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Microsoft MakeCode Arcade VS Pyxel

Compare Microsoft MakeCode Arcade VS Pyxel and see what are their differences

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade logo Microsoft MakeCode Arcade

Drag n drop code to make and play games online and on various hardware

Pyxel logo Pyxel

Retro game engine for Python inspired by fantasy consoles.
Not present
  • Pyxel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Pyxel features and specs

  • Simple API
    Pyxel offers an uncomplicated and straightforward API, which makes it easy for beginners to start creating games without getting bogged down by complex configurations and setups.
  • Cross-Platform
    Pyxel is designed to be cross-platform, functioning seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing developers to create and distribute games across multiple platforms with ease.
  • Lightweight
    With a focus on minimalism, Pyxel is lightweight which ensures that it runs efficiently on most hardware, making it suitable for projects where resource consumption is a concern.
  • Pixel Art Focus
    The library is tailored for creating pixel art games, offering features and tools that specifically cater to the needs of pixel art creation and manipulation.
  • No Installation Required
    As a self-contained application, Pyxel doesn't require installation, allowing developers to quickly run it directly after download and start working on their game projects without additional setup steps.

Possible disadvantages of Pyxel

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Pyxel's simplicity can be a downside for experienced developers looking for advanced game development features or functionalities, as it lacks the depth found in more complex game engines.
  • 2D Only
    As a library focused on 2D pixel art games, Pyxel does not support 3D game development, limiting developers who are interested in creating anything beyond the 2D space.
  • Performance Limitations
    Because of its lightweight nature and simplicity, Pyxel might struggle with performance when developing resource-intensive games compared to more robust game engines.
  • Limited Community and Resources
    Pyxel has a smaller user base and community compared to larger game engines, which results in fewer resources, tutorials, and third-party tools available for learning and problem-solving.

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade videos

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade Overview

More videos:

  • Review - Beginners Review: Microsoft MakeCode Arcade || Lilithium

Pyxel videos

Aseprite vs Pyxel Edit - Pixel Art Animation & Tile Tool Comparison

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft MakeCode Arcade and Pyxel)
Game Development
23 23%
77% 77
Game Engine
15 15%
85% 85
Kids Education
100 100%
0% 0
Graph Databases
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Microsoft MakeCode Arcade and Pyxel. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pyxel should be more popular than Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. It has been mentiond 28 times since March 2021. 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.

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade mentions (4)

  • Isometric Projection in Game Development
    Alternatively, get her an emulator of an old 8 or 16 bit system, I started coding at the age of 10 in these systems, with books that were oriented for kids. https://www.atariarchives.org/ http://redparsley.blogspot.com/2016/08/input-magazine-retrospective.html https://archive.org/details/input-hi-01 Or if you prefer something more up to date, https://arcade.makecode.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    Https://arcade.makecode.com/ Is great fun to use and made for kids. The forum (forum.makecode.com) is well moderated and safe too. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Copying Angry Birds with nothing but AI
    I'm not sure how this reduces the barrier to game developement. There are already lots of free assets and game engines designed for making arcade games that are a lot easier then say Unity or Unreal. Like https://arcade.makecode.com/ or https://microstudio.dev/ or https://scratch.mit.edu/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Whats the modern day equivalent of 80s computer for kids to explore?
    For the game angle https://arcade.makecode.com may be more of a fit. You can even build a cabinet. Disclaimer: worked on both. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago

Pyxel mentions (28)

  • A (not so) small library for terminal based game development
    If pygamelib interests you, you might also be interested in Pyxel: https://github.com/kitao/pyxel. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • This Week In Python
    Pyxel โ€“ A retro game engine for Python โ€“ by @kitao. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Show HN: Driftmania โ€“ an open source PICO-8 racing game
    Nice work, gives me very Micro Machines vibes for the NES. The only thing I don't like about PICO-8 is that its completely closed source. An open source alternative that seems very promising is Pyxel. It has similar retro / pixel art limitations, a built-in sprite editor, music tracker, etc. https://github.com/kitao/pyxel. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • is python good for making games?
    There's also game engines which are fun to use in python, like pyxel. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Web App Generation Feature Added to Pyxel, a Retro Game Engine for Python
    A function to automatically generate an application launch URL has been added to Pyxel, a retro game engine for Python (https://github.com/kitao/pyxel please add your star to this repository!). Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft MakeCode Arcade and Pyxel, you can also consider the following products

Scratch - Scratch is the programming language & online community where young people create stories, games, & animations.

PICO-8 - Lua-based fantasy console for making and playing tiny, computer games and programs.

Snap - Snap (formerly BYOB) is a visual, drag-and-drop programming language.

TIC-80 - TIC-80 is a fantasy computer where you can make, play and share tiny games.

microStudio - microStudio is an all-in-one online game engine that enables you to create games, develop programming skills, have fun playing what you have created, share with others, and prototype.

WASM-4 - Build retro games using WebAssembly for a fantasy console