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RPG Toolkit VS Defold Engine

Compare RPG Toolkit VS Defold Engine and see what are their differences

RPG Toolkit logo RPG Toolkit

The RPG Toolkit is a free, open source project delivering a simple, flexible and powerful tool for...

Defold Engine logo Defold Engine

Defold lets you quickly build high performing, cross-platform games together with your team.
  • RPG Toolkit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-03-14
  • Defold Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19

RPG Toolkit features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    RPG Toolkit offers an intuitive interface that is accessible for both beginners and experienced game developers, making it easy to create RPGs without a steep learning curve.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source platform, RPG Toolkit provides developers with the ability to modify and customize the software to better fit their needs and contribute to its development.
  • Community Support
    There is an active community of users who contribute tutorials, assets, and plugins, which enhances the resources available for game development and problem-solving.
  • Variety of Features
    RPG Toolkit includes a range of built-in features like scripting, map creation, and character management, which simplifies the development process for RPGs.

Possible disadvantages of RPG Toolkit

  • Limited 3D Capabilities
    RPG Toolkit primarily focuses on 2D game development, which may not be suitable for developers interested in creating 3D RPGs.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic features are easy to use, mastering advanced scripting and customization can be challenging for users without prior programming experience.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report performance issues, such as lag and crashes, especially with larger projects, which can hinder the development process.
  • Outdated Documentation
    Some of the available documentation and tutorials are outdated, which can be a hurdle for new users trying to learn the toolkit's capabilities.

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.

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.

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Defold Engine videos

Defold Engine Open Sourced!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to RPG Toolkit and Defold Engine)
Game Development
12 12%
88% 88
Game Engine
12 12%
88% 88
3D Game Engine
8 8%
92% 92
Development
46 46%
54% 54

User comments

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Reviews

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

RPG Toolkit Reviews

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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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Defold Engine seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 50 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.

RPG Toolkit mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of RPG Toolkit yet. Tracking of RPG Toolkit recommendations started around Mar 2021.

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 / 9 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
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What are some alternatives?

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

Tiled - The communication platform for field and inside sales teams.

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

RPG Maker VX Ace - Check out all of the amazing features of RPG Maker VX Ace!

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

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.