Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MonoGame VS melonJS

Compare MonoGame VS melonJS and see what are their differences

MonoGame logo MonoGame

MonoGame is an open source implementation of the Microsoft XNA 4 Framework.

melonJS logo melonJS

melonJS is an open source HTML5 game engine that empowers developers and designers to focus on...
  • MonoGame Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-01
  • melonJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-30

MonoGame features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    MonoGame allows developers to create games that run on multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and more) from a single codebase.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, MonoGame is free to use and has a community-driven development process. Developers can contribute to its growth and adapt it to their needs.
  • Familiarity
    MonoGame retains the XNA framework's API, which is familiar to many game developers who have previously worked with Microsoft's XNA.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The MonoGame community has created extensive documentation, tutorials, and examples, making it easier for new developers to get started.
  • High Performance
    MonoGame is built with performance in mind, enabling developers to create games that run efficiently across different devices.

Possible disadvantages of MonoGame

  • Manual Resource Management
    Developers need to handle resource management manually, including loading and unloading assets, which can be cumbersome and error-prone.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    While it offers extensive support, new developers may find MonoGame's learning curve steep, especially those unfamiliar with game development or the XNA framework.
  • Lacks Built-in Editors
    Unlike some game engines, MonoGame does not come with built-in level or asset editors. Developers must rely on third-party tools or create their own.
  • Limited High-Level Features
    MonoGame offers a more low-level framework compared to some other engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, lacking advanced built-in features such as physics engines or advanced AI systems.
  • Community Dependency
    As an open-source project, MonoGame's development and support heavily depend on its community. This can result in slower updates and potentially less reliable support compared to commercial engines with dedicated support teams.

melonJS features and specs

  • Lightweight
    melonJS is known for being lightweight, which makes it ideal for simple games and faster loading times. It eliminates the bloat commonly found in more extensive game engines, ensuring better performance in resource-limited environments.
  • 2D Game Focus
    The engine is designed specifically for 2D games, providing tailored features and optimizations that help developers create efficient 2D applications without the unnecessary complications of a 3D engine.
  • HTML5 Compatibility
    melonJS is an HTML5 game engine that runs smoothly in modern browsers without needing plugins. This makes it an excellent choice for web-based games and applications.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, melonJS provides developers the opportunity to contribute to the engine’s development or modify it based on their needs, promoting community engagement and flexibility.
  • Community Support
    The engine has an active community that shares resources, tutorials, and support, making it easier for new users to learn and work with melonJS.

Possible disadvantages of melonJS

  • Limited 3D Support
    As a 2D-focused engine, melonJS has minimal to no support for 3D graphics and features, which can be a limitation for developers looking to expand into the third dimension.
  • Smaller Feature Set
    Compared to larger engines like Unity or Unreal, melonJS offers a more limited set of features and tools, which might impede highly complex game development.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Beginners
    Some users might find melonJS's structure and setup challenging if they are accustomed to more visual scripting environments, as a solid understanding of JavaScript is required.
  • Less Extensive Documentation
    While there is documentation available, it may not be as exhaustive or detailed as that of more popular game engines, potentially making it harder to find answers for specific issues.
  • Lower Popularity
    melonJS is not as widely known or used as some other game engines, which can limit the availability of third-party plugins and assets tailored specifically for this engine.

MonoGame videos

MonoGame 3.7 Released

More videos:

  • Review - Why I use Monogame, and why I do what I do - Game Dev Talks 2

melonJS videos

No melonJS videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MonoGame and melonJS)
Game Development
88 88%
12% 12
Game Engine
87 87%
13% 13
3D Game Engine
92 92%
8% 8
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MonoGame and melonJS

MonoGame Reviews

The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023
MonoGame is a game development framework that allows developers to create games for multiple platforms using C#. It provides a unified API for accessing graphics and audio, making it far easier for developers to create games that work across mobile, desktop, and web without having to rewrite any code.
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
However, MonoGame takes an edge over Scratch with support for 3D. In addition, MonoGame works with codes, not just objects. It supports mainly C#, in addition to other .NET languages.
Top 10 Mobile Game Development Tools For Intellectual Games
MonoGame toolkit used to develop multi-platform games. It is a C# framework that implements the API of XNA (Microsoft’s late-game development toolset, which is alive through MonoGame and other smaller open-source frameworks) and also supports all .Net languages. So if developers have C# and .Net knowledge, it would not be difficult to develop games with MonoGame for them.
Source: unaryteam.com
The Best 15 Mobile Game Engines / Development Platforms & Tools in 2020
MonoGame is also a multi-platform game engine that uses class architecture and works with C and Net languages. You can find many tutorials in their website helping you in creating your product.
Source: thetool.io

melonJS Reviews

We have no reviews of melonJS yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MonoGame should be more popular than melonJS. It has been mentiond 5 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.

MonoGame mentions (5)

  • Rust Dependencies Scare Me
    To be fair, there is no language that has a framework that contains all of these things... Unless you're using one of the game engines like Unity/Unreal. If you're willing to constrain yourself to 2D games, and exclude physics engines (assume you just use one of the Box2D bindings) and also UI (2D gamedevs tend to make their own UI systems anyway)... Then your best bet in the C# world is Monogame... - Source: Hacker News / 16 days ago
  • Free high-performance cross-platform game engine
    Defold has been there for a while, not sure of why this in on the front page right now. Anyways, Defold is good, the community, docs etc. Are on the lower side as compared to Godot. The other options include MonoGame https://monogame.net/ (Stardew Valley was written in it) and of-course the biggies like Unity or Unreal. A lot depends on how much investment in learning one wants to make, what is the feature set one... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • New Year, New Game Engine - Nikola Engine Devlog 0
    You see, for the past several years I have used many programming languages and many more game frameworks and libraries. Programming languages like Java, C#, C++, and even, sadly, JavaScript (I know...). Game frameworks like LWJGL, SDL2, Raylib, MonoGame, SFML, and many more. Essentially, I have seen it all. Out of all of them, I think SDL2 was closer to what I was looking for, though, Raylib was the one I used the... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Can't make my mind about which engine to use
    LibGDX is great, but I can understand if it's not for some people. This also applies to love2d, raylib and Monogame. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Errors on installing monogame
    I followed the Getting Started instructions on monogame.net. Source: over 3 years ago

melonJS mentions (1)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing MonoGame and melonJS, you can also consider the following products

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

Phaser - Desktop and Mobile HTML5 game framework. A fast, free and fun open source framework for Canvas and WebGL powered browser games.

AppGameKit - AppGameKit is a game development platform for mobile devices.

PixiJS - Fast and flexible WebGL-based HTML5 game and app development library.

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!

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