Latest Additions
Engines/Authorware for Non-Programmers
  • 2D Shooter Game Creator The 2D shooter game creator will let YOU create your own games, in the style of classic lightgun games, e.g. Time Crisis
  • 3D Adventure Studio an editor for creating adventure games in style of Gabriel Knight 3 (WIN) 
  • 3DCakeWalk allows the development of commercial quality games with all the "state of art" features you will find in today's leading games
  • 3D Game Engine alpha release of an unfinished 3D game engine (DOS/GNU/Linux) 
  • The 3D Game Maker point & click 3D game creator (Win)
  • 3D Game Studio produce 3D realtime applications - demos, adventures, role playing, action, advertising, or racing games - without programming skills (WIN) 
  • 3D Rad a programmable, user-friendly, 3D real-time engine (WIN) 
  • Abstract RTS Engine An RTS engine under development intended for user-produced rules, AI, and media modules (mods)
  • ADePT adventure developing and playing toolkit
  • ADRIFT a simple, yet powerful IF game designer (WIN) 
  • Adventure Book CYOA creator
  • Adventure Builder text adventure authoring system (DOS/WIN) 
  • AdventurEd system in development for creating graphical adventure games (Amiga)  
  • Adventure Game Engine engine for creating graphical first-person adventure games with full support for inventory, save/load games, inventory, puzzles, conversations, full motion video, cutscenes (WIN) 
  • Adventure Game Studio make your own point and click adventure games without programming; recently rewritten, now supports the standard Sierra interface as well as the LucasArts interface. Very nice. WIN) 
  • Adventure Maker free toolkit to creat point-and-click software for Windows and PSP without programming(Win/PSP) 
  • AGASTAdventure Game Authoring System to create and play your own graphic adventure games like those from LucasArts and Sierra On-line (WIN) 
  • AGT Adventure Game Toolkit for creating text adventures with graphics and sound (DOS) 
  • Aiee! design text adventures without programming experience
  • ALAN for creating interactive fiction (Amiga/Unix/DOS) 
  • Alice create your own scripts that control the motion of 3D objects for games, training simulations, etc (WIN95+)
  • Antiryad Gx easy multi platform game creator tool
  • AZALTA system with endless adventures, an infinite number of large worlds to explore, hundreds of puzzles to solve, creatures to meet, and items to find -- you can even create your own worlds/creatures/items (WIN/Amiga) 
  • Blades of Exile a fantasy role-playing system (WIN/MAC)
  • Blender free and fully functional 3D modeling/rendering/animation package, including games (Unix/Windows/BeOS) 
  • Blitz Basic the legendary Amiga Basic compilier for the PC (WIN) 
  • Blitz Basic II basic programming package for creating high-quaility games on the Amiga (Amiga)
  • Byond create online games and applications using a simple programming language
  • ButtonTalkeasy to use tool for creating interaction fiction (MAC to create, exports HTML)
  • CAECHO Spanish program for creating interaction fiction (DOS)
  • CAT Creative Adventure Toolkit: adventure authoring utility for writing text adventures on your PC (WIN)
  • Clean Game Library complete development system for 2D games (platform games, side scrollers), using the functional language Clean (Win, MAC, Linux)
  • Coconut 2D adventure game development tool (WIN/LINUX)
  • Coldstone the most complete solution for developing games on the Macintosh (MAC) 
  • Crystal Space free (LGPL) and portable 3D engine written in C++ (WIN/MAC/DOS/LINUX) 
  • Cycon Online Gaming -COG- Engine Open Source project aimed at simplifying the creation of online video games with no programming experience necessary.
  • Dark Basic BASIC language that lets you create fast full-screen DirectX and Direct3D games with incredible ease. You can write a 3D game in minutes! (WIN)
  • Erasmatazz Authoring tool used to create interactive storyworlds (WIN/MAC) 
  • Explorations RPG System independent role playing game engine
  • FPS Creator make your own action packed FPS games without any programming or 3D modelling knowledge
  • Game Book Player This application allows you to write fighting fantasy like game books and has lots of neat features.
  • Game Builder Lite for creating animated adventures and educational programs (DOS) 
  • Game Editor design 2D games for PCs and mobile devices
  • Game Maker allows you to make exciting computer games, without the need to write a single line of code(WIN) 
  • GameMaker & GameMaker Lite simple, card-based development system that enables you to create simple adventure games with graphics, buttons, and text (MAC) 
  • Game Studio the leading authoring suite for 2D and 3D multimedia projects, especially computer games
  • GRAAL script-based Graphic Adventure Authoring Language (Amiga) 
  • Golden T Game Engine game programming for JAVA programmers
  • G-Wiz Game Wizard will be tool for designing and playing text adventure and role-playing games (WIN)
  • Hephaestus computer role-playing game system with loadable adventures; with the compiler, you can write your own adventures in a simple yet powerful scripting language, and share them with anyone else who has Hephaestus (JAVA)
  • HUGO a programming language and authoring system for interactive fiction (WIN/DOS/Linux) 
  • IndianaJava system to create and run 2D graphic adventure games (JAVA) 
  • Inform a design system for interactive fiction (WIN/MAC/Amiga) 
  • InterAx create games in an easy to use yet powerful visual environment without programming or scripting. (WIN95+) 
  • KOF91 2D fighting game engine (WIN)
  • Legendary Tales Editor text-based gaming environment which allows anyone to create or enjoy independent adventure modules set in any medieval, swords and sorcery fantasy setting(WIN)
  • LucasHacks the ultimate SCUMM hacking resource including the new SCUMM Revisited (WIN)
  • MAC Game Creator Toolkit CD ROM special registered versions of 5 MAC creators, plus tutorials, utilities, and sample games (MAC)
  • Magx compiler for creating text adventures which is downward compatible with all of the existing versions of the AGT language(DOS/Linux)
  • Megazeux an object oriented ANSI game maker with many features not found in ZZT (DOS) 
  • M.u.C.e.S Multichoice Creation System (MuCeS) allows you to create any type of multiple choice text adventure
  • Multimedia Fusion create exciting interactive applications with a mouse-driven interface - this is the one I use (WIN)
  • My Adventure Game simple tool for creating graphic adventures
  • Official Hamster Republic RPG Construction Engine create your own role-playing games with no programming experience (DOS) 
  • PAWS IF authoring system (Various)
  • Pie 3D Game Creation System make your own 3D action games (DOS/WIN) 
  • Play Basic a game programming language designed to take the learning curve out of 2D game making
  • Playground build computer environments for 4-8 year olds to play, design, and create games (WIN)
  • Point & Click Developers Kit 2D point and click adventure game developer
  • QML Quest Markup Language free XML-based Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game system 
  • Quest Axe Software's app that allows you to create your own text adventure/RPG games, quickly and easily. (WIN95+) 
  • QuestMaker for making graphical adventure games (DOS)
  • Ray Game Designer Previously commercial (now freeware) 3D Game building system for Windows 3.x and Windows 95. It allows you to create games based on a RayCaster engine without any knowledge of coding: you only use a point-and-click interface and your favorite drawing tools
  • Reality Factory suite of applications that have been created in order to enable people that are NOT programmers to make advanced, 3d first and third person games for PC's running Windows (WIN)
  • Realm Crafter create your own multiplayer online RPG
  • Ren'Py a programming language and runtime, intended to ease the creation of visual-novel type games
  • REXX Adventure text adventure engine (OS2 Presentation Manager) 
  • RPG Toolkit Development System for the Creation and Play of your own RPG Games (WIN)
  • RuneSword RPG game and construction set (Win95+)
  • SCI Studio create games for Sierra's SCI engine(WIN)
  • Scribe development system for interactive fiction
  • Scrolling Game Development Kit complete game development system whose features can be used by experts and beginners alike
  • SKClone RPG game maker (WIN)
  • SLUDGE (Scripting Language for Unhindered Development of a Gaming Environment) is the box of cogs that will be available so that anyone (within reason) can use it to make an adventure game. (WIN)
  • Sphere RPG engine specialized for making 2D, console-style RPGs, similar to Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star (WIN)
  • Stagecast create multi-level games, mazes, puzzles and simulations for the Web, using the mouse to demonstrate what you want each character to do(MAC/WIN) 
  • StoryHarp Audioventure Authoring System adds the dimension of voice to interactive fiction development (WIN95/NT) 
  • StoryLand create Cooperative stories, using only a WEB browser
  • StorySprawl a site devoted to the creation of hyperfiction 
  • SUDS adventure game system which combines the content and feel of a text adventure game with the point-and-click style of Windows (WIN) 
  • TADS text adventure development system (DOS/WIN/MAC/Amiga/AtariST/OS2/Acorn) 
  • ToonTalk - Making Programming Child's Play build and run all sorts of computer programs (WIN)
  • VERGE a role-playing game creation system (DOS) 
  • WinPAW windows version of the Professional Adventure Writer (PAW)(WIN)
  • Wintermute Engine a set of tools for creating and running graphical adventure games(WIN)
  • World Builder create your own adventure games (MAC)

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GameDev.net Columns
GameDev.net's columns are dedicated to specific topics and are carefully reviewed to ensure a high level of quality. Each new installment in a column will be released according to a set schedule, as detailed below, so you can always know when to expect the next one.

If you would like to write for any of the columns below, please see our writers page, or send an e-mail to Dave.

Hardcore Game Programming
This column is dedicated to intermediate to advanced game programming topics. New articles are released on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.

Latest articles:
Texture Splatting in Direct3D by Nate Glasser
Spherical Scale Mapping by Stephan Reiter
High Dynamic Range Environment Mapping On Mainstream Graphics Hardware by Adam Lake and Cody Northrop
Intel® Software Solution Group (SSG)
Modern Game Technologies Project
Soft-Edged Shadows by Anirudh.S Shastry
Realistic Natural Effect Rendering: Water I by Yann Lombard
Click here for more.

Game Engineering
This column is focused on software engineering methods, specifically as applied to game development. New articles will be published on the first Wendesday of every month.

Latest articles:
Test Driving Expression Template Programming by Kent Lai
Blind Man's Bluff by Dean Margerison
Game Unified Process by Kevin Flood
The One: A Singleton Discussion by Robin Tan
Object-Oriented Scene Management by Jeff Kershner

Women in Game Development
This ongoing series takes a look at the role of women in the world of game development. Installments will be posted at irregular intervals.

Latest articles:
Women in Game Development: Part 5 by Sande Chen
Women in Game Development: Part 4 by Sande Chen
Women In Game Development #3 by Sande Chen
Women in Game Development #2 by Sande Chen
Women In Game Development: The Introduction by Sande Chen

Upcoming Columns
We have several other columns planned or are considering which have not officially been launched yet. We are actively seeking contributors for these columns. If you would like to contribute, or know someone who would, please contact us.

Here are the columns which are currently under consideration.

  • The Game Coroner - Our version of postmortems.
  • Exposed @ GameDev.net - (Working title.) Back in the days of Sweet.Oblivion, we used to do a monthly feature called The Shrine, which was a really in-depth interview/profile of a well-known developer. Often, they would join a public chat session as well. We'd like to bring these back.
  • Product reviews - (No title yet.) GDNet staff will do in-depth reviews of products used by developers. If there are specific things you'd like us to look at, let us know.
  • Console development - Tentative. No title yet.

If there are other topics you would like to see covered by a column, we're open to suggestions. Keep in mind though that some topics simply aren't big enough to dedicate an ongoing column to, and thus work better as regular featured articles.