No two ways around it.
    2. Production - Unity is more stable in getting across platforms and especially for web player export.

    The key thing to understand, I think, in hopping between the two is this:

    Do NOT ever EVER think that every single thing you make will make it to production. Prototype for prototyping's sake. Learn from prototyping. From making things quickly.

    It's very tempting to think that you'll never make something "not good enough" so everything should be made with production in mind. This is simply not true - or should not be true. Production takes tons of time. Prototyping should be a dime a dozen. If you have to use production speed to make prototypes you will fail and fail SLOW. And that's bad.
    Thanked by 3konman AntiVoid Asbestos
  • karl182karl182
    edited
    Wow thanks for the quick reply guys! @Fengol and @Gazza_N I am very comfortable with game make as I've been playing around with GML off and on for a while now. I really like getting into the code so that I know exactly what's going on behind the scenes. At the moment I don't really feel limited by Game Maker for what I want to do, as I really enjoy working in 2D.

    @Tuism Yeah I've a couple of things and I am enjoying the current project a lot. I don't know if it will ever make to full on production, as I'm doing this in my spare time and it's a fairly simple thing that I'm making more for me and friend to play and add to as new ideas and suggestions roll in. :) @Crocopede Yeah I've seen some awesome games come out that are made in unity. But I reckon for my use GM is a bit easier as I already know it. Cool thanks guys I think I'm gonna stick with game maker for now, but I'm also going to start doing some unity tutorials every now and then.:) Have an awesome day!
    Karl
  • konmankonman
    @Karl182 If you come from a programming background and enjoy the flexibility of being able to tweak things other platforms don't allow you to, then Unity is awesome. Coming from an XNA / MonoGame C# background I picked up Unity in about 1 week.

    I am absolutely blown away by it and will never go back to rolling most functionality by hand like you do in XNA/MonoGame.
    It is an awesome platform supported by an Asset store that's second to none.

    I purchased RPG Maker VX and GMS last December during the steam sales, but haven't tried them - I should really to be able to give a fair opinion on this :)
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Uh, forgive me for repeating anything, but commercial product from GM to Unity here. So...

    Desktop Dungeons started out in Game Maker because that's what @Nandrew builds prototypes in. The GM version won an IGF award over Minecraft. There is no way GM ever "stunts" or damages anyone's game ideas.

    We moved to building the game again in Unity because we had to rebuild it anyway and Unity had better cross platform support at the time. If it was just a year or two later, I don't know if we'd have still switched. I'm totally using Unity wrong, keep learning the "right" way that Unity wants you to do things and I can see how coming into it fresh with a project we already had mostly designed was a problem.

    Does it matter which system you use? Not really. Without the GM version of DD we wouldn't be doing this stuff now, so the key is to use whatever makes you able to be the most productive and creative.
    Thanked by 1JediN1nja
  • karl182karl182
    edited
    @konman Awesome man thanks! Yeah I've seen the stuff on the asset store and it looks like there's some serious variety! I have a tiny bit of programming knowledge, but only from computer science in school years ago. I'm pretty comfortable with GML and I don't feel limited by it. But like I said I haven't tried Unity so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.:)
    @dislekcia Cool yeah I've not at any point felt that GM is holding me back, and it looks like they are continuously expanding the different platforms you able to compile to. I think I will stick to GM and learn Unity as I go along. I have found with almost all things in life you can get much more out of something if you know that something really well, instead of always jumping to the latest and greatest thing. Thanks guys! Have an awesome day! Karl
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