Usually when you think of people making games, you conjure up an image of someone hunched over a computer, hammering indecipherable code into a hulking development PC.
But is that really how it works? Or can you make a game without even knowing how to code?
While knowing how to code can help when making a game, it’s not necessary. The GameMaker, Unity and Unreal game engines offer a drag-and-drop interface for beginners, removing the need for coding, and many of the top selling indie games of recent years have been made in these engines.
Saying that, there are a couple of things to consider.
First of all, while there are even huge Triple-A game studios that use these kind of game engines, particularly Unity and Unreal, their releases will have used very little, if any, of the drag-and-drop functionality of these engines.
It’s also important to understand that an understanding of code logic can help even when you’re using the drag-and-drop functionality. Code isn’t just the words and numbers that you’re typing into the machine, it’s the logic behind how all of your games moving parts talk to each other.
All that being said, it’s certainly 100% possible to make almost any kind of game without having to type out a single piece of code. Let’s take a deeper look at what that actually means.
How do you make a game without coding?
Making a game without coding isn’t necessarily going to be easy. As always, it depends more on what the game is that you’re intending to make rather than the tools that you’re using to make it.
That being said, there are certainly some engines that are better than others at certain types of games.
Making 2D games without code
Both GameMaker 2 and Construct 2 are optimised for 2D games, particularly platformers or top down shooters, although any kind of 2D game can be, and has been, made in both of these engines. GameMaker can handle 3D, but there are better options out there for that (as I’ll come to in a minute).
Both GameMaker 2 and Construct 2 offer a free trial, with some restraints on what you can do. But if you’re wanting to make a small game (which is 100% recommended if you’re wanting to build something without code), then it’s totally possible with the trial versions.
From my personal experience, I found the drag-and-drop of Construct 2 easier to get to grips with. But I overall found GameMaker to be more flexible and I soon transitioned to coding with the help of their excellent tutorials. Both engines have a really great, supportive community, which can help you develop and improve your skills with the engine and with game development in general.
Making 3D games without code
If you’re wanting to do something in 3D, then Unity is pretty much considered the standard for this. It’s free, and you can do almost anything that you want to do with the aid of ‘assets’ that can be downloaded from their asset store.
The asset store has everything from pre-built code through graphics to sound and music, but if you want something really good then it’s going to cost you money. If that’s not an issue, then even without coding you can build almost any kind of game using the asset store and the built-in functionality. I’m not promising it will be good, but it will be functional!
Unreal is another option if you’re wanting to do 3D, although I’ve also found it to be pretty great for 2D too (whereas Unity, not so much). Unreal has its own version of the asset store and, although there is a smaller volume of stuff in there compared to Unity, in my experience it tends to be of a generally higher standard.
I do really like Unreal, but I’ve not used much in the way of the drag-and-drop functionality. What I have used of the blueprints system has been excellent, and it kind of blows my mind what you can do just by hooking a few boxes together.
On top of that, it’s also free! Or at least, it is until you make a reasonable amount of money from something that you’ve made in it.
What’s best if you’re making your first game?
Anyway, if you’re an absolute beginner, then I’d recommend starting with something like Construct 2. GameMaker 2 is also suitable for beginners, so perhaps try the free trial and complete a few of the tutorial games to see which best suits how your brain works.
If you’re up for a bit more of a challenge, or are really into 3D games, go for Unity or Unreal. Bear in mind that I totally wouldn’t recommend making anything in 3D for your first game – the less Ds the better…
What are the best kind of games to make without coding?
If you’re working on your first game then it’s recommended that you start with the beginner tutorials from the makers of the game engine that you’re using. In most cases, these tutorials will be a side-scrolling platformer or a top-down or side-scrolling shooter or schmup. And there’s a good reason for this:
They’re the easiest kind of games to make without coding.
What’s so good about both platformers and schmups is that the basic systems that they’re built on are relatively simple. In the most basic example of a platformer, you only need collision for the ground, controls to move left, right and jump, and gravity to pull you down. With a shmup, you only need to controls to move and shoot and the movement of the bullets that you fire.
Sure, you realistically need to add in the logic for enemies or it’ll just get super dull, but the basic framework that the rest of the game sits on is about as simple as it gets.
What also makes these genres so great to start with is, because the basic framework is so simple, it’s possible to build almost anything on top of it. You can create vastly different games despite, or more accurately because of, the basic foundations of the genres.
For example, consider the difference between the following platformers:
- Cuphead
- Thomas Was Alone
- Super Meat Boy
- VVVVVVV
- Dead Cells
Despite sharing the same DNA, they’re totally different games with almost nothing in common aside from the basic building blocks that make up the core of the game.
Saying that, if we’re talking about your first game here, I’d actually encourage you to not innovate. Just get something finished while you get the hang of the engine you’re using.
Sometimes you’ll have a really cool idea that you want to try out, and that’s great. Do that. But if you’re spending time trying to think of a unique spin for your first game, then don’t sweat it. Just make that Ikaruga clone and learn from it!
Related Questions
Do game designers need to know programming?
Some game designers are also programmers, such as Sid Meier (Civilization, Pirates!) or Jonathan Blow (Braid, The Witness). Some game designers never touch code, such as Edmund McMillen (Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac) or Ken Levine (BioShock). But all great designers know enough about code to be able to accurately communicate their designs to the members of the programming team.
As such there are benefits to understanding how the logic behind coding works, as it enables you to better communicate how you want your designs to be implemented, but it’s not necessary.
Will it make you a better designer? Maybe, but it’s not the key factor.
What is the difference between coding and programming?
Coding and programming are often used interchangeably, and this is very common in the video game industry. You’ll often here a team referred to as programmers when it is technically incorrect, as programming is specifically the act of inputting instructions into a machine.
Even when a studio is not using a game engine, it will be using some kind of language such as C++ or C#. The use of a game language is known as coding, because you’re typing in code that is then translated into a set of instructions for the machine.
I’m guilty of this myself, but these days it’s perfectly normal for both terms to be accepted as meaning what is technically ‘coding’, except in very specific circumstances when the distinction actually matters.
Can you make a game without a game engine, only using code?
There are some developers who do not use engines at all, but only use code. Jonathan Blow is known in the indie game scene for creating his own engines and using those for his games. He has also started creating his own programming language, which is a step further than even most hardcore developers are prepared to go!
It’s becoming rarer for game developers to use their own engine, particularly among smaller studios, but there are still examples of it.
The benefits of coding your own engine is that it gives you greater flexibility and allows you to create something that is specifically optimised for the game that you’re intending to make.
It also has the benefit of when something goes wrong, you can debug and fix it yourself, rather than waiting on someone else to fix it.
The main downside is the amount of work that is involved, as it can add years to a game’s development. You may also end up with an engine that is only really suitable for the kind of game that you’re making.
This is something that is mitigated if you’re a studio like Rockstar or Infinity Ward, who make the same kind of game over and over. But if you’re intending to make many different kinds of games, an off the shelf game engine may be more suited to your needs.