Choosing A Suitable Mobile Game Engine

Question

So after weeks of research I still cannot make up my mind as to which Game Engine to use, so here I am.

My question is which Game Engine will give me maximum productivity seeing that I:

1. Want to program in C++, Java, or a Scripting Language
2. Want to deploy the game first to the iPad, then other mobile devices if possible
3. Want to make a 2D game
4. Do not need physics
5. Don't have money [ Yes sad truth :'( ]
6. Want to make a game quickly and don't care much about the inner workings of the Engine
7. Want a Tile Based / Multiplayer / Turn Based Action Game
8. Don't have a Mac or XCode
9. Cross-Platform for Mobile Devices

I am not looking for a subjective answer I want to know which Game Engine allows me to do this or be closest to being able to do it.

Answer 1

You're overthinking this!

How do I know?

… after weeks of research ...

Want to make a game quickly ...

The only real requirements from your list are:

• must be free
• must run on Windows
• (ideally) tilemap support

All the other points are mostly irrelevant. You want to develop an iPad game, then limit your search to the few available engines which allow development of iOS apps on Windows. Here's for hoping one of them is free, I would be surprised. Corona SDK might fit your bill besides not being free. So maybe use that (you can use it for free but not publish), then make a game quickly, and stop thinking about which engine is the best.

In other words, the time it took you to research all the engines was the time it took someone else to create and publish a game. You can always switch engines for your next project if you want to, but unless you have some experience picking an engine and knowing what's important even thinking about other engines is pretty much a waste of time.

Answer 2

Try Gideros Studio. It's free, has an IDE, runs on Windows, has tilemap support and cross-platform (iOS & Android). I've gone through your requirements and the only thing you might consider is that Gideros Studio uses Lua, a simple language which is powerful enough to be in thousands of mobile and desktop games today.

Disclaimer: I personally know the founder of Gideros Mobile.