I don't know a lot about any of the engines other than Game Maker, but from what I know about Game Maker, it can support the kind of game you're looking to make.

I don't know if you're trying to make a game without programming whatsoever or if you simply want to choose one that makes it easier to program your game?

I get the impression that you're learning how to program, so I'm going to talk about that.

Some of my very first programming experience came from Game Maker using the Game Maker Language, but I went about it all wrong. I didn't really look into general programming fundamentals, like functions and classes and stuff. I didn't learn much applicable stuff because I didn't take an object-oriented approach at my programming; I just kind of made some basic movement and stuff but never really learned that I was calling things called "functions" and other specific stuff about how variables work.

So I would suggest, if you're new to programming, don't just focus on making things work. Try to figure out if they're actually working properly and efficiently, and try to learn generic programming knowledge. Don't just jump into the "How to use Game Maker Language" documentation like I did; look for just generic programming stuff.

I too have to agree with the suggestions for Game Maker. I've used it plenty, and in reality it is much more capable than many people think. But it isn't as "non-coder" useful as people would like. The problem is that in some form or other, you have to code what you want your game to do. In general the more code that is done for you, the less you can customize to make your game your own. I think Game Maker is a perfect balance in this sense. It doesn't support too many automatic things, like instant platformer mechanics, but you can use gml code to make your own, and it is low level enough to do whatever you want really. But it isn't so low that you have to worry about loading resources, etc...

I've never gotten into Construct. It seems good, but the main issue I see with it is that you can't code in the "traditional" way. The event sheet system is supposed to be good enough when combined with the behavior system, but it still doesn't "feel right" to me.

Gamemaker and RPGmaker both can do everything you want. Though they have different ways of going about it.

I found both easy to figure out.

[quote name='kburkhart84' timestamp='1358883670' post='5024403']
The problem is that in some form or other, you have to code what you want your game to do. In general the more code that is done for you, the less you can customize to make your game your own.
[/quote]

I agree. At some point, the engine just has to sit down and let the developer do work!