Customer Reviews

The Games Factory 2

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My four-year-old son has tired of mere level editors in video games. He asked me how to make his own games from scratch. There's no way a four-year-old is going to learn Java or C#, so I downloaded ClickTeam's Games Factory 2. He has created five simple games already.

It's all dragging and dropping. There are no file handles, IO streams, inheritance, polymorphism, or other other sophisticated programming concepts. In fact, there's really not any scripting, just clicking.

The level of sophistication you can create is on par with the average Intellivision or Atari 2600 game. However, the graphics can be high resolution and in full color. You can import WAV files for audio. It has options for creating multiplayer games, connecting to the Internet, saving high scores, and many other extras.

You could easily recreate your favorite 2D games: Rootbeer Tapper, 1942, Donkey Kong, etc. My son created an original game where you traverse mazes, collect cheese, and battle giant skulls. You're not going to use Game Factory to write the next installment of Halo, but you can certainly have a blast. It's way more creative and engaging than just playing video games.

One thing that could be improved is the documentation. The instructions are good, but not flawless. Sometimes we had to figure a feature out by trial and error when the manual was not clear.

This product is great for beginning game developers. I would say 90% of the activities that one carries out in this softwared are "Drag-n-Drop". There are plenty of tutorials that are easy to follow.

However, if you are an experienced game designer, or are totally enthusiastic toward game design/development, then you might prefer investigating a less expensive alternative, yet one that may prove to be more flexible... "Game Maker".

The "Game Maker" software follows the same drag-n-drop philosopy, but also incorporates the use of a scripting language if you find the need for this. The basic software is free with unlimited use. In addition, upgrading to the Pro edition, from the free, is only $20.00! You might want to give this software a try before you purchase TGF, at $50+ dollars.

I found that Gamesfactory was the perfect program for anybody aspiring to custom-make a game. Learning and using the software was easy because of the tutorials included and the ease-of-use setup.

I had to get this for a Virtual Games class in college so I explored medium-level activities of the software. If you have programming background and understand logic well, you shoudl have a leg up in making some impressive introductory games. If you check out the independent games in XBOX Live Arcade, you will see what types of things you can expect to build, with some practice of course. I found the ease in which you could build and interact with the contect very good and would highly recommend it for someone looking to get a first look at what game building would be like as a profession. Once you can master this, you are well on your way to understanding game development so give it a try if any of this sounds good to you.

OK, I said it was a little quirky. To really get into detail with some complex movements and interactions, you will find that it doesn't always give you the precision you may want and thus you have to take it with a grain of salt. Also, there is not a ton of help content so you will need to review the tutorials others have provided on the site to really ramp up your skills.

My son wanted to "build his own" video games. This is easy and fun for him.

I started with the free demo and I was able to create a basic "breakout" game in about an hour. I then spent the rest of the day modifying it so that it utilized pictures from a database that I sell. When I was done, I bought the full version and in a matter of a few minutes I had a game that I could give away to my customers and I uploaded it to my wed site.

This game is the most effective marketing tool I have and it was less than $65 with shipping. My customers could not be happier!

I highly recommend The Games Factory 2. I am making a game called IcyGun, about that ChocoBreak guy, who gets stuck in a nightmare with the ability to shoot mint blocks from the donut-umbrella thingy he's holding. It explains his name is Jack. He shoots mints and goes on to the next level. Sadly, only the first level is done, and I need to program THREE COMMANDS PER FRAME, however this doesn't work until the frame before level one. (PROGRAMMING FOR NOTHING) I hope I finish IcyGun! P.S. I don't care about 3D graphics or stuff like that, just to be proud that I have what I have.