We have Impact

I've decided to kick Unity to the curb. After using it for a few weeks, attempting to create a very simple 2D sprite based platformer using 2D Toolkit, I've come to the conclusion that it's not the best tool set to use for that type of game. There's simply too much wrestling involved with the Unity engine to complete even the most simple of tasks, for example tile based collision detection. Perhaps it's my inexperience, but when the toolset I'm using is hindering my productivity and progress, rather than boosting it, I tend to reevaluate the situation.

So the hunt for a new game engine/framework/toolset/etc began! There were a few criteria that I needed to have satisfied.

1. Deployable to the web (option to mobile is nice to have as well)
2. Good documentation and community support
3. Remove the need to write the majority of boiler-plate, 2D game engine code, yet allow me to extend it as well

I had my eye on ImpactJS for awhile, and after determining what my needs were, it seemed to be the best choice (even with the license fee). And so far, it absolutely has been. You can see what I've managed to cobble together in only about two weekends worth of time. I'm going to reserve a full "review" of ImpactJS for another post, but I'm extremely happy with ImpactJS. Worth noting, I also get to use my favorite IDE, IntelliJ IDEA! Nice :)

Oh! And I've decided to join One Game a Month. My March entry will be a simple Lode Runner-like (linked above). Obviously, it's very much a work-in-progress as of this posting, but I fully expect to have it finished, and somewhat polished, for the March deadline.