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Defold Engine VS Gamesalad

Compare Defold Engine VS Gamesalad and see what are their differences

Defold Engine logo Defold Engine

Defold lets you quickly build high performing, cross-platform games together with your team.

Gamesalad logo Gamesalad

GameSalad is a game development platform for iOS, Android and HTML5.
  • Defold Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • Gamesalad Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-29

Defold Engine features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Defold is a highly lightweight engine, which makes it easy to download, install, and run on most systems without consuming significant resources.
  • Cross-Platform Development
    Defold supports multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and HTML5, enabling developers to create games that work across a wide range of devices and operating systems.
  • Performance
    The engine is optimized for high performance, which is crucial for creating responsive and smooth gaming experiences.
  • Easy to Learn
    Defold offers a user-friendly interface and good documentation, making it accessible for beginners and professionals alike.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    Defold comes with its own IDE, which includes features like a scene editor, code editor, and asset management, streamlining the development workflow.
  • Community and Support
    The Defold community is active and supportive, with forums, tutorials, and official documentation available to help new and experienced developers.
  • Lua Scripting
    Defold uses Lua, a lightweight scripting language, which is both powerful and relatively easy to learn, allowing for fast prototyping and development.
  • Free License
    Defold is available for free, making it a cost-effective option for indie developers and small studios.

Possible disadvantages of Defold Engine

  • Limited 3D Capabilities
    While Defold does support 3D development, its capabilities are limited compared to other engines like Unity or Unreal, which might not be suitable for complex 3D games.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basics are easy to grasp, mastering advanced features requires a significant amount of time and effort due to a lack of extensive tutorials and examples.
  • Smaller Community
    The Defold community, although supportive, is smaller compared to communities for other game engines like Unity or Unreal, potentially limiting collaborative opportunities and third-party resources.
  • Editor Limitations
    Some developers find the Defold IDE lacking in advanced features that are available in other game development environments, which might hinder productivity.
  • Dependency on Lua
    The necessity to use Lua scripting can be a downside for developers who are not familiar with or do not wish to learn this language.
  • Less Asset Market Support
    Compared to other popular engines, there are fewer ready-made assets and plugins available for Defold, which can slow down the development process.

Gamesalad features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Gamesalad provides a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that doesn’t require any programming skills, making it accessible for beginners.
  • Rapid Prototyping
    The platform allows for quick creation and iteration of games, which is great for developers looking to rapidly prototype their ideas.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Gamesalad enables developers to publish their games on multiple platforms including iOS, Android, HTML5, and more with minimal effort.
  • Template Library
    A variety of pre-made templates and assets are available, which can speed up the development process.
  • Community Support
    Gamesalad has an active community and a wealth of tutorials, forums, and guides to help new users get started.

Possible disadvantages of Gamesalad

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Gamesalad may lack some advanced features and functionalities that experienced developers might need, limiting its use for complex game development.
  • Pricing
    While there is a free version, the full suite of features comes with a subscription cost that can be a barrier for some users.
  • Performance Issues
    Games created with Gamesalad may encounter performance issues, especially on older hardware or less powerful devices.
  • Asset Management
    Managing assets within Gamesalad can be cumbersome, especially for larger projects where organization and efficiency are crucial.
  • Dependence on Updates
    Developers are dependent on Gamesalad's updates for new features and bug fixes, which may not always align with their project timelines.

Analysis of Defold Engine

Overall verdict

  • Defold is a solid choice for 2D game developers who prioritize performance and a lightweight setup. While it may not be as feature-rich for 3D games compared to some other engines, it excels in its niche, providing an excellent development experience for those focused primarily on 2D games.

Why this product is good

  • Defold Engine is a cross-platform game engine known for its efficiency and ease of use. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for 2D game development, including a visual editor, scripting in Lua, and an integrated development environment. Defold is also lightweight, which means it runs well even on older hardware. The engine has a strong focus on performance and offers robust support for both web and mobile platforms. Additionally, being open source and supported by a dedicated community, it allows developers to contribute and customize the engine as needed.

Recommended for

    Defold Engine is recommended for indie developers, small teams, and hobbyists focusing on 2D game development. It's particularly suitable for those who appreciate an open-source platform with an active community, and who need support for web and mobile platforms out of the box.

Analysis of Gamesalad

Overall verdict

  • Gamesalad is generally considered a good option for those new to game development, especially if they prefer a visual programming environment. However, for more advanced developers, the limitations in customization and optimization compared to other engines might be a drawback.

Why this product is good

  • Gamesalad is a game development platform that offers a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for beginners with little to no programming experience. It provides a suite of tools for creating both 2D games and interactive apps, which can be deployed across multiple platforms. The community support and abundance of tutorials are significant draws for newcomers to game development.

Recommended for

    Gamesalad is best suited for beginners, educators, and small indie developers who want to quickly prototype and develop games without delving into complex coding. It's ideal for those who wish to focus on game design and creativity rather than programming intricacies.

Defold Engine videos

Defold Engine Open Sourced!

Gamesalad videos

GameSalad Pros and Cons

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to Gamesalad 2.0: Part 1
  • Review - GameSalad Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Defold Engine and Gamesalad)
Game Development
72 72%
28% 28
Game Engine
70 70%
30% 30
3D Game Engine
81 81%
19% 19
Development
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Defold Engine and Gamesalad

Defold Engine Reviews

The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023
Defold is a 2D game engine developed by the creators of Candy Crush, King. It’s designed to make 2D game development easier than ever, and compatible with many platforms, including mobile, desktop, and web.
Best Game Engines for Linux in 2021
Defold is the ultimate game engine for Web and Mobile. You create your game with Lua scripts in Defold.
Source: kerneltips.com

Gamesalad Reviews

The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023
Designed for non-technical users, GameSalad is best suited to individuals and smaller teams who are after an easy-to-use platform that supports the creation of games in the HTML5 programming language.
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
GameSalad and Scratch are inseparable in terms of compatibility. Both platforms are available online and support Windows and Mac desktop devices.
Trending 10 BEST Video Game Design & Development Software 2021
GameSalad is a very easy-to-use game making tool for 2D games. It allows you to create 2D games without any coding experience. With this simple platform, you can even make your first game in an hour.
Trending 7 Best Game Development Software 2021
As we come to payment details, GameSalad is not available for free, you need to subscribe to Gamesalad to use this software.
Source: vilesolid.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Defold Engine seems to be a lot more popular than Gamesalad. While we know about 50 links to Defold Engine, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Gamesalad. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Defold Engine mentions (50)

  • Building Game Prototypes with LÖVE
    Defold is not as well-known as Löve, but it seems to fit your description: https://defold.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Humble Bundle has a Godot bundle is available for the next day or so. That might be a good one to look at if you're ok with leaning into code a bit (gdscript is very very similar to python). https://www.humblebundle.com/software/learn-godot-43-complete-course-bundle-software Also check out the RPG Maker bundle. That's pretty point-and-click. You can have something basic up and running in a couple minutes... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Rawdrawandroid – Build Android apps without any Java, in C and Make
    Defold is another great open source Lua-based cross-platform game engine, and has a healthy ecosystem. https://defold.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Alternatives to Unity, Unreal, and Godot for 3D games
    Https://defold.com might anyway be something that is interesting for you. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Which GUI toolkit that can be easily distributed to win/mac/linux?
    Or maybe defold can be forced to only render when UI changed '__'). Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Gamesalad mentions (4)

  • Looking for game engine from childhood
    This probably isn’t it (at least, I really don’t remember too much of how it worked), but maybe Game Salad? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Is there is any free game engine for low end pc on which we can develop game without programming?
    What about Game Maker or Game Salad ? I don't think these both engine required programming language to create games. What do you think? Source: almost 3 years ago
  • are there any game engines out there as STUPID easy to learn and use as RPGmaker?
    Game Maker Studio is a little more advanced but pretty easy, it seems. Also Game Saladimpressed me in my short time with it. Source: about 3 years ago
  • The Old MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro M1
    Are you a starting developer? Then GameSalad is interesting software for you. It is easy to download on your Mac and it costs 44.5MB to download. That is why the MacBook Pro 13-inch is recommended. With this MacBook you can always and everywhere get started developing your games. On the road, at the office or at home on the couch, you can take the MacBook everywhere. With the current M1 chip, which is in both the... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Defold Engine and Gamesalad, you can also consider the following products

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

GDevelop - GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone.

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

Construct 2 - Scirra Construct is a 2D game development engine with a focus on building games visually.

BYOND - BYOND is the premier community for making and playing online multiplayer games.

Stencyl - Make iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android, Flash, Windows & Mac games without code using Stencyl.