I've looked at the top links on Google for a "flash game engine", but most of what I've come up with looks like overkill. I'm looking for a free 2D game engine for Flash that will let me quickly make simple games. No epic-scale RPGs, more like a standard Breakout clone or maze game. Any suggestions? P.S. I come across Flixel and it looks like a decent fit for my needs - does anyone here have experience with it?

If you want to make simple games, you should not use an engine, or make your own. If you do really want a game engine, what things would you want in it?

[Edited by - UnknownJoe796 on October 26, 2009 8:22:23 PM]

Just some of the standard, boilerplate stuff. For example, a better Sprite/MovieClip class than AS3's, collision detection, game state management, a particle system, maybe a little bit of pathfinding.
So it's not a exactly an engine I need, more like a collection of classes that would save me the trouble of writing code that goes into most games.

Quote:Original post by bepawuca
P.S. I come across Flixel and it looks like a decent fit for my needs - does anyone here have experience with it?

I was going to suggest flixel. I don't have much experience making games with it yet, but I'm currently reading through the source to help me get a handle on how to make games in Flash. You might need to tweak it a bit if you're moving away from pixel-based games, but it's lightweight enough for that to be not too much of a hassle. Overall flixel looks like a pretty darn good place to start, IMO.

I used Flixel to make my entry for the Zero Punctuation game design contest. In about one and a half to two months, I was able to make a game with three different control types, animated cutscenes, music, sound effects, and multiple levels. I would have gotten even more finished if there had been more time. (sigh)

But...yeah, I would definitely recommend Flixel. It's great for games with fairly basic gameplay. It should be very easy to use it to make a Break Out clone or maze game. No problem. Flixel doesn't have pathfinding. But just about all of the other features you mentioned are in there. It has everything you need for animated sprites, scene management, collision detection, and a particle system.