Software Alternatives & Reviews

GameMaker Studio VS Scratch

Compare GameMaker Studio VS Scratch and see what are their differences

GameMaker Studio logo GameMaker Studio

Making top 2D games with the GameMaker: Studio game engine is easy. No code or programming required

Scratch logo Scratch

Scratch is the programming language & online community where young people create stories, games, & animations.
  • GameMaker Studio Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-21
  • Scratch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

GameMaker Studio videos

A Closer Look At GameMaker Studio 2

Scratch videos

Scratch 3.0 Review: My Thoughts About Scratch 3.0

More videos:

  • Review - Numark PT01 Scratch Review
  • Review - Meguiar's scratch X 2.0 review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GameMaker Studio and Scratch)
Game Development
25 25%
75% 75
Kids Education
0 0%
100% 100
Game Engine
32 32%
68% 68
3D Game Engine
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 GameMaker Studio and Scratch

GameMaker Studio Reviews

Best Game Engines for 2023 – Which Should You Use?
This popular video game engine created in 2017 is the newest version of GameMaker Studio, which has been around since 1999 through many iterations and names. GameMaker is widely supported across multiple platforms, even including the Nintendo Switch. It is also a very friendly choice for those who have no experience with coding, as it primarily uses a drag-and-drop visual...
Trending 10 BEST Video Game Design & Development Software 2021
Gamefroot is a great resource for making simple 2D games very quickly for free. GameMaker Studio has a very loyal fan base spanning two decades for several good reasons. You can expect awesome tools for 2D games and a responsive community to answer your issues.
Trending 7 Best Game Development Software 2021
The one frustration in GameMaker Studio 2 is, you cannot embed any videos within the games. If we leave this issue, then GameMaker Studio 2 is one of the most suitable game development software.
Source: vilesolid.com
The Top 10 Video Game Engines
GameMaker Studio 2 is an engine from Yoyo Games. It’s the second iteration of GameMaker Studio and comes with an import feature so your previous projects with the first one can be up and running in no time.
The Best 15 Mobile Game Engines / Development Platforms & Tools in 2020
Yoyo Games have launched their own platform for creating 2D games: GameMaker Studio 2. Their amazing “Drag and Drop” feature together with their easy-to-learn language give you the chance to design your game in a very short time. Another advantage is that you don’t need to spend a large amount of money to get started.
Source: thetool.io

Scratch Reviews

  1. TOO GOOD

    It is just awesome. you can make so many things WITHOUT A TEAM! If you are starting then this is an awesome place to start at.

    🏁 Competitors: Python, Java, Code.org
    👍 Pros:    Good UI|Remix|Works perfectly|100% free|Many, many languages

16 Scratch Alternatives
It can even permit anyone to access its junior program through which kids can learn how to make any app by taking their focus on the study related to programming. Scratch also comes with facilitating users with the permission to mix all the programming blocks so that they can create multiple characters for singing, jumping, dancing, moving, and more.
Coding Websites That Help Kids Learn Programming In A Fun Way in 2023
Scratch, created by MIT students, teaches coding by allowing students to create tales, games, and animations using programming blocks. There is a vibrant online community as well as a step-by-step tutorial to assist those who are just getting started. Students can also use an offline editor to revise their work. ScratchJr, a simplified version of the software, is targeted at...
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
Unlike Scratch, Snap targets not only kids but also high school and college students. The platform provides a solution for serious computer science study, while Scratch focuses on just the basics.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Scratch seems to be a lot more popular than GameMaker Studio. While we know about 557 links to Scratch, we've tracked only 36 mentions of GameMaker Studio. 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.

GameMaker Studio mentions (36)

  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    I am no game developer but have over the past few years played around with GameMaker and their studio software[0]. I would imagine it to be one of the easiest ways to get started with making a 2D game. Then there is also the option of not jumping directly into the coding bit, and rather cultivate in your son the ability to do on paper designs first. This is a skill that would probably benefit him later in life as... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    My introduction to programming was when I was 10 with GameMaker. I found that the same company has a product with the same name that seems to be the spiritual succesor of it[0]. I allowed me to start with very simple no-code and move on to incrementaly add codes nipets here and there. Eventually I went crazy and tried to make a game fully with code, avoiding all the tools the engine gave me, just as an experiment... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • What programming language do the Battle Network games use?
    If you're looking for a tool that's fairly simple for a beginner, but has the flexibility to also offer more advanced features as you learns more, and has plenty of tutorials and learning resources available for a novice programmer starting out: it's worth noting that GameMaker has recently (i.e. 2 weeks ago) been made completely free for non-commercial users. Source: 5 months ago
  • Having trouble logging in through GameMaker after the new update?
    Go to https://gamemaker.io/en, and accept the new TOS. You won't be able to log in through the software until you do. Source: 5 months ago
  • How do I start making indie games?
    There are a thousand ways to get started. I'm assuming you have no programming experience, in which case I'd start with an all in one package, like: Https://gamemaker.io/en. Source: 8 months ago
View more

Scratch mentions (557)

  • Screen-free coding for children: the xylophone maze
    And https://codecombat.com, which has been around for a while now. I think this paradigm (navigating a character using "move" function invocations) is good but kind of exhausts its usefulness after a while. I question whether my daughter learns coding this way or just is playing a turn based top down platformer. The most code like thing is when you use 'loops' to have characters repeat sequences of moves. I... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    +1 Scratch! My son started with it, then expanded into Roblox/Lua. Children can download other people's games and experiment there. Scratch also has pre-made art, sounds, music. https://scratch.mit.edu/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    I am also going to highly recommend Scratch[1]. That is what got me into a programming around that age. You can even help him make a website to host his games on. [1]: https://scratch.mit.edu/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    This ! Learning to code will come after, spending time with your son writing down ideas might be more fun at first and it's a good time to teach him that games are thoughts first and then coded after. I would have recommended Scratch [1] for a first introduction instead of hoping into code right away, but since he is 9yo he will most likely want to hop on big game engine like he sees his favorite youtubers doing.... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    How about using https://scratch.mit.edu/ ? - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GameMaker Studio and Scratch, you can also consider the following products

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

Code.org - Code.org is a non-profit whose goal is to expose all students to computer programming.

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

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

Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.

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