Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Screeps VS GDevelop

Compare Screeps VS GDevelop and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Screeps logo Screeps

Learn to code JavaScript by playing game.

GDevelop logo GDevelop

GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone.
  • Screeps Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-17
  • GDevelop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23

Screeps features and specs

  • Educational Value
    Screeps teaches real-world JavaScript programming concepts such as algorithms, optimization, and system design in a fun, gamified environment.
  • Real-time Strategy
    It combines elements of real-time strategy games with coding, offering a unique and challenging experience that keeps players engaged.
  • Persistent World
    The game world is persistent and runs 24/7, allowing your code to continue operating and evolving even when you're not logged in.
  • Community and Collaboration
    There is a strong community providing support, sharing code, and contributing to open-source projects related to the game.
  • Scalability
    The game can scale from small, personal projects to large, complex systems, providing ongoing challenges and opportunities for learning.

Possible disadvantages of Screeps

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Beginners might find the game difficult to grasp initially due to the complex mechanics and required programming knowledge.
  • Time-Consuming
    To effectively compete, players often need to invest significant time in optimizing and maintaining their code.
  • Subscription Costs
    While there is a free tier, many features and advanced gameplay elements are locked behind a subscription paywall.
  • Technical Requirements
    The game requires a good understanding of programming and problem-solving skills, which might be off-putting for casual gamers.
  • Server Issues
    There can be server stability and performance issues due to the constant demand and real-time nature of the game.

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.

Analysis of Screeps

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Screeps is a well-regarded game for those interested in programming and strategy.

Why this product is good

  • Screeps offers a unique blend of coding and gaming, allowing players to program real JavaScript or other languages to control in-game units. This not only makes for a dynamic and challenging experience but also provides a learning opportunity for both beginner and experienced programmers. The persistent world means that players’ projects can continue to evolve, and the community is generally supportive and engaged.

Recommended for

  • Aspiring programmers looking to practice coding in a fun environment
  • Experienced developers who enjoy applying their skills to strategic gameplay
  • Gamers who appreciate a challenge and are interested in games that require long-term planning and execution
  • Individuals interested in AI and automation who want a hands-on approach to learning

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.

Screeps videos

Screeps Game REVIEW - Learn JavaScript by Playing - Educational MMO (Math/Programming)

More videos:

  • Review - What is Screeps? - by th_pion
  • Review - Game Developer's Toolbox: Learn programming with Screeps

GDevelop videos

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Screeps and GDevelop)
Online Learning
100 100%
0% 0
Game Development
0 0%
100% 100
Online Education
100 100%
0% 0
Game Engine
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 Screeps and GDevelop

Screeps Reviews

15 Best LeetCode Alternatives 2023
You also get access to game API and docs of a full-fledged platform on Screeps. Because it uses games as its basis of operation, Screeps is more fun than LeetCode.

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...
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.
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.
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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GDevelop should be more popular than Screeps. It has been mentiond 78 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.

Screeps mentions (43)

  • Show HN: A Competition Game to write bots for the most efficient algo
    Reminds me (in spirit) of screeps https://screeps.com/ - any inspiration? - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • AI Wars – control your 2d space shooter with AI
    I love the idea of having an AI prompt to write code for the bots. There are already games like https://screeps.com/ or https://store.steampowered.com/app/2060160/The_Farmer_Was_Replaced/ where you program your bot to do things, but they do require some minimal coding experience. Being able to describe behavior in plain english would be pretty cool. However, I think having real-time feedback is a huge part of... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Show HN: Engineering Games (List)
    I've heard about Screeps which is close to what you describe: https://screeps.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Games like Stone Story RPG
    I have tried Screeps in the past, and I'm not a huge fan. I really like Stone Story, but they do not have an easy way to take your saves across multiple platforms -- you have to manually import/export your save. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Helping a young coder
    -For JavaScript, my advice would be to introduce coding games. That way it's more fun and the environment would be set up better (less worrying about deep technical errors). The two games that come to mind are Bitburner (free) and Screeps (free offline/paid online), though they both have their own learning curves and require actual coding; so for a 9 year old YMMV greatly. Source: almost 2 years ago
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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 / 16 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 / 8 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
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What are some alternatives?

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

CodeCombat - Learn programming with a multiplayer live coding strategy game.

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

Robocode - Robocode is a programming game where the goal is to code a robot battle tank to compete against...

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

CheckIO - CheckIO is a web site with a mission: To teach JavaScript and Python coding skills through a game-playing interface. It is designed to teach new skills or improve existing skills through completing challenges.

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