AGFPRO Review: A game-creation tool for beginners

MSRP: $19.99 (Basic), $79.99 (Premium)

February, 2014 update: StackCommerce currently has the AGFPro Game Creator Bundle available for $9.99 (MSRP: $60).

I have had quite some time to spend with the new game creation tool by Axis Game Factory. This piece of software is aimed at assisting individuals who want to create levels of a video game with ease and precision. But is this software meant for you? (As a note to our readers, this review is for the Premium Version which was given to us by Axis Game Factory. We would like to give a grateful shout-out to them for this opportunity. For more info on this version, please click here.)

AGFPRO includes a wide arrange of features as a stand-alone software product in all versions. Users can create entire game environments with much ease. Users can change the atmosphere, water, terrain, skybox (where the sun, clouds, and sky are displayed), and even work with fog to give areas an eerie or desolate feel. Many art assets and tools are included in all versions of Axis Game Factory with the Premium version having quite an exclusive selection to choose from. Users who purchase the Premium version also have the ability to import tools and assets from Unity into AGFPRO and vice-versa.

During my time of use with AGFPRO, I found myself having a frustrating time with the user interface. Users can move the windows to customize the UI and turn the ability to hide menus off and on. Also, while in the editor, users can right click anywhere to launch a tree-style menu to do quick jumps to different tools and undo recent actions. While this does help at times, I found myself unable to move about the software like I would with Unity. Mouse wheel scrolls wouldn’t work often and the right-click menu was vague at times.

This is not to say that using AGFPRO was a nuisance, but more to the point that it has a learning curve due to the unique nature of this program. AGFPRO attempts to do something other software has done before by making creating a 3-D game environment within minutes. Not only does it wish to do this, but it wants to do it better than any other software out there and AGFPRO does hit this mark with mostly flying colors.

AGFPRO can create a variety of player-character setups from third-person platformer and RPG to first-person gameplay. I was able to create a full, lush, and quite beautiful environment for use with a third-person adventure game in the style of Fable. This only took me about five days with an average of 3 hours per day. Please keep in mind that I am extremely critical of myself when it comes to creative things and always want to improve. That being said, this program has been the easiest to use for creating environments that I have ever dealt with.

When it comes to creating a full game, however, this program is simply not enough. AGFPRO knows this and that is why they allow for exportation into Unity where more sophisticated actions can be taken to complete the game in terms of UI, end-game mechanics, storyline, dialogue, and much more. Please keep in mind that you need the Premium Version to do exportation from AGF into Unity.

In summary, AGFPRO is an excellent tool for those who want extra tools and assets for use with Unity in the creation of a game or for those who don’t like designing inside of Unity. As a stand-alone product for all of your game-building needs, AGFPRO won’t be the product you are looking for. I strongly recommend readers who are interested in creating any form of a 3D video game try this product out, be it with the demo or $19.99 Basic Version and get a feel for it as this product will eliminate many headaches that you would be hit with if you stuck with designing only in Unity.