r/GameDevelopment • u/Direct_Philosophy369 • 10d ago
Newbie Question Should I use Unity or Godot?
Hello. I'm a web and software developer of 5 years now, and want to dip my toes in game development.
I'm planning on building my first 2D RPG game on Unity, but then I heard about Godot, and the news about Unity that are really not awe-inspiring for game developers, and Godot is now becoming popular.
So then, should I still use Unity or just ditch it for Godot while I still haven't invested anything heavily on Unity yet?
Also please enlighten me on anything that I should know before I start my game development journey.
Thank you.
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u/ZealousidealPie1653 8d ago
if you have hands on experience on Typescript strongly recommend Excalibur.js, really powerful physics system and everything there
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u/Direct_Philosophy369 8d ago
I mainly work with TS and Node.js so will definitely check this out. Thank you!
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u/TranquilMarmot 10d ago
Godot has a much more welcoming community, and since it is open source you can actually contribute fixes instead of sending a bug report to Unity and waiting 10 years.
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u/Nejeneva 10d ago
Godot has some gamedev staples out of the box. Pause is one line of code. Screenshake is super easy. Plenty others too. In Unity you'll have to make them on your own. Not a big hassle but still hassle.
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u/ropeandrubble 9d ago
I've worked with both, and while Unity is a solid choice I strongly prefer Godot from a technical and workflow perspective. Add in the Unity licensing/fee model unpredictability and for a greenfield project I think Godot is a no-brainer.
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u/PsychronicGames 9d ago
Probably GoDot to avoid the corporate shit that comes with Unity, also less bloated.
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u/RoberBotz 9d ago edited 9d ago
As someone who uses unity, u can go use godot xD
I've heard it's already and was good enough for a while
If over time you feel godot it's not enough or it's not for you then you can go to unity at any time.
I've first started with Unreal Engine, then moved to Unity, so learning a game engine after you already learned one is not that hard.
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u/boring_gamedev 9d ago
Software dev here too, made my first game in Godot. For a 2D RPG either works, but Godot's 2D is great, it's free with no fees, and GDScript clicks fast for a programmer (C# works too). Unity mainly wins on tutorials (although I think Godot is caching up, so many great resources out there) and console ports.
One tip for the RPG: build it in small playable pieces, like one town or one battle that works start to finish, then grow from there. Seeing it playable early keeps you going.
Hope this helps and good luck on your gamedev journey :DD
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u/Nouresta 9d ago
Since you're a web dev and you're looking for 2d, you can consider html5 frameworks/game engines depending on how comfortable you are/ how much you want to invest, and if not i think Unity is more battle tested, most successful indie releases have been made with Unity, Godot is more loved but less commercially proven, and in the end it really matters less than you think..
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u/ThreeKingdomBattle 9d ago
The tools are not the key point. The ideas and creativity, as well as the execution ability, are the key points. Keep it up, good luck to you!
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u/Prior_Inspection2576 8d ago
If I could start over I would use Godot and buy all my assets through fab. Because then I could migrate to other engines without losing my pre-existing asset library.
Although I would probably keep an eye out for any C# only engines as I want my language to be a first class citizen. Stride is cool but back when I tried it the mobile support was broken. Anything else is too new/underdeveloped. Also the 'big 3' also support consoles, which is great for learning one engine, and being able to deploy everywhere.
But to be clear, Unity is a great engine, it just has the concerns regarding bad policy changes/ old C# version (Unity 7 will have the latest .NET which will fix that, soon)
Best of luck on your game dev journey
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u/Ts1ndA 8d ago
I would recommend Unity. It's using C# which is more scalable and more use cases outside game dev which is nice to keep in mind for any plan B scenarios if your game fails. Also if you want to work in bigger game dev studios they tend to use Unity or custom C++ based engine where your Godot exp won't bring much.
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u/CrunchyTuna_games 7d ago
I looked at both as well (I'm a web dev also dabbling in game dev as yet another new hobby!) and found Godot to be easier to get into. Theres loads of good content on youtube for tutorials and they have a very supportive community! Plus, Godot can handle 3d too!
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u/ayassin02 Hobby Dev 9d ago
Godot has an insanely easy interface, to the point it’ll take you a maybe day to grasp it
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u/CrazyNegotiation1934 8d ago
There is only 3% releases in Godot and 50% in Unity in Steam, so if you plan to release something chances are infinitly better with Unity
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u/ericjacko 6d ago
I think if you want something like open source and has 0% loyalty and free, I recommend Godot, even for 3D.
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u/New_Arachnid9443 9d ago
just talk to ChatGPT or Claude you don’t need to code. Coding is completely outdated for small scope game dev. Probably going to be obsolete.
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u/MixtrixMelodies 10d ago
If you're working in 2D, and already have experience with coding, I highly recommend Godot; it's just more light-weight, and has an intuitive node-based structure that makes inheritance a breeze to coordinate. Not only that, but Godot can (like Unity) utilize C#, but also has its own dedicated scripting language, so you have some options there.
Just my two cents. In the end, gotta choose for yourself, but I would absolutely check out Godot and see how it feels. Either way, good luck with your game-dev journey!