Just looking for opinions on game dev software.

[brontanius]

What is a good dev platform to dabble with in a persons or multiple peoples spare time. Just a bit of backstory, me and a couple of mates are bored out of our heads with literally free time on our hands and nothing else, while we are starting our respective courses in due time(short courses over winter), we just starting discussing if messing around with gave dev software for awhile would be fun. This is not the only site we are asking on, we just all know of this site and know that there are some people would could help us decide what the best thing to use is.

With a small amount of research, we came up with multiple software that we could possibly use and are just looking for opinions on what is best to use.

Out of the three available rpgmakers that we found that are commonly used. XP, VX Ace and MV.
Gamemaker/Stencyl
Unity v flash v unreal engine.

Of the RPGMakers, we all have used it before for multiple 24 hour gamejams before so we are comfortable with this. Just curious as to what people think is the best of the three in terms of general use, resources(free use stuff, nothing major) and how commonly used they are.

Again for Gamemaker/stencyl, we know our way around the software and are capable of using them. Just don't know again, which is more commonly used.

For Unity v Flash, both are commonly used and we aren't too familiar with them but we know the coding needed. Just down to what is easier to use/more commonly used/which has better resources.

I know unreal is a bit advanced but we do technically have the skills to use it to a decent extent and are just curious.

Also just putting the info out there for anyone that might think disunity could happen due to us wanting different things, this is pretty much already worked out and we have come up with the various genre/setting/playstyle etc. We are just bored young people looking to dabble. May not come to anything but there is no harm in it. Again just putting this out here, since a few people know I am already using part of my time to act as a community manager for a different project on this website, know that due to the slowness/communication and other factors, that literally takes less than an hour of work a week at the current moment.

As for plans of the game itself, we have all agreed on an art style, concept, genre etc and are thinking of just doing a 48 gamejam(personal version, not for a competition or event) using the software to see what comes out of it. If we decide to turn it into something bigger after that, well, we will decide at that point what to do.

[evildumdum]

I can reccomend Ren'Py if your game will have a lot of dialogue. If not there are probably better engines unless someone on your team is good at python. If you have a decent python programmer then Ren'Py can do most anything.

[brontanius]

I can reccomend Ren'Py if your game will have a lot of dialogue. If not there are probably better engines unless someone on your team is good at python. If you have a decent python programmer then Ren'Py can do most anything.

Well to be honest, I ain't sure about my mate knowing python. I know he is a genius and knows C++, Visual basic and ruby. I'll just ask him i guess hah.