Tools For Building Video Games With Little (or No) Programming Knowledge

I recently asked all the super-smart people on my Facebook to help me identify ways to make video games with little to no programming knowledge. I am not a programmer. I'm an artist. I'm a designer but I am not a programmer.

Frankly the idea of programming frightens me. Maybe it's the "math". Maybe it's the complexity of the "code". Maybe it's simply the fact that I've never done it. For what ever the reason I decided that I had to find away around this handicap be cause I have some really fun ideas for games and I want to make them.

Read on past the jump for a list of the possible resources/programs that my Facebook friends identified as possible systems for me to create a game without knowing hod to program.

My Friends

Having worked in the games industry for the last 7 years has given me a wonderful collection of friends in the industry who are way smarter than I am. These guys and gals are geniuses and I'm lucky to have them.

I was also surprised that it was not only my game industry friends who offered suggestions but also old friends and even family. Apparently lots of people I know are excited about making video games.

I haven't decided which of the tools and/or systems to use but I'll try to make a short note about each one on the list.

If you're thinking about trying to get into game design but the idea of programming frightens you than perhaps one of the following systems/tools may work for you.

The List

Below is the list of the game making tools that were suggested by my friends. I've included links as well as any info.impressions I have about them.

I should state that I haven't actually used any of these tools yet but hope to identify one that works best for me and perhaps provide updates along the way if I do end up making some games with them.

Mostly I just want to be able to think up an idea and get it into game form in the shortest time possible.

Tools For Making Video Games With Little (Or No) Programming Experience:

• Javascript and JQuery - This one I pretty much dismissed offhand as probably being too technical for me but I could be wrong.
• GameMaker - This one looked to only be Windows. Felt a bit technical.
• RPG Maker - This was perhaps a bit too specific genre-wise.
• Stencyl - This is one available for mac and one I downloaded. One of the sample games was a Angry Birds clone which made me laugh. I may use this.
• Scratch - Seemed a bit rough but fun. Maybe a bit web-based.
• GameSalad - This one seemed pretty good and one I also downloaded on Mac. Seems may be able to test on iOS fairly easily.
• Scirra Construct 2 - Looks to be for Windows. Haven't looked into it much.

What I'm Looking For

What will I be looking for in the above tools? Ease of use and the speed at which I can translate my game ideas into actual playable games. I'm far more interested in getting ideas into game form than anything else.

I plan to start very simple and once I master one simple game design to move onto others and slowly build of my knowledge of how to translate ideas into games.

Thanks again to all my friends on Facebook who tool the time to point me in the right direction. As time goes along I may post more about my experience trying to design games as a programming noob.