Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners

4 points by Jean-Philipe 16 days ago | 12 comments

Hi *,

My daughter is 14 and wants to get into developing games. What's your go-to framework/engine to recommend? I feel like she's old enough to start with something "real" and not a game engine specifically targeted towards kids. Still, it should be fun and easy to approach. I was thinking gbstudio, godot or even some javascript/html based engine.

She likes Stardew Valley and Minecraft, so I guess we'll go for something pixel artsy. I can be there to support, but I don't want her to be blocked by waiting for me to solve a problem.

LazVerry 16 days ago |

I’ve 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’s 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, so I think it’s great for learning algorithms.

Jean-Philipe 15 days ago | |

Thanks, GameMaker looks awesome and it wasn't even on my radar. I'll try that one!

krapp 15 days ago |

Everyone is going to recommend their favorite framework. I'll throw my hat in for Godot, but really any framework will do.

Although I think it depends on whether she wants to learn to make games, or to be a programmer. If you're using a framework, what you're really learning is the framework. You might also look at Python and Pygame.

markx2 16 days ago |

Have you considered Pulp?

https://play.date/dev/

Jean-Philipe 3 days ago | |

I even have a playdate...but didn't even consider this. Thanks!

beardyw 16 days ago |

You don't say if she can code.

Jean-Philipe 15 days ago | |

She can't code yet but she's eager to learn. She knows maths and geoemtry. I also started learning programming that age by doing a game in qbasic.

gus_massa 15 days ago |

What language(s) do you use?

Jean-Philipe 15 days ago | |

I use typescript and python mostly but I'm open to anything

gus_massa 13 days ago | | |

It's useful if you can help with all the initial installing and configuration that is boring and confusing. She can learn that part later.

I don't like languages where 1+"2" is not an error, so I guess I recommend Python. Python is easy to install, but downloading additional packages is not so obvious.

A "clone" of Stardew Valley looks like a nice project. I had to google it, it's a 2D pixel game, but I'm worry that each object needs too many verbs and she may fall into a OO trap.

What about a "clone" of Candy Crash?

jdw64 16 days ago |

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.

LazVerry 16 days ago | |

That’s spot on.

However, it’s been a while since I really dug into Unity, so things might be different now with tools like Codex or Claude Code (without suggesting we just resort to "Vibe Coding," of course). If you have a way to consult someone—or something—about the hurdles you can't clear on your own, Unity remains useful in terms of the sheer breadth of what you can achieve.