I plan to make a 2D game with some turn-based RPG elements, very programming heavy but not heavy on graphics. I am not interested in 3D although pseudo-3D is a possibility as long as its as easy to implement. I would prefer a java-based engine since that's what I've done the most with, but I have no problem picking up a new programming language as long as it can do everything java can, and it has to be object-oriented; classes, interfaces, and inheritance are all very important to what I'm doing. Its also important that the engine be capable of advanced math and efficiently process things such as fractional exponents, although I care less about efficiency with processing graphics. If the engine has anything built in to help troubleshoot, even something as simple as showing syntax errors without having to compile and read error reports, that would be a huge plus.

I've played around with gamemaker a bit, but I'm not sure it can do all I need it to, and it looks like it's intended more for platformers and the like.

The engine does not have to be free but I would like to have a trial version so I can tell if its what I'm looking for before spending money on it. 

Any suggestions? 

Does Gamemaker have some equivalent to inheritance? Also what are some of its limitations and why don't I see more commercial developers use Gamemaker?

http://www.cocos2d-x.org/

Cocos2D is the most powerful 2D engine there is. It has ALL the fancy things and the basics, you can make simple and advance games with it.

The only downside is because it can do so much it takes a long time to learn, although if you keep things simple it will be less of a problem.

What language does cocos2D use?

2 minutes ago, Gigawatts said:

What language does cocos2D use?

C++ it also has an editor for those who don't want to do heavy coding.

If your language is the main factor then you should look into Unity, it's a better 2D engine than 3D, it supports many languages.

Edit: my friend says that cocos2D also supports java.

1 minute ago, Scouting Ninja said:

C++ it also has an editor for those who don't want to do heavy coding.

If your language is the main factor then you should look into Unity, it's a better 2D engine than 3D, it supports many languages.

C++ is fine, it'll just take some getting used to. I'll take a look at Cocos and see how it works.

On 6/24/2017 at 5:47 PM, Scouting Ninja said:

C++ it also has an editor for those who don't want to do heavy coding.

If your language is the main factor then you should look into Unity, it's a better 2D engine than 3D, it supports many languages.

Edit: my friend says that cocos2D also supports java.

Scouting Ninja is correct in that Unity will probably be your best bet. It offers C#(very similar to Java), JavaScript and Boo(not too familiar with that).

Unity is a very powerful engine and you can create virtually any kind of game you can imagine; Either 2D or 3D.

The only downfall is like every other powerful tool, there is a steep learning curve. But try to take it in chunks and definitely start with 2D and you should be fine.

Good luck with your project!