AppGameKit Classic: Easy Game Development Reviews

I Grew up spending my days behind my BBC Micro coding in BASIC. As time went on I got into Pascal, C, C++, Assembler, PHP etc. I Always had this longing to go back to BASIC because it is in my roots. Thinking back to the days of the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and the BBC, Me and my friends had a lot of fun coding in this language. Things were so simple back then. Between all of the modern tools available I found myself right at home in this tool. There are no complex menus and GUI layout. It is just you and the code. I Find this tool useful because it is simple. If I hit run, it does so immediately. When I hit broadcast it does so immediately. I open my Android phone and Apple tablet, load the AppGameKit app and my creation runs almost instantly. No cables needed (assuming evering is connected to same wifi hotspot). No funny SDK setups. No Apple dev account. No funny QR Code scanning. Testing with multiple devices is simply a breeze in comparison to Unity and other tools I've used. Does it have all the bells and whistles? For that matter does any development tool? NO If you are a lone ranger Indie developer or small team that want a tool that is easy, without having to learn a complex language. I like things simple which is why I +1 AppGameKit.

First of all, disregard the time spent on the app, I use another editor to write AGK code. (I use Atom with the "atom-agk" extension) AppGameKit Classic is basically a fork of the Genie IDE fine-tuned to run the custom programming language in AGK, which is a dialect of BASIC they call Tier 1. It also ships with a compiler, and a lot of great documentation and examples. As a professional developer, the language seems a bit simplistic, lacking a few core features which would make it much more pleasant to use. Nevertheless, you still can make whatever you want with the language (it's turing complete) and it's great for beginners to get started. Although I'd argue is a bit too permissive, it's great if you want to start out writing code and/or games. If you are used to fancy IDEs, this feels more like just a text editor with intellisense than an IDE, it doesn't have refactors or fancy features, but it gets the job done and it's quite easy to use. There are a few alternative editors if you check the forums/discord. There are also bindings to AGK from other languages, like Java, C# and Python, but they are maintained by individuals and updated sporadically. The best part of AGK though it's the API. It's a simple API, basically a bunch of functions, but they include many many features, from 2D to 3D, to networking basics and whatnot. There is also a way to interop with C if you need to. All in all, this is a great piece of software. I don't know if I'd use it for big teams working on a game but for a team of a dev or two, or when starting out, this is a great tool. It ships with great documentation and examples out of the box. Particularly the price is what makes it interesting :) It's quite cheap and you get the capacity to deploy your games on Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and macOS.

Is this Beginner Friendly or Not? BEFORE BUYING THIS SOFTWARE YOU SHOULD KNOW THESE: (I will regularly update this review if possible and needed) I wrote this review because Im a BEGINNER and have NO knowledge in coding and I DONT want to be bias here but this is NOT an easy software to use compared to others Now when you say EASY? "code once and deploy" that made it easier Tier 1 is easy(if you have prior knowledge of it, lack of example makes it difficult) Tier 2 is not, cause its C++ //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here //insert text here I searched the Documentation,PDF and Forums for this: AI: path finding patrol vision targeting the player predicting target If you are planning on making a game that involves the Ally/Enemy AI doing what is listed above... I dont know what to say, Im CLUELESS on what to do and I HOPE in the FORUM they could HELP me? https://www.appgamekit.com/documentation/Reference/Index.htm DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT I bought this bundle "App Game Kit Unlimited" About the Downloadable Guide BEFORE Buying these two you should know the diffence 1. "The Official App Game Kit Tutorial Guide" "This is the guide to get. it has all the same content as the beginners guide and more. don't get the beginners guide as its just a cutback version of this guide (its missing like the last 3 Chapters) this guide has it all" Quoted from: http://steamcommunity.com/id/BlueSteelAU/recommended/345720/ 2. "The Official App Game Kit Beginners Guide" "I am not recommending this, not because it's inherently bad, but because it's included as the first 667 pages of their other ebook, "The Official App Game Kit User Guide", and the last 300 or so pages are where the good stuff is. I recommend buying that one instead since you will eventually need the second part." Quoted from: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Othrandur/recommended/411010/ (insert text here) XD The Official App Game Kit Tier 2 Starter's Guide About "AppGameKit - Games Pack 1" "it does come with source code for some of the game: Chopper Drop, Excalibur, Penguin Panic, Snooker Loopy Pro" Quoted from: http://steamcommunity.com/id/chrisx2ds/recommended/468510/ I wanna buy that Games Pack 1 but it only has a few game with source code not all has it I want more reference material, more genre perhaps in future DLC release? AGK Video Tutorial Youtube I searched it and found some videos about specific codes that I NEED and its not AGK, if only I can convert those into Tier1 AGK code(I hope some AGK user will do just that) and of course Im a beginner and have no knowledge in coding so I cant XD I've seen the AGK Tutorials and its good but again im looking for specific codes like in other game making software they have their templates per genre Is this a Beginner Friendly or Not? You will be the judge. I'll probably make a Video Tutorial on the game im making, IF I get pass these obstacles for now I'll just stare at this WALL thats been blocking my path XD and those hours spent on this software are just me testing codes, codes and more codes Do I Recommend this? YES, for now coz it has Potential.

With 600+ hours in AppGameKit, I will say... without a doubt... this is one of the better engines for small to medium sizes indie games. The engine is constantly being developed and expanded, the devs are totally hands on and active in the forums, and it's just incredibily easy to learn and use. While it's 3D capabilities don't have all the bells and whistles of Unreal or Leadwerks, if you are making smaller games, or mobile or HTML games... it's more than just competant. Supporting two languages BASIC (which is a intepreted scripting language like Lua, but easier), and direct C++ linking; this engine has everything a budding, or even experienced, developer could want for projects that don't require a hefty 3D engine. But, make no mistake, the 3D engine it does have is no performance slouch, and runs incredibly well. This is, by far, one of my favorite engines ever; and because it is, primarily, code based there's no limitations or boxing in of what kind of game you can build. AppGameKit is more than worth its price, as are its DLCs; and given the constant updates and supports, the price is worth it.

AGK2 is not a drag-and-drop game maker, it's a programming language like Blitz, DarkBasic or Amos. I always loved dabbling with those programs and I love this one too. It's an easy transition to AGK2 if you're familiar with any style of BASIC coding, and there's plenty of room to get more technical if you want to - but you don't have to. It works extremely well, and really does produce results that work perfectly on any android or iOS device. Being a language, you can do what you want with it - I've made and published a side-scrolling shooter, a quiz game, a 3D crossy-road-a-like (3D is workable but pretty basic at this point, although an upgrade to the 3D is coming) and currently I'm working on a physics-based game. The physics handling in AGK2 is excellent and by far the easiest to use I've ever seen. If you're prepared to put in the time and the polish, there are very few games on the Android Play that couldn't have been made with AGK2. Another thing I like is that end results have no watermarking. There are no forced splash screens or tell-tale signs. Most people would only know you'd used AGK2 if you told them so. If you're a hobbyist or beginning programmer who not only enjoys making games but would like the opportunity to actually offer the finished result on a global scale, I highly recommend this superb software. [EDIT] Updating the review because AGK itself is updating all the time. The 3D is now vastly improved since I posted this review, and now even handles 3D physics. You can even output your games to HTML5, upload it and anyone can play it in their browser. There have also been countless bug-fixes and improvements. I paid £30 for AGK in a steam sale, and now have one app on the play store that makes me ten times that every month, a very welcome additional income to a student. It would never have been possible for me to achieve this without this excellent software.

I've been using AGK for a few months now, and I love it. I have 1 AGK game on Steam, 1 past greenlight, and 1 just starting greenlight ("Curse Of Yendor"). It is so easy to release my games on Android & Amazon too. Just follow the "export" options and it works great. I also do contract work, making educational games, and AGK allows me to rapidly prototype ideas and show them off. Be warned: this is a "language", not an "editor" or "engine". There is no "drag and drop". You use words and symbols to tell the computer what to do, and you have to actually use your brain a bit. (EDIT: it's almost 2018 now, and there actually *is* a drag and drop visual editor available now, so really, no excuses!) But there is tons of help out there, here on steam, and on the TGC forums. I highly recommend AGK!

The IDE is ok but lacks features that would make coding more efficient. The IDE has very minimal tools for managing assets. Game engines is bit buggy but pretty dang fast. The Basic language used in TIER 1 is simple but limited. TIER 2 offers more power but requires you understand Visual Studio and C++. Not great for beginners. Terrible documentation. The primary reason for the down vote is the lack of proper documentation and tutorials in the base product. What's there is very minimal. You can spend hours trying to figure out what a proper help system would tell you quickly. Instead, you are expected to spend $20 to $40 or more on the "guides" which are nothing more than useless PDF files that you have to dig through to get any useful information. I would not recommend a buy until documentation and tutorials are fleshed out in the base product, even if the cost increases slightly as a result. For beginners and intermediate developers, I recommend GameMaker, which has a junky IDE but excellent documentation and tutorials.

I am a programmer by trade for over 35 years and have worked on just about every platform invented. I decided when I retired I would go write games for the experience and to kill some time challenging my brain. AppGameKit looked like fun and seemed to be well though out. Years ago I bought my sons Black Basic and remebered the excitement in their eyes when they started digging into what was possible with it. It's been over a month now, and I have well over 300 hours in this thing. (Running Steam is not required to run and use AGK) In fact, it was so fun and intuitive, I started developing games instead of playing them for a past time. The Tier 1 platform is not handicapped compared to Tier 2, and perfect place to get started. So if when know what you are doing the basic side of AGK is not a let down. In fact, it work fantasically and I will have my first game published on the Tier 1 platform shortly. I went from a game concept to a working ready to publish game in three weeks, having never used the platform before! You don't have to been logged into steam to run it, so your time and data isn't tracked for all to see. If you want a solid foundation to learn game development from start to published, you can't go wrong with AGK. Their example videos are excellent, the DLC is awesome and the help library is first rate. There were a few extra things I needed for my app that most will never care about, but I was able to write those on another platform and import the controls to my AGK app. Don't think twice about buying this product over your next steam game. Learn something new and who knows, maybe even make a living with it!

[Note: I’ve spent 100s of hours with AppGameKit and probably 1,000s more if you take into account its spiritual predecessor DarkBASIC. Ignore my Steam hours] Are you a new or experienced programmer that just wants to have fun programming a game without getting involved with the scene editors, drop-down menus, convoluted interfaces, or complicated syntax of other game engines and frameworks? Then this is the framework for you. I’m gonna go down the line on some of the defining aspects of AGK, and what I like and dislike about it. [h2]Language[/h2] AGK is a programming framework first and foremost. If you don’t like programming or don’t want to learn, then look elsewhere. You can use AGK in either Tier 1 (BASIC) or Tier 2 (C++) formats. For Tier 1, you use the included IDE to make use of their custom BASIC dialect. As it is BASIC, it is procedural, not object-oriented. Tier 2 has all the same commands as Tier 1 except some syntax changes due to the nature of C++; and of course here you can use the object-oriented advantages of the language. This language was crafted specifically for making games, so it’s fun to use and gets you up and running making games quickly. The software comes with a glossary listing every command, what it does, its syntax, and even a full tutorial guide. If you’re a total newbie to programming but other languages look scary and you just want to get to making games, AGK is perfect for you. The programming principles you learn here will apply to more complex languages if you wish to move to something else in the future. Even if you’re an experienced programmer, the language is powerful enough that you won’t feel limited most of the time. If you are a professional developer wanting total control, I would tell you to view AGK as a hobby and not a serious development platform. I want to stress that although the language is great for beginners, that doesn’t mean in any way it’s barebones in functionality. Which brings me to... [h2]Capabilities[/h2] Most of the games you see being made with AGK look like low-quality phone apps, but this framework can do so much more. It’s similar to the phenomenon with Unity in which most games you see are the same breed of cheap 3D garbage. You see those games often because that’s what you can make quickly and easily with minimal effort, but both engines are capable of more than that. AGK is quite capable of making games in 2D or 3D that actually look and run well. There’s support for particles, custom vertex and fragment shaders, skeletons, in-game ads, networking, virtual reality (with DLC), 2D or 3D physics,…lots of nice stuff. It bothers me that TheGameCreators market this product as making cheap phone apps almost exclusively, because the framework can do so much more. Periodically, you may run into a feature that is missing. For example, there is no way to change the display resolution of your game if it's running in full screen mode on a desktop, it defaults to the desktop resolution. There is also no native cube mapping support. It's strange to find features like this missing; most aspects of the language are really fleshed out and you really CAN do almost anything you want. Missing features like these are not deal killers, but it's a reminder that this programming suite is not meant for professional developers that want total control over their game. [h2]Supported Platforms[/h2] You can make games that run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and HTML5 platforms. As per the word “App” in the product name, the software is catered towards 2D game development for smartphones, but it’s quite capable of making full-on PC games. That’s what I use it for primarily. There’s even support for Steam integration. One big disadvantage the software has with its competitors is the lack to deploy your games for Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch. If you are making a mobile game, it’s very easy to test your game on your phone as you are developing it. You can broadcast the game over LAN to your phone and test it immediately. Notice something wrong when you are testing? Make the code change and re-broadcast within seconds. It works just as you’d hope. [h2]Scene Editors[/h2] AGK does not come with a scene editor by default, but there is a 2D scene editor DLC pack. Unfortunately, I’ve never used it so I can’t speak to it. I will say that it integrates fully with the language, so you can make a 2D scene and export the whole thing to Tier 1 code. There is currently no 3D scene editor, though it is an often requested feature and they’ve expressed interest in adding this in the future. For 3D scene editing, you are best using a 3D modeling program and importing the objects into your game. [h2]Price[/h2] Yes AGK is not free while other game frameworks out there are free to use. While this might turn off some people, understand that the framework is developed by a small team, and they don’t get support from professional studios. It’s by hobbyists, for hobbyists. The money you use to buy the program goes directly to support the team to develop more enhancements. It seems this is the business model that works for them. On the plus side, you can sell games made with AGK royalty-free. [h2]Community/Support[/h2] There’s an active community on TheGameCreators forums for AGK support and sharing content. Lots of wise people on there that have been around for years and know AGK inside and out. TheGameCreators themselves have not abandoned AGK and are still releasing updates and fixing bugs regularly. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] AGK is a tight and powerful game development framework for programmers of all skill levels. The language is simple enough for newbies to pick up but complex enough for experienced programmers to really make something nice. Experts and professionals will probably crave for more control offered in other languages. The documentation and support is solid. Most importantly, it’s FUN. This is for learners, hobbyists, and people breaking out into the indie scene. NOT for professional developers.

AGK2 isn't prefect and I can tell you it's a waste of time to compare it with Unity or UE4. For one they are two different animals. One of the biggest's question is ..... *drum roll* ... Yes!, you do need a bit of programming understanding/knowledge and if you don't then I'd suggest trying out http://www.codecademy.com/ and see if you seems to understand it then look into learning AGK Basic. Pros: - AGK Basic! (If you have never programmed before in your life and wish to try out programming then this is a great start) - C++ Support (I'm a C++ fan) - Visual Studios Community/2013 template support - Lots of AGK Basic example projects (I was a bit shocked by this) - Has an interesting stream app so you can see it on things like on mobile without having to upload it to the device. - It's a library and not an engine editor like Unity (I think this is a pro because I'm not weighed down by stuff I don't need) - Multiplayer support (Basic support but since you can use C++ you can add a different one) - You can make apps and games (It's a library so you have total control) - it's very cheap for a full library that is easy to pick up and go - Cross Platform Support for games (Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, Linux) Cons: - I think it lacks on the documentation side (It could use more I think) - It's a library (yes this is a con too because it's a lot harder to pick up compare to like Unity but once you do it's so worth it) - Without looking stuff up, it can be a bit overwelming to get started. (Well what isn't?) - No level editors (Well it's not an engine editor so this is excepted, It's not Unity) - No Linux Editor Here is the Documentation: http://www.appgamekit.com/documentation/home.html If you are intrested in this then I'd say try out the demo on steam or their web site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You may think I'm bias but it is harder to find cons with a library then an editor. Only things a library can do wrong is not have a certain command not implemented. The rest is up to you to build. It's true I've nevered like Unity or UE4 but that is because I do prefer Libraries like SFML or SDL and this is just something else that is fun to play with and see what I can make.