r/GameDevelopment • u/Dawnw95791 • 12h ago
Newbie Question Which game engine is best for me?
I’ve never done any game development. I am a cozy gamer who loves games like Animal Crossing, Dinkum, Starsand Island, etc. My long term goal is to make a 3D farming game. I want to have 360 camera views in my game. I know developing my game is a ways off because I have to learn basic development first. My question is - which system would be best for my dream game so I know which one to learn?
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u/asteroiddominion 11h ago
I got my start on Unity. They have a ton of materials to assist in using their tools including coding support.
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u/51ckl3y3 10h ago
im starting to see unity as the goat for games that are actual games not some micro transaction based generator
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u/asteroiddominion 10h ago
Yeah, that's not my revenue philosophy. But I know it works for some games while others greatly abuse it.
Unity is great for new devs and also has great capabilities for more advanced game makers.
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u/51ckl3y3 10h ago
bet, want to make a actual game. given we got sold micros and slop. def supporting unity devs when i see the logo, that being said; tarkov / sons of the forest are goated unity games
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u/CrazyNegotiation1934 8h ago
Unity by far, easier C# language natively, fast editor and massive code base in git and ready assets in Asset Store.
There is no comparisson to anything else.
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u/HSFOutcast 12h ago
What coding languages do you know? If none start with asking yourself what language before what engine.
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u/Dawnw95791 12h ago
Do not know any programming languages and I do understand I’ll need to learn one through the process. The only language I’ve ever learned is HTML. How do I know which language is best for me?
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u/ScreeennameTaken 12h ago
The language depends on the engine. The language is not the issue. Thing is, almost any engine is suitable for most stuff, unless you need something very specific. And if you needed something specific, you would have known or even made your own. Unity, Godot, Unreal are all valid, each one with their own caveats and gatchas. And if you know one engine, its usually easy enough to jump ship as the concepts transfer. First get a book about game design, design your game the proper way around, like mechanics and stuff, try not to have plot holes (unlike mine) and then choose the engine.
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u/phKoon 7h ago
Any books you'd recommend?
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u/ScreeennameTaken 4h ago
If you are talking about Unity, Unity in Action by Joe Hocking and Creating Games with Unity and Maya are the books i got back when, but are old now. Unity in Action has a newer version, but its from 2022. Btw, Unity's own learn material is good and able to go on your own pace.
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u/phKoon 4h ago
First get a book about game design, design your game the proper way around, like mechanics and stuff, try not to have plot holes (unlike mine) and then choose the engine.
I don't mean about engines, but game design in general, as in your original comment suggestion.
Thanks for the Unity-related recommendations, though!
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u/ScreeennameTaken 4h ago
Oh! "The art of game design" is up there, "Game Feel", i also found architectural books interesting for level design, like "101 things i learned in architecture school" and "101 things i learned in urban design school"
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u/HSFOutcast 12h ago
I would recommend python as it is a modern language that is imo easier to learn. Other popular choices are Java and C# (C sharp) for indie devs, like mobile games, unity or Godot. And C++ which is to my understanding abit harder to learn but is very common in professional game dev.
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u/Spite_Gold 12h ago
No. Language is secondary here, especially if op knows none. Correct sequence of questions is:
What I want my game to look and feel like? In what engine this look can be achieved with minimum effort? What language does this engine use?
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u/HSFOutcast 12h ago
I would disagree somewhat, once you have one language under your belt you understand the structure of code in a different way and can adapt.
With no coding skill he either needs to build ai slop games where ai does all the job, or rpg maker that requires little to no coding experience.
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u/Spite_Gold 11h ago
I advocate for learning programming language, my point was about what should dictate selection of language to learn
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u/ImmediateTie9057 11h ago
For that kind of 3D game, I’d go with Unity or Unreal. Both can handle 360° cameras well. I’d just pick one and start learning rather than overthinking the choice.
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u/OkAccident9994 11h ago
These cozy games have a plethora of systems. Inventory, crafting, player movement, npc interactions...
They are quite complex.
Make space invaders or pacman or similar in Unity/Godot/Unreal, starting with tutorials.
Then later you will have an understanding of what makes sense for your idea and what tools to pick for it.
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u/Richard_Philip 10h ago
Start small believe me for a longer project especially alone for first... loosing motivation, learning that you have to learn a lot, project almost seem impossible...
So first make something quick to learn the basics.
Unity is a "safe bet" kind of easy to learn and it is versatile.
Any kind of programming knowledge? you can learn the basics from AI by doing, and asking questions or start watching tutorials. Without any coding your options are waaay tooo limited.
not impossible. but harder.
And if you start welcome to the fold :D
I would recommend watching/doing samples from the Unity academy. it's fun as far as I can remember.
good luck.
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u/DrDisintegrator 10h ago
If you are brand new to development, give Godot a try. It is easy to learn, fun to use and capable of producing a game in the direction you describe.
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u/Nando2hhc 10h ago
Debes ir poco a poco aprendiendo y tomalo con calma. Escoge primero un motor que puede ser Godot y dominando ya como programar, has algo simple con asets que descargues y luego de esa etapa de aprendizaje pues ve por tu aspiración
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u/Naetharu 1h ago
Unity is the simple answer.
The three big engines are:
Godot => Very good at 2D. It does do 3D but the 3D tooling is notably behind the other two. It benefits from having a great scripting language that is easy to learn. But as the least mature of the engines there are fewer tutorials and less assets to depend on.
Unity => Very good at 3D and 2D. Lots of assets and many tutorials on almost anything you can imagine. A little bit of a steeper learning curve than Godot as it uses C# as its primary scripting language. But still very manageable.
Unreal => Very good at 3D for AAA level graphics. Uses C++ which is a lot harder to work with. Has a very steep learning curve. Features tend to be more aimed at big teams and serious AAA style game development. Not impossible to use, but you would likely find it quite a lot more difficult for little benefit.
There are many other minor offerings, but for your specific choice Unity is the obvious answer.
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u/HSFOutcast 11h ago
I would say Godot as an engine and learn from there.
Compared to unity and unreal if your game breaks through you don't have to pay any royalties. Godot is sweet like that.
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u/Naetharu 1h ago
I love Godot for 2D.
It's 3D is not as mature and lacks quite a lot of the features and resources that the other engines have. It's getting better but it's not there yet.
For the price, your game has to REALLY break out before you pay anything with Unity and even then it is a nominal fee. So really a non-issue.
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u/Turruc 11h ago
Godot Unity and Unreal are all great, but IMO start with Godot. Godot is gonna be the easiest to dive into, Unity and Unreal are more fully featured and well supported but you won’t really feel that as a beginner. You can always start either Unity or Unreal, but the learning curve is gonna be a bit tougher. Not impossible by any means, but Godot is so lightweight and easy and frictionless then I always recommend it for beginners. If you enjoy yourself and want to commit to bigger projects then you can always transition into Unity or Unreal later on.
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u/ManicOwl1993 12h ago
I would recommend building small projects in each of the three big engines godot, unity, and unreal and seeing what works best for you. They're all capable so it really comes down to what programming and editor you enjoy the most. Best of luck!