Who doesn't love playing on a computer or smartphone? There are probably few such people.

For some gamers, the love of games goes so far that they begin to understand the entertainment device itself, and dream of creating games themselves. Well, today there are many opportunities for the realization of this cherished dream!

If you want to create your own toy at your leisure, catch a list of special free programs for this.

Blender

A free package of professional software for creating interactive games and 3D computer graphics.

Tools for work will be enough for both beginners and professionals. Blender contains tools for modeling, animation, video and sound processing.

The program is a full-fledged editor, which already contains the main textures, event handlers and models. If you need additional features, you can download plugins: they are created by both official developers and users.

But you will find lessons on working in this program.

Go ahead, create new universes!

Unity 3D

This is a powerful environment for developing applications and games, including for mobile devices. 3D games created with Unity work on Windows, iOS, Android, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. You can create games of any genre; textures and models are easily imported, images of all popular formats are supported.

Scripts are mostly written in JavaScript, but code can also be written in C#.

Training materials for working in the environment (in English) can be found on the official website at the link.

Construct Classic

Open source 2D and 3D game builder. No programming knowledge is required to work. Just add an object and turn on the animation.

There is no Russian version, but the interface is very clear, so you can work even with basic knowledge of English.

Not only is the builder free, it's open source, and you can customize it and edit it however you want if you want.

You can see Construct Classic tutorials.

Game Maker Lite

A free program for developing simple games of any genre: platform, puzzle, action and 3D games. Suitable for beginners. You can use your own images and effects, or the built-in program. To access a larger selection of images and effects, you need to register.

No programming knowledge is required to work, but some scripts can be written independently, if desired. So this program can be used for teaching programming as well.

Lessons on how to work in the program for beginners are on this site.

Unreal Development Kit

Free engine for creating games. Very powerful, with tons of features and tools for advanced visualizations and detailed simulations. You can create games for many modern platforms.

The program already includes textures, models, sounds, sprites, scripts. It remains only to combine and create your own game.

You can watch video tutorials and manuals for working in the program.

game editor

Editor for creating simple 2D games for Windows, iOS, Android, Linux operating systems.

There are built-in sets of animations that are responsible for the appearance of the characters. You can use your own graphics. The program also provides a standard set of reactions that determine the behavior of the character in the game. But you can create your own, in a special scripting language Game Editor.

3D Rad

Free software for developing 3D games and interactive applications. You don't need to use the code, so creating your own games is quite simple.

The game is created by selecting various objects and setting up the interaction between them. There is a function to import models, a large number of examples and samples. You can distribute ready-made games as a full-fledged web application or program. It is possible to embed games on web pages.

Game Maker Studio

A free set of tools for creating mobile games. Simple, intuitive interface, thanks to which games are developed quite simply. Programming knowledge is not required, since you do not have to write code manually.

There is nothing superfluous in the working window of the program. Games developed on Game Maker: Studio are cross-platform, and finished applications can be integrated with Steam.

NeoAxis 3D Engine

Universal environment for developing 3D projects.
This is a ready-made engine with its own models, textures, physics, templates and graphics. There are even 24 ready-made, full-fledged cards!
On it, you can create not only games, but also single models, complex visualization of software.

It remains only to turn on the imagination and create.

Itching to create your own game? No problem. Choose a program and go to your dream!

Every gamer at least once thought about creating their own game. It is quite difficult to do this without a team of professionals, because you need knowledge in programming, 3d modeling, and game design. Recently, however, programs have become popular that allow you to create games in designer mode. This opens up a real scope for the implementation of design ideas, allows you to concentrate on creativity, and not on exact calculations.

Free software for creating games

This is a game engine with constructor capabilities, which has wide functionality and customization capabilities. In it, you can create games without programming, but they will be very formulaic. For a really interesting project, you will have to use C # - the programming language that is used in Unity 3D.

Many say that for beginner developers, this program is best suited. Of course, it cannot boast of excellent graphics, advanced physics or artificial intelligence (which, by the way, is not available in Unity at all), but you can create interesting 3d games in it without obtaining in-depth knowledge.

The Russian language is not used in professional software, so the Unity 3D interface is localized only in English.

The engine has a free license, but it only applies to PC. To make games for smartphones and consoles, you need to purchase a license.

The leader among all game engines. Having proven itself in many AAA projects, it is available to any user. You can create a huge location filled with realistic rivers, forests and mountains in the CryENGINE SDK in a matter of hours. Thanks to the developments of Crytek, you get great graphics right out of the box.

Advanced particle physics, car and collision physics - all this greatly distinguishes this engine from its analogues. Working with it is incredibly easy, even though the interface is exclusively in English.

Thanks to the fact that the developers of the engine filled it with examples of locations, free content and excellent documentation, it is easy to use. To create your own game in CryENGINE 3 Free SDK, you do not need to program, create 3d models and draw something. It is enough just to arrange the finished objects in the right places.

It looks rather modest among AAA engines, but this does not make it bad. Yes, it does not support huge spaces, and models with a large number of polygons cause it to drop FPS, however, for use in simple projects, it is the best choice.

This program for creating games on a computer is easy to use, does not require the developer to have a powerful PC, knowledge of programming languages, packages for modeling and animation. This is its main advantage.
On the developer's website, you can download not only the engine itself, but also ready-made presets for it. Among them there are sets of models, scripts, locations, and even sketches of artificial intelligence technology. For a novice developer, this is very useful. Moreover, the site and all the documentation are in Russian, which facilitates the study and advanced training.

A real monster, filled with the most modern technologies. By simply downloading the engine, you can try it out on examples of locations, and then use Unreal's developments in your projects. This engine is hardly suitable for beginners, but for those who have at least a little understanding of what programs are needed to create games, it offers a lot of opportunities.

UDK has a serious advantage - a loyalty program for individual developers. To put the game on sale, you do not need to pay for a license at all. It is enough just to give a few percent to the owners of the company. This allows anyone to enter the gamedev world.

This engine is used by those who are not familiar with programming languages, because it has functionality for graphical scripting - Blueprint.

The documentation for the UDK and Unreal Engine is really extensive. It covers all aspects of game development.

Kodu- this is the only game engine from today's list, which is localized into Russian. This fact, as well as the simplest interface, the availability of ready-made models and lessons, attracts developers to it.

Using Kodu for serious projects is not the best idea. It does not support high resolution textures, shaders and high poly models. That is why the engine has established itself as a cartoon. It is often used for games with hand-drawn graphics.

It is worth noting that Kodu has the lowest entry threshold. It can be used by those who do not understand game development at all. This is facilitated by a system for creating games without programming, no need for Hi-poly modeling. If you want to create a simple, childish game, then Kodu is the best option. It can be mastered in a few days, completing the project in the shortest possible time.

If you have any questions, ask in the comments, we will definitely help.

Before reading reviews of video game software, you should understand the process of developing any game, whether it be 2D indie shooter or huge AAA 3D ​​project. To create any game, you need to know that developing any project in one is almost an unrealistic thing. Most of the projects were either abandoned or not even started. This is due to the fact that a video game is a very complex program. First, we need to come up with something that has not been created before, or create a good clone that would still have some additions to an existing project. Secondly, working in one, you need to have the skills of several people at once, while the level must not be lower, that is, to be an experienced programmer, level designer, 3D artist, making high-quality 3D models and textures, animating objects, being a tester and creating high quality sounds, both for shooting and for the background. Thirdly, you need to correctly and timely download the application or game to the stores ( IOS, Android, Windows, Mac, ...), otherwise someone will do it first. But, as written above, this is "almost" unrealistic. There are cases when only one person works on large projects. For example, Sergey Noskov "Noskovfe"created the game 35MM, helped Sergey only with the sound.

Game creation process

pre-production(preparing to create a game)
Game development(production)
Game Support

Pre-production includes the formation of the idea of ​​the game, there must be a first very crude prototype, which must be shown to publishers, management for approval. If there are none, then here the indie developer must understand for himself whether the game will be a success, whether the project will pay off the effort and money invested in development, whether it will find an audience and, if necessary, future publishers. Before starting to develop a game, a game designer should create a design document, i.e. a detailed description of the video game and gameplay, which contains sketches and drawings of locations, future characters, weapons, etc. A design document at the preparation stage does not end its life cycle, it is constantly changing and supplementing during development.

After preparing the game, the long stage of game development begins. The creation of the game is divided into 3 stages: 1 - development of prototypes, individual objects, scenes and other things, 2 - combining everything and everything on the stage, 3 - fixing errors, testing, post-processing, adding effects. In game development involved: programmers, game designers, level designers, texturers, modelers, animators, sound engineers, game voice actors and many others. Often one person combines many skills, playing a role in a team of several game developers at once.

Support for the game consists in the release of add-ons that speed up the work, fix bugs (patches) or update the content of the game. The release of updates is an important stage, since it is the additions that allow the game to stay afloat for some more time, for example: the game Destiny, published on PS4 September 9, 2014. Developers are still releasing additions to this online shooter and getting more and more new users. The same applies to mobile games, constant updates attract more and more downloads, which means they bring more profit to the developer.

Programs for creating games on IOS, Android and PC

Consider the most famous programs for creating games. We already wrote a detailed review of and , but in this list we will once again briefly describe these wonderful game engines. Our list of programs includes: Blender, Unity 5, Unreal Engine 4, Game Editor, Neoaxis, Stencyl, Kodu Game Lab.

Blender Game Engine

Blender Game Engine- a game engine that is part of the 3D modeling package Blender. Blender Game Engine was developed many years ago, but, after so much time, was never popular among game developers, and this is due to this: Blender Game Engine created for the development of simple 2D and 3D games, because it has weak physics compared to competitors. Of course have Rigidbody, there is elementary physics, but it makes no sense to prescribe to the programmer what has long been built into other game engines. This game engine also uses a programming language Phyton which is not very convenient. But Blender Game Engine there are pluses: 1 - you can immediately edit and add 3D models if something on the stage does not suit you, 2 - you can use the Russian documentation on the site Blender, 3 - handy renderer with high fps. If choose Blender Game Engine, then only for the development of small projects, for getting to know game development.

An example of games created on Blender Game Engine taken from Youtube.com :

Blender

Unity 5

Unity3d- a program for creating applications and games for various platforms: Windows, OS X, Windows Phone, Android, Apple iOS, Linux, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One. Lately we've been seeing growth Unity developers, because Unity very simple game engine with huge documentation. Users also post their video tutorials on Youtube, which greatly simplifies the process of creating a game. If something fails or the engine shows a problem that you are unable to solve, then there is a powerful community (forums, sites dedicated to Unity, VK publics, etc.). Unity- a favorite of indie developers. It has created a huge number of indie games that have gained popularity on Steam, consoles and mobile platforms. Unity Technologies provide Unity free, but with one condition: your income must be less 100.000$ per month.
Great video showing some of the best Unity 5 games of 2015 and 2016:

Download and find out prices here: Unity 5

game editor

game editor- software for creating 2D games. WITH game editor you can start getting acquainted with the creation of games, learn a primitive programming language and generally try your hand at this business. game editor has decent documentation and enough Russian video tutorials on Youtube. This game engine is suitable for those who want to create a game for themselves and friends, but not for monetization and subsequent sale.
game editor

Neoaxis

Neoaxis- universal environment for developing 3D games and applications. IN Neoaxis large set of tools, programming language C#, a set of demo games and maps for a quick start, simple interface. primary goal Neoaxis- create an application for virtual reality glasses, simulators and trainers, but this engine is also suitable for creating games. plus Neoaxis is that the site, documentation and the engine itself are translated into Russian. next-gen charts from Neoaxis should not be expected, since the "universality" of the engine affects here. Neoaxis there is not enough beautiful shell, because now the design of the program looks like 2006-2008, but not later. Lack of performance and rendering speed. Neoaxis supports all known platforms, so the engine is also multi-platform.
Download from the official site: Neoaxis

Stencyl

Stencyl- a program for creating games on iOS, Android And Flash without coding. Stencyl is aimed specifically at creating 2D and 3D mobile games. Mobile games made on Stencyl, more than once hit the top App Store And Google play. Stencyl convenient because you don't need to learn scripting here, all actions are already written in the engine, you just need to choose which ones to use. The official website has good documentation, but there are not many Russian lessons. Stencyl collects its top games uploaded to mobile markets, you can find them here: stencyl.com/. Stencyl does not take interest from the monetization of games, but you need to buy India($99) under Web/Desktop or Studio($199) under iOS, Android. There is also a free version, but it cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Download from the official site: Stencyl

Kodu Game Lab

Kodu Game Lab is a free visual tool for creating games. Kodu- brainchild Microsoft. Microsoft For many years, it has been holding annual competitions for schoolchildren and students who dream of making their own games. IN Kodu you can insert your models in the format fbx, OBJ, there is skeleton support. Kodu cannot be monetized, only non-commercial use. Kodu is perfect for teaching kids programming. Programming here, of course, is not C# or JS, here you need to build elementary things so that the object moves, jumps or does something. Here is an example of a game made on Kodu:

Download from the official site: Kodu Game Lab

Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4- free game creation software Windows, Mac Os, IOS, Android, Linux, Web, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Virtual Reality developed by an American company epic games. Unreal Engine 4- it's not just software for creating games, UE4 is also an excellent video editor, you can create videos on it, do visualization and create projects for virtual reality glasses. Unreal Engine 4 was a paid game engine, but after epic games declared: " If you like something, set it free!", i.e. everyone's favorite engine can be downloaded absolutely free. The only thing you need to thank epic games- 5% from one copy of the game, which is very good. Unreal Engine 4 mainly designed for AAA(Triple A) projects, that is, games such as: Mortal Kombat X, Paragon. That's why 5% from one copy is a very small amount. If you decide to use unreal engine as a video editor or want to create a movie in it, then epic takes no interest. This game engine has a powerful community and documentation, though not in Russia. For some reason, it took root in the Russian Federation Unity, and he ( Unity 5) has a more populated store, readable documentation, and a sea of ​​Russian forums entirely dedicated to Unity3d. But epic games has stricter rules for both content and its engine. For example, it will be very difficult for you to create conditions such that UE4 crashed when Unity does it very often. Shop Unreal Marketplace, Unlike Unity Asset Store, has only large and standing packs of models, scripts, textures and ready-made scenes. IN Unity Asset Store it is difficult to find something worthwhile, because most assets are things that have not been updated or supplemented for a long time. Watch the video below to see it in action Landscape Auto Material:

Download the game engine from the official site: Unreal Engine
Read more detailed review unreal engine Here:

Are you sitting and bored and don't know what to do with yourself? Then the 3D Rad application will be very interesting for you! This software for creating 2D and 3D games , and the whole process of creation consists of two stages - a combination of various combinations of components and the interaction between them, or rather, interaction settings. Also in the application you can work with light, texture, sound, animation and other necessary parameters or effects.

3DRad

Also in this program you can endow your hero with artificial intelligence! Object settings such as fire, snow, water, fog and more are supported. In other words, you can create a complete game with all the necessary features and special effects. And although the program, unfortunately, is not in Russian, it is not at all difficult to understand it, but after that you will be very proud of your masterpieces!

Download software for creating 3D games

You can download the program for creating 3D games completely free of charge, and it does not take up much space. In addition to ready-made models, you can upload your own developed models to the program, which is important! Although a large number of ready-made three-dimensional templates and objects will be able to translate all your ideas into reality. And thanks to a simple, uncomplicated interface, understanding the 3D Rad application will not be difficult at all.

Probably, everyone who played computer games at least once thought about creating their own game and retreated before the upcoming difficulties. But the game can be created quite simply if you have a special program at hand, and you will not always need knowledge of programming languages ​​to use such programs. On the Internet, you can find many game designers for both beginners and professionals.

If you decide to get into game creation, you should definitely find yourself a development software. We have selected programs for creating games without the need for programming.

Game Maker is a simple 2D and 3D game builder that allows you to create games for a wide range of platforms: Windows, iOS, Linux, Android, Xbox One and more. But for each OS, the game will need to be configured, since Game Maker does not guarantee the same operation of the game everywhere. The advantage of the constructor is that it has a low entry threshold. This means that if you have never been involved in game development, you can safely download Game Maker - it does not require any special knowledge in the field of programming.

You can create games using the visual programming system or using the built-in GML language. We advise you to study the latter, since with its help games come out much more interesting and better. The development process itself is very simple: creating sprites in the editor (you can download ready-made drawings), objects with different properties and levels (rooms) in the editor. The speed of game development on Game Maker is much faster than in other similar engines.

Unity 3D

One of the most powerful and most popular game engines is Unity 3D. With it, you can create games of any complexity and any genre, using the same visual programming interface. Although initially creating full-fledged games in Unity 3D meant knowledge of programming languages ​​such as JavaScript or C #, now they are only needed for larger projects. The engine will give you a lot of opportunities, you just need to learn how to use them. To do this, you will find tons of training material on the Internet. And the program itself helps the user in every possible way in his work.

Cross-platform, stability, high performance, friendly interface - this is just a small list of the advantages of the Unity 3D engine. Here you can create almost everything: from Tetris to your own GTA 5. But the program is best for indie game developers. If you decide to put your game on PlayMarket not for free, you will have to pay the developers of Unity 3D a certain percentage of sales. The program is free for non-commercial use.

And back to the designers! Clickteam Fusion is a drag'n'drop 2D game creation software. Here you do not need to know programming, because you will collect games piece by piece, like a constructor. But you can also create games by writing code for each object. With this program, you can create games of any complexity and any genre, preferably with a static picture. Also, the created game can be run on any device: computer, phone, PDA, etc.

Despite its simplicity, this program has a large number of diverse and interesting tools. It has a test mode where you can check the game for bugs. Clickteam Fusion is not expensive compared to other programs, and on the official website you can also download a free demo version. Unfortunately, the program is not suitable for large games, but for small arcades it is just right.

Another very good program for creating two-dimensional games is Construct 2. With the help of visual programming, you can create games for various popular and not so popular platforms. Thanks to a simple and intuitive interface, the program is suitable even for those users who have never dealt with game development. Also, beginners will find many tutorials and examples of games in the program, with a detailed explanation of all processes.

In addition to the standard sets of plugins, behaviors, and visual effects, you can add to them yourself by downloading from the Internet, or, if you are an experienced user, write plugins, behaviors, and effects in JavaScript. But where there are pluses, there are also minuses. The main disadvantage of Construct 2 is that the export of projects to additional platforms is carried out only with the help of third-party programs.

CryEngine is one of the most powerful 3D game engines out there, with graphics capabilities that are superior to any other similar program. It was here that such famous games as Crysis and Far Cry were created. And all this is possible without programming. Here you will find a very large set of game development tools, as well as tools that designers need. You can quickly create sketches of models in the editor, or you can immediately on location.

The physics system in CryEngine supports inverse kinematics of characters, vehicles, physics of rigid and soft bodies, liquids, tissues. So the objects in your game will behave quite realistically. CryEngine is, of course, very cool, but the price for this software is appropriate. You can get acquainted with the trial version of the program on the official website, but only advanced users should buy it, who will be able to cover the cost of the software.

Game Editor is another game maker on our list that feels like a simplified Game Maker. Here you can create simple 2D games without any special programming knowledge. Here you will work only with actors. It can be both characters and "interior" items. For each actor, you can set many different properties and functions. You can write actions in the form of code, or you can simply pick up a ready-made script.

With Game Editor, you can create games for both computers and phones. To do this, simply save the game in the correct format. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to create a large project with the Game Editor, as it will take a lot of time and effort. Another disadvantage is that the developers have abandoned their project and no updates are expected yet.

And here is the competitor for Unity 3D and CryEngine - Unreal Development Kit. This is another powerful game engine for developing 3D games for many popular platforms. Games here can be created without using programming languages, but simply by setting ready-made events for objects. Despite the complexity of mastering the program, the Unreal Development Kit gives you great opportunities for creating games. We advise you to learn how to use them all. Fortunately, you will find plenty of materials on the Internet.

For non-commercial use, you can download the program for free. But as soon as you start getting money for the game, you will have to pay interest to the developers, depending on the amount received. The Unreal Development Kit project does not stand still and the developers regularly post additions and updates. If you encounter any problems while working with the program, you can contact the support service on the official website and they will definitely help you.

Kodu Game Lab is probably the best choice for those who are just getting started with 3D game development. Thanks to a colorful and clear interface, creating games in this program is interesting and not difficult at all. Initially, this project was developed for teaching schoolchildren, but still it will be useful even for adults. The program helps very well to understand how they work and what algorithm for creating games. By the way, you don't even need a keyboard to create a game - everything can be done with just a mouse. There is no need to write code here, you just need to click on objects and events.

A nice feature of Code Game Lab is that it is a free program in Russian. And this, mind you, is a rarity among serious game development programs. There is also a lot of educational material, made in an interesting form of quests. But, no matter how good this environment is, it also has disadvantages. Kodu Game Lab is simple, yes, but there are not as many tools in it as we would like. And this development environment is quite demanding on system resources.

3D Rad is a rather interesting program for creating 3D games on a computer. As with all the above programs, it uses a visual programming interface that will please novice developers. Over time, you will learn how to create scripts yourself. This is one of the few programs that are free even for commercial use. Almost all game engines either have to be bought or a percentage of income is deducted.

In 3D Rad you can create a game of any genre and earn money from it. Interestingly, in 3D Rad you can create a multiplayer game or a network one, and even set up a game chat. This is another interesting feature of this program. The designer also pleases with the quality of visualization and the physics engine. You can customize the behavior of hard and soft bodies, as well as make ready-made 3D models obey the laws of physics by adding springs, joints, and more to them.

With the help of another interesting and colorful program, Stencyl, you can create bright and colorful games for many popular platforms. It does not set any genre restrictions, so here you can bring all your ideas to life. Stencyl is not just application development software, but a set of tools that makes the job of creating an application easier, allowing you to concentrate on the most important thing.

There is no need to write the code yourself - all you need is to move the blocks with the code, thus changing the behavior of the main characters of your application. Of course, the free version of the program is quite limited, but still it is enough to create a small and interesting game. You will also find a lot of educational material and the official wiki encyclopedia - StencylPedia.

This is just a small part of all existing programs for creating games. Almost all of the solutions in this list are paid, but you can always download a trial version and decide if it's worth the money. We hope you find something here for yourself and we will be able to see the games you have created soon.