{"slug": "gamemaker", "name": "GameMaker", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 2.963, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2026-05-02", "latest": "2026-09-01", "why": "For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://gamemaker.io", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["GameMaker"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 767822272, "item_id": 47988892, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988892", "by": "Jean-Philipe", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "GameMaker looks awesome and it wasn't even on my radar. I'll try that one!", "excerpt": "Thanks, GameMaker looks awesome and it wasn't even on my radar. I'll try that one!", "context": "beginner game developer", "use_case": "2D game development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}, {"id": 767764993, "item_id": 47985312, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985312", "by": "jdw64", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if not Unity, GameMaker is also a good option.", "excerpt": "I recommend Unity. Unity is not that difficult if you clearly understand the Template Method pattern. The difficult part is that students often struggle at a different point than expected. That said, if not Unity, GameMaker is also a good option.", "context": "", "use_case": "game development for beginners", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}, {"id": 767763746, "item_id": 47985234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985234", "by": "LazVerry", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve dabbled with a few game engines myself, but I feel like Unity and Unreal Engine have too many features, which actually makes them less beginner-friendly. It\u2019s hard to know where to even start. For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker. It specializes in 2D, and since hits like Undertale were built with it, you can definitely create \"serious\" games. GML (GameMaker Language) is also quite easy to write", "context": "has dabbled with a few game engines", "use_case": "2D pixel art games for beginners", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "bgoated01", "context": "C++ developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517309", "date": "2026-09-01"}, {"by": "Jean-Philipe", "context": "beginner game developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988892", "date": "2026-05-02"}, {"by": "LazVerry", "context": "has dabbled with a few game engines", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985234", "date": "2026-05-02"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["making games as a teen", "2d game development", "game development for beginners", "2d pixel art games for beginners"], "compared": [{"slug": "unity", "name": "Unity", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "unreal-engine", "name": "Unreal Engine", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985156", "title": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49516209", "title": "Has early Scratch experience led to fulfilling careers?", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 792276945, "item_id": 49517309, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517309", "by": "bgoated01", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "than I used to make with Mark Overmars' GameMaker when I was a teen", "excerpt": "My kids are learning on Scratch. 10 and 9 years old, been doing it for a few years at this point. The older one has had the opportunity to switch to Python but keeps going back to Scratch. He can make less trivial things than I used to make with Mark Overmars' GameMaker when I was a teen, and I'm now a C++ developer. So it would seem like a high possibility. He's done pathfinding algorithms, raycasting, file loading/", "context": "C++ developer", "use_case": "making games as a teen", "switched_from": "", "story": "Has early Scratch experience led to fulfilling careers?"}, {"id": 767822272, "item_id": 47988892, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988892", "by": "Jean-Philipe", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "GameMaker looks awesome and it wasn't even on my radar. I'll try that one!", "excerpt": "Thanks, GameMaker looks awesome and it wasn't even on my radar. I'll try that one!", "context": "beginner game developer", "use_case": "2D game development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}, {"id": 767764993, "item_id": 47985312, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985312", "by": "jdw64", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if not Unity, GameMaker is also a good option.", "excerpt": "I recommend Unity. Unity is not that difficult if you clearly understand the Template Method pattern. The difficult part is that students often struggle at a different point than expected. That said, if not Unity, GameMaker is also a good option.", "context": "", "use_case": "game development for beginners", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}, {"id": 767763746, "item_id": 47985234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47985234", "by": "LazVerry", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve dabbled with a few game engines myself, but I feel like Unity and Unreal Engine have too many features, which actually makes them less beginner-friendly. It\u2019s hard to know where to even start. For pixel art games, I personally recommend GameMaker. It specializes in 2D, and since hits like Undertale were built with it, you can definitely create \"serious\" games. GML (GameMaker Language) is also quite easy to write", "context": "has dabbled with a few game engines", "use_case": "2D pixel art games for beginners", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners"}]}