The Big List Of Game Making Tools

On this page you can find a bunch of good game making tools that help you to create a game.
I haven’t tested all of the programs by myself yet but I do have spoken to many devs and asked them what they think of them.

So for each game making tool you will find

quotes from game developers that actually use the program
a few recommendable games
links to tutorials

Note that the purpose of this article isn’t to list all tools that exist on this planet… only a few that are already used and recommended by many developers.
(However at the bottom of this page you can find links to other sites that list much more programs)

For 3D Games (and 2D Games)

Unity
UDK
XNA
BlitzMax
jMonkeyEngine
Torque
More Game Making Tools

For 2D GAMES

Game Maker

Price: Free (40$ Pro Version)

“Design your very own games using easy-to-learn drag-and-drop actions [...] And when you’ve become more experienced, there is an easy built-in programming GameMaker Language (GML), which gives you the full flexibility of creating games with GameMaker.” (from Homepage)

Quotes from Developers:

Beau Blyth (Shoot First, Action Fist, Das Uberleben, Sim War 5, Fish Face)
“Game Maker is an incredible piece of software that allows fumbling idiots to later become syntax masters. Because it allows you to make something (though something glitchy) from day one, you are never discouraged from continuing to learn.”

Daniel Remar (Iji, Hero Core, Garden Gnome Carnage, Castle Of Elite)
“A quirky but powerful 2D scripting tool, I use it both for complex freeware games and rapidly prototyping commercial games at work. When used right, there’s nothing it can’t do.”

Jo-Remi Madsen (Owlboy, Dungeon Chaos, Vikings On Trampolines)
“Game Maker is such a rapid tool, we’ve managed to create prize-winning games in a week”

Jonathan Lavigne (Ninja Senki, Wizorb, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World)
“Game Maker takes care of the low-level aspects of programming so you can focus on creating the actual game.”

Kurt Waldowski (Sandy Evolution, Kinetics)
“When it comes to making 2d Games, Game Maker is an amazing tool. It helps you quickly put ideas into action, allowing for rapid prototyping and the development of full fledged games. It caters to the beginner, but also maintains advanced features and depth, making Game Maker a great game creation tool for everyone.”

Robert “Darthlupi” Lupinek (Legend Of Shadow, Blasting Agent, Kungfu Attack, Wonderbounce)
“This is by far the most flexible and engaging rapid game development tool that I have played with. If you looking to prototype or fully develop a great game experience and you want jump straight into the process, this is the tool buddy.”

Alexis “Alexitron” Andujar” (The Power, Blasterman Vs. Yellowskull, Jet Pod)
Where it not for Game Maker I would have never made my first game back in 2006. I have tried many tools before and after Game Maker and none appealed to me enough to make me want to push myself to finish a game with it. When I first came in contact with Game Maker it promised that I would be able to make a game with it without a single line of code, and it was true! At least 7 of of my games where made with absolutely no code in them, just little icons that you drag and drop around. Now I use code but only because I learned it trough drag and drop , is code hidden behind little non-intimidating icon things, how awesome is that? Another great thing about Game Maker is how much resources and shared knowledge is available for it. Lots of tutorials and open source games and many, many wonderful communities. To top it all is super cheap, and even thou they are talking about newer more expensive versions, is all optional , you can still use it for free.
Game Maker is an excellent tool and I highly recommend it.

Faucet (Gang Garrison 2)
“Game Maker is a toolset for creating 2D games with some 3D support tacked on. It can be used by beginners and intermediate developers alike, but advanced users will tend to put a fist through their screens in utter frustration and irritation. The blurb claims that no programming is necessary, but that is an outright lie – however, you do have the choice between an easy to learn visual language that will quickly become a dead end in your coding skill tree, and a more traditional scripting language which will teach you lessons that can misdirect your coding skills for years to come.”

Tom Grochowiak (Magi, ArcMagi, Cinders)
“It’s no secret that most of MoaCube’s projects are developed in GameMaker. I’ve been using it for 7 years now. Sometimes simply to play around with ideas, but mostly for commercial projects and some rapid prototyping back during my days at Codeminion.
I’ve developed a certain love-hate relationship with the software. We’ve had some good times together, but there were times when I considered filling divorce papers and turned my head after the younger and sexier Unity. So far, we decided to stay together. For the kids’ sake, you know…”
[Read the complete Professional developer's look at GameMaker]

Spelunky

Hydorah

Dungeon Chaos

Browse Games that were created with Game Maker:

Game Maker Games (Pixel Prospector)
Game Maker Games (YoYo Games)
Commercial Game Maker Games (TIGSource Forums)
Open Source Game Maker Games (TIGSource Forums)

Tutorials & Help

Game Maker for Beginners (TIGSource Forums)
Grandma GM Platformer Engine
Complete Beginner’s Guide to GML Coding (flexaplex)
Game Maker For Beginners Tutorial (IndieDB)
GMLScripts (Game Maker Language Scripts)
Game Maker Wiki
YoYo Games Tutorials
Game Maker Community
Game Maker Games With Source Code Available (TIGSource Forums)

Further Info:

For 2D GAMES

Multimedia Fusion 2

Price: 119$ (Free Demo available)

“Get impressive results with no programming skills or knowledge required. Simply start by creating a frame containing any graphics you desire. Then start inserting and dragging objects. Finally, set their behaviors in the intuitive, grid-style Event Editor and you are on your way to great creations!” (from Homepage)