Stencyl is an amazing game development tool, and it is even packaged with its own graphics editing application, Pencyl. However, most developers will want to progress to using some more advanced, third-party tools for the creation or modification of graphics, audio, and other assets that will be used throughout the game.
There are many commercially available software packages that can be used for the creation of video game assets. However, as we have created a completed game using the free version of Stencyl, in this section of the book, we'll have a look at some of the free tools that are available to assist in the creation of video games.
Please note that the author does not endorse the use of any specific software applications. Recommendations were solicited in the official Stencyl forums, and the most popular and long-lived applications have been included in this section!
There are some amazingly high-quality graphics software packages, for creating bitmap and vector images, that are available for download and use free of charge.
Note
There is a detailed explanation of bitmap and vector images at the following website: graphicssoft.about.com/od/aboutgraphics/a/bitmapvector.htm.
Following are some of the most popular packages as recommended by Stencyl users:
GIMP is a bitmap graphics application that many users consider equal to the most popular commercially available graphics software. It can be used for creating and modifying many types of graphics images.
GIMP can be found at www.gimp.org. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Inkscape is a comprehensive vector graphics package. Although Stencyl can import both vector (SVG format) and bitmap graphics files, many graphics artists prefer to work with vector graphics, and then convert the final results to bitmaps for importing into Stencyl.
Inkscape can be found at www.inkscape.org. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
GraphicsGale is an animation editor which is designed to ease the process of creating animations that can be used in video games. There is a freeware version of the software, and a more comprehensive version which must be paid for.
GraphicsGale can be found at www.humanbalance.net/gale/us. It runs on Windows.
As we have learned during the development of Monkey Run, a soundtrack and sound effects can completely change the atmosphere of a game! Following are some useful audio utilities.
This very popular audio editing and recording tool has an amazing range of sound editing features, including the ability to add special effects to existing recordings (for example, echo, reverb, and so on). Audacity also includes features which enable conversion among different audio formats, including the configuration of the sample rate and bit depth which, as we discovered in Chapter 8, Implementing Sounds, is essential for ensuring that audio files are compatible with Stencyl.
Audacity can be found at audacity.sourceforge.net. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
SFXR is a special effects generator that was created by Tomas Pettersson, originally for a computer programming competition in 2007. Since then, it has become an extremely popular tool for creating sound effects for video games. It's very easy to use and includes preset buttons for creating effects such as explosions, pickups, jumps, and blips.
The original application has now been ported to most development platforms, and there is even a handy web-based version that runs on most browsers.
SFXR can be found at www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html. For the web browser version visit www.superflashbros.net/as3sfxr/. SFXR is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Flash-enabled web browsers.
This interesting browser-based application enables the user to paint sounds onto a grid using various musical instruments. It's very useful for creating short melodies and jingles.
inudge can be found at www.inudge.net. It runs on Flash-enabled web browsers.