Ren'Py vs Stencyl

Ren'Py is a free visual novel engine for making interactive stories and life simulation games with words, images, and sounds. Its script language handles visual-novel writing, while Python can be used for more complex game logic. Default games include menus, automatic saves, rollback, predictive image loading, and mouse, keyboard, or gamepad controls. Creators can customize screens and styles using the screen language and Python. The launcher builds Windows, Mac, and Linux games from any of those desktop systems. Ren'Py also supports Android export and can package games for WebAssembly browsers, though web support is beta and lacks networking and multithreading. It targets Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.10 or later, Linux x86_64 or Arm, Android 5.0 or later, and iOS 11 or later. Building for iOS requires a Mac and Xcode, and that support remains a work in progress. The engine is free for commercial and non-commercial use; most is MIT-licensed, with some LGPL components whose terms distributors must meet.

Stencyl is game creation software for making mobile, web, and desktop games with visual logic or custom code. Its drag-and-drop designer uses snapping blocks and includes hundreds of ready-to-use blocks. Creators can also make and share blocks, import libraries, extend the engine with code, and write Haxe classes that work with block-based Behaviors. The Scene Designer provides selection, zooming, grid-snapping, and flood fill; the Actor Editor adjusts appearance, behaviors, and physical properties. Stencyl targets iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, and HTML5. The free Starter edition publishes HTML5 games and lets users test games on paid target platforms, but cannot publish desktop, iOS, or Android games and displays Stencyl branding. Indie costs $99 a year and adds web and desktop publishing without watermarks. Studio costs $199 a year and includes publishing to iOS and Android, ads, leaderboards, in-app purchases, and third-party plugins. Publishing iOS games to the App Store requires an active Apple developer license and a Mac. Stencyl says it collects no royalties on games.