Help with research project!

General
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Hey there everyone!

I hope this is ok to post.

I’m a University Student doing some research into Godot with a look into the feelings of developers like yourselves and how you find using Godot.

I’d really appreciate your feedback on a few short questions. Responses may be summarised anonymously in my dissertation. If you’d prefer not to answer, no problem at all!

Why did you choose Godot over other engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal)?

What do you see as Godot’s biggest strengths?

What limitations have you encountered using Godot?

Do you consider it suitable for commercial or studio use? Why or why not?

Have you released, or are you planning to release, a commercial game using Godot?

Thank you for your time!

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As a forum regular, and the first to see your post, I’ll be the first up to bat:

I did use Unreal 4/5 for a good year while I was learning game programming and game design in general. I built, failed, but had fun failing.

However, I also had an urge to use Godot. From what little I used it back then, it seemed smaller, sleeker, and more manageable.

Then later on, I began to start serious work on my main project (A third-person PvP shooter called Monkanics), I had to weigh in the options for game engines.

While I did find Unreal to be super duper powerful and tailor made to create shooter games, I found the whole ordeal of ACTUALLY USING IT EVERY DAY to be very cumbersome.

I then, tried Unity. Then I promptly un-tried Unity.

Then, I stuck with Godot, got through the small learning curve of GDscript and the engine ecosystem itself, and was off to the races.

As for why I actually enjoy using Godot, I find the node system extremely intuitive and easy to work with. GDscript is an amazing language for game development and doesn’t get in my way. And I find Godot’s open source and community driven roots are a perfect match for my project.

The community and it’s nature as an FOSS (free and open source software)

There’s really no community like this one. I find it really hard to properly articulate, so this is all I’ll say for now.

None so far. The only reason why is because I haven’t gotten to the point where I’m past game mechanic implementation and iteration.

I bet when I start implementing graphics into Monkanics and art in general, I might see some cracks start to show. But that’s only speculation based on my inexperienced opinion, and I very well could be wrong and everything is perfectly manageable with solid game optimisation practices.

So take that response with a grain of salt. Maybe two.

I hope so.

I know for a fact it is for 2D games, but I’m not 110% confident in 3D games. I’m making a 3D game myself, so I hope to become a trailblazer for more serious 3D projects to take root.

There’s a stigma around Godot and 3D that’ll take a lot of time to dissipate.

Also, I’ve never worked in the game industry under someone else’s umbrella (and I intend to never do that). So I can’t give an answer as to why more studio’s aren’t using Godot.

I can give a very specific answer to this question. While Monkanics is a game I plan to release, it isn’t “commercial” in the typical scene.

Meaning, my goal isn’t to make the most money possible. My real goal is to make a fun multiplayer game and build a community around it that I can live in.

Also, unlike most game releases, Monkanics doesn’t end after it’s release. I plan for it to be a new take on a live-service game. (I love those types of games dearly. I grew up with them)

So it isn’t a one-and-done deal, it’s a lifestyle.

This is genuinely how I want to live and enjoy my life, BTW. It’s been like that for over 6+ years now. I have an entire backstory I can spill, if your curious. If not, that’s cool too.

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For me, I have used all 3 big game engines, (Unity, Godot, Unreal) and I have seen so much tutorials since I am kind of new but Godot was the best one out of all of them. It only takes 152 thousand some thing kilo bytes. Not only that, but it is the only one I can understand. Unity, I can’t code with C#. Unreal? Worked but was WAY to complicated. Here is a link telling you why to choose Godot.:

If it is un available, just search up this: “why to use Godot”
Other than that, unlike Unreal or Unity, Godot is free, FOREVER. Plus when using Unreal, if you somehow make $1 000 000, you have to be paying a 5% royalty fee to Epic Games. Unity, I don’t want to even get to details, but Godot? It is PERMENATLY free, (Unless you want to donate, which you should). So I would prefer Godot. :robot: :technologist: ! Any limitations, none so far. Other than trying to intregate VScode to Godot. Godot’s biggest strength: The community. I am planning to release a commercial game using Godot, and I do consider it suitable for commercial use, IF, they add a teams thing to work with friends. (that could be so cool). So yeah I would use Godot.

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Q: Why did you choose Godot over other engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal)?

This is my first venture into game dev, and having looked at the options the apparent simplicity and open source nature of Godot was an absolute clincher for me.

Q: What do you see as Godot’s biggest strengths?

I love the node system, GDscript is accessible and easy, and easy deployment to Android are the greatest assets for me.

Q: What limitations have you encountered using Godot?

I am not sure this is a limitation, but I have not been keen on the UID system introduced.

Q: Do you consider it suitable for commercial or studio use? Why or why not?

Yes, but I am not an expert voice on this so it is more that I presume so.

Q: Have you released, or are you planning to release, a commercial game using Godot?

Planning, yes, but it is such a long journey it is taking a lot longer than I thought. Without the support and advice from the community, I would not be as close to release as I am now, but it still seems a long way off.

Good luck with your research project.

PS Perhaps you could post your findings here (or at least a link) so we can read your work. I am sure it will be very interesting.

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When I started learning it in Uni, I chose it as it seemed to have the brightest future and best community. It was also lighter, nimbler, and more indie friendly. At the time though I was swayed mostly by how it’s completely open source.

The engine is lightweight and I can iterated on my work much faster.

The engine is not suited for game of huge scale unless you want to modify the engine (which you don’t)

If the game’s scale matches godot’s capabilities, yes.

First commercial release will be this year.

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Hey, that’s really nice to hear about your research!
Just a quick tip - I think you could get more answers if you posted your questionnaire online (like google forms) where people can answer anonymously too.

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Q: Why did you choose Godot over other engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal)?

OSS and the simplicity of it all. From GDscript (I have a Lua/TS background) to the fanciness of the editor. Nothing scared me more than Unity’s bloated (to me) interface or C++.

Q: What do you see as Godot’s biggest strengths?

Everything’s here! I always ran confused at having to install multiple dependencies (specially those related to compiling), libraries (C ones mainly), extensions and setting up IDEs. There are some things missing (Terrain) but they’re as easy to add as clicking one button in the Asset Library. And the illusion of knowing that they might one day just get integrated in one PR.

Q: What limitations have you encountered using Godot?

Installing addons still is a clunky experience; there’s no manifest defining installed addons, which can get messy with source control. I use godam to fix that but would like to have something more standardized.

Installing, again, multiple versions of the engine is… not bad? I mean, the engine’s just a small binary, but it would be better to have a hub for managing older projects. I used to use Godots for that but it gave me some issues, seems to have been outdated for a while.

Furthermore, I know I’m the black sheep with this one, but I would like to remove the need of having a mandatory main scene. I run my game on an autoload. I guess that making it possible to define globals that don’t autoload would also work.

Q: Do you consider it suitable for commercial or studio use? Why or why not?

I work solo for commercial purposes, I definitely see it possible. The tool does not matter for the end product, never. Just know what you do. I’m actually making a 3D game, there are not many of them yet, but I see the engine more than capable of it. Specially coming from Roblox, which has some strict limitations. I’ve grown used to being smart with performance.

For a Studio, I don’t know. From what I’ve seen, the engine is not yet prepared for collaborative editing.

Q: Have you released, or are you planning to release, a commercial game using Godot?

I am planning on doing so. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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bro, I’ve been down that rabbit hole too :weary_face:
Tried Unity for years, even gave Unreal a shot (spoiler: my laptop cried). Spent way too much time jumping between engines, hoping one would just “click.” Eventually I realized I was chasing features instead of flow. I broke it all down in a video recently - Unity’s bloat, Unreal’s power-hunger, and why Godot finally felt like home. Not perfect, but damn, it lets me build without the corporate drama. Might help you dodge a few weeks of engine existential crisis :sweat_smile: