GDevelop

GDevelop is a 2D cross-platform, free and open-source game engine, which mainly focuses on creating PC and mobile games, as well as HTML5 games playable in the browser.[4][5][6] Created by Florian Rival; a software engineer at Google,[7] GDevelop is mainly aimed at non-programmers and game developers of all skillsets, employing event based visual programming similar to engines like Construct, Stencyl, and Tynker.[8][9]

GDevelop
Original author(s)Florian Rival (4ian)
Developer(s)Florian Rival (4ian), Victor Levasseur, Aurélien Vivet (Bouh), Arthur Pacaud (arthuro555), Franco Maciel (Lizard-13), Todor Imreorov (blurymind)[1]
Initial releaseAugust 11, 2008 (2008-08-11)
Stable release
5.1.160[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 5 April 2023 (5 April 2023)
Preview release
5.0.0 beta112 / July 15, 2021 (2021-07-15).[3]
Repositoryhttps://github.com/4ian/GDevelop
Written inC++, JavaScript
Operating systemWindows, Linux, macOS, Web browser
PlatformLinux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, HTML5, Universal Windows Platform
Available inEnglish, Community Provided Translations
TypeGame creation system
Game engine
Game integrated development environment
LicenseMIT License
Websitegdevelop.io

As it is distributed under an open-source license, GDevelop has found used in games education, ranging from a primary school to university courses.[6][10][11] It has also been used by educators and researchers to create learning and serious games.[12][13]

Game creation without programming languages

One of GDevelop's primary goal is to allow creators to make video games without using any programming languages. This is primarily done through three methods:

Event-based logic

GDevelop's primary focus is to allow all users to create games without code or a programming language. This is accomplished via an Event system,[14] which creates logic by monitoring for Conditions on when to trigger, and actions to take once the event conditions are met. The majority of events are presented in normalized language, so creators can avoid having to understand coding concepts found in many programming languages.

Behaviors

Behaviors allow for advanced combinations of pre-built functions and events to add logic like physics-based movement, pathfinding, acting as a platform or platform character game, allowing to move the object with the mouse or touch, transitions, etc.[15] Behaviors can be added to game objects, and the same object can have several behaviors. Behaviors can also be created using the Event system - allowing users to extend the existing set of behaviors without coding.

Easy content pipeline

All game content including character art, backgrounds, text, etc, can be added directly through a point-and-click interface in the editor. Some example content types are Sprites, Tiled Sprites, 9-Patch (Panel) Sprites, Text Objects, Text Objects with BBText support, Shape Painters, and more. Music and Sounds can be imported directly into the events that utilize them.

Other features

GDevelop has two separate clients: Web and Local. The web client allowing for game development directly through the browser and saving to a cloud storage solution. Both versions share the majority of their feature-set. A non-exhaustive feature-set available to both clients include:

Extensions

User-made extensions can be created to allow for custom events, behaviors, or functions. Existing events can be turned into extensions from within a project's event sheet. These extensions can be shared within the IDE to the entire community and can be added within a few clicks.[16] Extensions can also implement new engine capabilities such as Kongregate API integrations or full masking support and improve the quality of the creator's game. Some things extensions can add gamepad support and cheats like the Konami code.

Javascript language support

Although GDevelop's primary focus is using the event system to enable development without any programming language code, a JavaScript code block can also be used in place of any event.[9]

In addition to using JavaScript code blocks for game logic, this also allows advanced users to extend the capabilities of events by directly manipulating the engine, expanding the capabilities of the engine.

Monetization support

GDevelop supports AdMob, Shopify, and Facebook ads allowing for advertising in the form of video, banner, interstitial screen and link to purchase.

Shader effects

Introduced in beta 84,[17] GDevelop currently supports effects applied to each layer of a game scene. Shaders allow for advanced graphical effects, such as drop shadows, reflections, scanlines and color swapping, without having to create custom art for the effect.

Built-in content editors

Gdevelop's IDE also has built-in editors for graphics and audio. Piskel[18] is integrated for editing art, and JFXR[19] is integrated for creating sound effects.

One-click export

Games can be exported directly to Android, Windows, Linux, and Web platforms.[20] It is possible to make a local export that allows for manual iOS, Android, or desktop OS compiling, as well as export to platforms like Kongregate, itch.io, Google Play, etc.

Supported platforms

GDevelop allows users to compile games into stand-alone games, without requiring the software to run.

The following platforms are supported for One-click export:

  • Windows 7/8/10/11
  • Linux
  • Android
  • HTML5 (Web)

Additionally, the projects can be exported locally, and manually compiled to the following platforms:

  • Windows 7/8/10/11
  • Windows Store UWP
  • Linux
  • Android
  • iOS
  • HTML5 (Web)

Technologies used

GDevelop 5 uses GDJS, the same JavaScript engine as GDevelop 4, an older and currently unsupported version. It uses Pixi.JS v5 as a renderer. The editor interface is in React and uses asm.js to manipulate projects using the C++ code inherited from GDevelop 4.[21] Both the editor interface and games are packaged using Electron.

GDevelop 4 uses a GDCpp, a C++ engine, as well as GDJS, a JavaScript engine. GDCpp uses SFML and GDJS uses Pixi.JS v4 as a renderer. The editor interface is written in C++ and is essentially based on the library SFML for multimedia management and on wxWidgets user interface. The software also uses Boost and TinyXML. The IDE and GDCpp were packaged via a standard C++ compiler.

History

According to the main author of the software:

"The idea with GDevelop is making game creation accessible to anyone, from beginners to seasoned game developers. GDevelop allows you to create the logic of your game using visual events, composed of conditions and actions. You can also build your game objects by composing pre-defined and customizable behaviours. This means that the entry barrier to learning the syntax and idioms of a programming language is removed. For people that are not developers, it’s a way to quickly get up and running with an intuitive interface. Lots of people love sandbox games. GDevelop is a sandbox - but what you can do with it is unlimited."[22]

GDevelop's initial 1.0 release was in 2008, on a foundation that was primarily C++ and had a more native OS focus. Over the years more and more features were added such as tilemap support, a particle system, and limited network support. Leading up to 2018, discussions around migrating GDevelop to a more portable and platform-agnostic base were made, and in January 2018 GDevelop 5 (GD5) was released.[23]

Until GD5, the main engine was the C++ engine (GDCpp). GD5 dropped support for it in favour of the JavaScript engine (GDJS), first introduced on July 1, 2013.[24] The reason of the drop was because it had issues across platforms, couldn't run in the browser or on phones due to the renderer (SFML[25]) it was using, and GDevelop was lacking too many contributors in general to support both a JavaScript and a C++ engine. It is planned to bring a native engine back in the long term, but not in the short term[26]

GD5 included a complete rework of the IDE to begin using web technologies, like Pixi.JS and React. Support around GD4 was shifted over to GD5 to bring focus on enhancing the future of the engine.

Since GD5's launch, additional features and functionality have continually been added, such as BBText support,[27] Dialogue Support via Yarnspinner, and layer-based shaders via PixiJS Shaders.[27] Development and enhancement of the platform continues from 4ian and a group of repeat contributors.

References
  1. "GDevelop contributors list". GitHub. 2021-01-11. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  2. "Release 5.1.160". 5 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. "GDevelop 5.0.0-beta105". GitHub. 2021-02-06. Archived from the original on 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  4. Hattersley, Lucy. "How to make your own games on a Mac". Macworld UK. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  5. "Get Started in Game Development - GameDev.net". www.gamedev.net. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. Correa, Jose David Cuartas (2015-06-27). Digitopolis II: Creation of video games GDevelop. Jose David Cuartas Correa. ISBN 978-958-9146-71-2. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  7. "Porting a Desktop Game Editor to the Browser with WebAssembly". InfoQ. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  8. Moore, D. M. (2020-04-14). "11 tools to get you started making video games". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  9. Griffey, Julia V. (2019-12-12). Introduction to Interactive Digital Media: Concept and Practice. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-429-62073-7. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  10. Yu, Chak Tin; Tomorrowskills, Hobbypress (2020-06-10). STEM Education Series: Write Your First 2-player Tank Game: Using GDevelop. Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US. ISBN 979-8-6527-6854-6. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  11. "GDevelop for the education - Teach game creation". gdevelop-app.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  12. Kleftodimos, Alexandros; Evangelidis, Georgios (2018). "Augmenting educational videos with interactive exercises and knowledge testing games". 2018 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON): 872–877. doi:10.1109/EDUCON.2018.8363322. ISBN 978-1-5386-2957-4. S2CID 44107170.
  13. G, Gabriel Elías Chanchí; A, María Clara Gómez; M, Wilmar Yesid Campo (2019). "Proposal of an educational video game for the teaching-learning of the requirements classification in software engineering [Propuesta de un videojuego educativo para la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la clasificación de requisitos en ingeniería de software]". RISTI - Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao. 2019 (E22): 1–14. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  14. "Events [GDevelop wiki]". wiki.compilgames.net. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  15. "Behaviors ["GDevelop Wiki"]". wiki.compilgames.net. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  16. "Extensions [GDevelop wiki]". wiki.compilgames.net. Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  17. "GDevelop 5.0.0-beta84". GitHub. 2020-01-06. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  18. "Piskel - Free online sprite editor". www.piskelapp.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  19. "Jfxr : Frozen Fractal". frozenfractal.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  20. "Publishing games [GDevelop wiki]". wiki.compilgames.net. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  21. "How has been ported the game editor to the browser with WebAssembly". 2019-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  22. "Porting a Desktop Game Editor to the Browser with WebAssembly". InfoQ. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  23. "Release 5.0.0-beta14 · 4ian/GDevelop". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  24. "Initial addition of GDJS to the source code". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  25. "SFML". SFML. Archived from the original on 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  26. "Statement "Native games will be added to GDevelop 5 later." at the bottom of the downloads page". GDevelop official website. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  27. "Release 5.0.0-beta84 · 4ian/GDevelop". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
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