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GDevelop VS Panda3D

Compare GDevelop VS Panda3D and see what are their differences

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GDevelop logo GDevelop

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

Panda3D logo Panda3D

Panda3D is a video game development engine and rendering software. It is developed and maintained by the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center.
  • GDevelop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • Panda3D Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

GDevelop features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GDevelop provides a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for beginners who don't have prior coding experience.
  • Cross-Platform Export
    Games created with GDevelop can be exported to multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and the web.
  • Free and Open Source
    GDevelop is completely free and its source code is open for anyone to modify and improve.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The platform provides a wide range of tutorials, examples, and thorough documentation, making it easier for developers to learn and utilize the tool.
  • Vibrant Community
    An active community forum and resources are available, providing support and opportunities for collaboration.
  • No-Code Solution
    GDevelop allows game creation without any coding, making it highly suitable for rapid prototyping and educational purposes.

Possible disadvantages of GDevelop

  • Performance Limitations
    The engine may struggle with performance issues for more complex games, especially those with high-end graphics and intensive computations.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While suitable for 2D game development, GDevelop lacks advanced features found in other engines, potentially limiting more experienced developers.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Usage
    Although easy for beginners, mastering the platform for more complex projects can have a steep learning curve.
  • Limited Integration
    Integration with third-party tools and services is not as extensive as in some other, more established game development engines.
  • Project Collaboration
    Collaborative features are relatively basic, potentially making it less ideal for larger, team-based projects.
  • 2D Only
    GDevelop focuses exclusively on 2D game development, which can be a downside for those looking to develop 3D games.

Panda3D features and specs

  • Open Source
    Panda3D is entirely open source, which means you can tweak the engine to fit your specific needs and contribute to its development.
  • Python Integration
    It is designed to be used with Python, making it an excellent choice for developers who prefer Python and benefit from its ease of use and quick prototyping.
  • C++ Support
    For performance-critical applications, Panda3D allows you to write parts of your code in C++, providing a good balance between ease of use and execution speed.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The engine comes with comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and a strong community, which can ease the learning curve for new users.
  • Complete Development Environment
    It includes everything needed to create a game, from rendering and physics to asset management and sound, providing a one-stop solution.
  • Toolchain Compatibility
    Compatible with many other tools and libraries, allowing for great flexibility in development workflows.

Possible disadvantages of Panda3D

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite the extensive documentation, beginners in game development might find it challenging to understand and use all of Panda3D's features.
  • Limited Graphics Capabilities
    Compared to more modern game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity, Panda3D's graphics capabilities are somewhat outdated and might not support cutting-edge visuals.
  • Smaller Community
    While Panda3D has an active community, it is smaller than those of more mainstream engines, possibly leading to fewer resources and third-party plugins.
  • Performance Overhead
    Being primarily Python-based can introduce performance overheads compared to engines built entirely in lower-level languages like C++.
  • Manual Resource Management
    Asset and resource management require more manual effort compared to some other engines that offer more automated solutions.

Analysis of GDevelop

Overall verdict

  • Yes, GDevelop is generally considered a good option for game development, especially for beginners.

Why this product is good

  • GDevelop is an open-source game development platform that provides an easy-to-use interface and a variety of features that allow for the creation of both 2D and 3D games without needing extensive programming knowledge. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, a robust set of pre-built behaviors, and extensive documentation and tutorials, making it accessible to new developers. Additionally, being free and supported by a community of developers, it constantly evolves with updates and new features.

Recommended for

  • Beginners who want to learn game development without extensive coding.
  • Independent developers looking for a free, open-source tool.
  • Educators teaching game development due to its user-friendly interface and ease of use.
  • Developers interested in rapid prototyping of game ideas.

Analysis of Panda3D

Overall verdict

  • Panda3D is a good engine, especially if you are looking for a free, open-source option that allows rapid development with Python. Its comprehensive feature set and extensive documentation make it a strong choice for educational purposes and indie development projects.

Why this product is good

  • Panda3D is a powerful, open-source game engine, known for its flexibility and support for Python and C++. It is particularly appreciated for its ease of use, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced developers. The engine is well-documented, has a strong community, and supports a wide range of features including real-time 3D rendering, physics, and sound. Additionally, it is cross-platform which allows developers to publish their games on multiple operating systems with minimal hassle.

Recommended for

  • Beginners in game development looking to learn 3D game development using Python
  • Indie developers who want a free and open-source engine with full access to the source code
  • Educational institutions and students needing a user-friendly engine to learn game development concepts
  • Developers looking for a cross-platform development tool

GDevelop videos

+ Add

GDevelop 5 -- Ultimate Beginner Game Engine?

More videos:

  • Review - Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Vs GDevelop 5 - (Game Engine REVIEW 2019 )
  • Review - Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Vs GDevelop 5 - (Game Engine REVIEW 2020 )
  • Tutorial - Beginner Multiplayer Tutorial

Panda3D videos

+ Add

Panda3D Game Engine -- The Others Game Engine Series

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GDevelop and Panda3D)

GDevelop

Panda3D

Game Development
89 89%
Game Development
11% 11
Game Engine
89 89%
Game Engine
11% 11
3D Game Engine
90 90%
3D Game Engine
10% 10
Gaming
100 100%
Gaming
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 GDevelop and Panda3D

GDevelop Reviews

16 Scratch Alternatives
Beginners who don’t have any programming skills but still want to create some games can quickly access one of the best platforms based on the open source network to help them develop games named the GDevelop. This platform lets users release their creative skills to quickly build games, such as puzzles, shoot-em-ups, strategy, racing, adventure, and more. It can even permit...
Source: www.justalternativeto.com
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
GDevelop is described as a “free and easy game-making app.” It’s similar to Scratch in that it’s a no-code platform; it doesn’t require using programming languages. GDevelop is also free and open source.
Source: rigorousthemes.com
Trending 10 BEST Video Game Design & Development Software 2021
Open-source free software, GDevelop allows developers to make games without programming skills. It allows you to create objects for games such as sprites, text objects, video objects, and custom shapes.
Source: www.softwaretestinghelp.com
Best Game Engines for Linux in 2021
Construct 3 is free with limits. After that, you have to sign up for a monthly subscription. If you can not afford to pay for it, you can use GDevelop, an alternative to Construct 3 for Linux.
Source: kerneltips.com
Trending 7 Best Game Development Software 2021
GDevelop is the best game making software for beginners & professionals. GDevelop provides you easy and simplistic interface, which most developers like in GDevelop.
Source: vilesolid.com

Panda3D Reviews

Top 6 Python Framework for Game Development | by Ankur Kumar | unikaksha | Medium
Panda3D is a Python framework for 3D rendering and games that is open-source. It’s a free engine for real-time 3D games, simulations, visualizations, and experiments. Its extensive feature set is flexible enough to adapt to different processes and development requirements. All of the graphics card’s capabilities are apparent through an easy-to-use API. Panda3D combines the...
Source: medium.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GDevelop seems to be a lot more popular than Panda3D. While we know about 78 links to GDevelop, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Panda3D. 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.

GDevelop mentions (78)

  • No-Code Game Development: Using AI to Build Your First Game
    GDevelop combines open-source flexibility with powerful no-code features. Their recent AI plugins provide remarkable capabilities:. - Source: dev.to / 23 days 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
  • Exploring Raylib and Open Source
    I selected this library as I normally use much higher-level tools to develop games such as p5.js, or GDevelop. Both these tools are amazing in their own right; however, I want to learn how these processes operate on a much lower level. These tools take care of a lot of issues for you ranging from asset to memory management. Raylib is still cross-platform but does not handle these tasks for the programmer which I... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Unity’s New Pricing: A Wake-Up Call on the Importance of Open Source in Gaming
    It's not as monolithic as you'd think. There are lots of engines out there but their communities aren't very vocal compared to Unity, Unreal, and especially Godot's community. Take a look at: https://itch.io/game-development/engines/most-projects And https://www.gamedeveloper.com/blogs/the-generous-space-of-alternative-game-engines-a-curation- If you look at both of these you'll see just how many engines there are... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Favorite Game Engine?
    I'm not really a game maker, but would like to give a shout out to the fabulous https://gdevelop.io/ It has everything you need, is free and its VISUAL PROGRAMMING is fab... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

Panda3D mentions (2)

  • Pyxel: A retro game engine for Python
    Panda3D [0] (which is what Ursina uses under the hood) and Pygame can both run on the web due to PygBag [1]. Truth be told you can build a game on any tool, obviously the tool you choose will help shape the game you make - but it's more about keeping at it then the underlying technology. Personally I really like Panda3D and feel like it doesn't get enough attention. It's scene graph [3] is interesting because it... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Unity’s New Pricing: A Wake-Up Call on the Importance of Open Source in Gaming
    It's not as monolithic as you'd think. There are lots of engines out there but their communities aren't very vocal compared to Unity, Unreal, and especially Godot's community. Take a look at: https://itch.io/game-development/engines/most-projects And https://www.gamedeveloper.com/blogs/the-generous-space-of-alternative-game-engines-a-curation- If you look at both of these you'll see just how many engines there are... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GDevelop and Panda3D, you can also consider the following products

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

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

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

RPG Maker - Make your own PC game with RPG Maker. Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child, and powerful enough for a developer. Try it free today!

Urho3D - Urho3D is a lightweight, cross-platform rendering and game engine implemented in C++ and released...

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

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