Description #
Stencyl is a drag-and-drop game development platform that enables students and beginners to create 2D games without writing code. It uses a visual block system inspired by Scratch but extends functionality for publishing to desktop, mobile, and web.
History #
Stencyl was launched in 2011 by Jonathan Chung with the goal of democratizing game development. It gained popularity among educators and indie developers for its accessible interface, wide export options, and support for both block-based and code-based workflows.
Hello World Code #
Stencyl’s logic blocks create game actions. A basic “Hello, World!” could be:
When game starts → Print "Hello, World!" to consoleThis is done by dragging logic blocks into the scene or actor behavior panel.
How to Run #
Option 1: Online
No browser version — downloadable only
Showcase: https://www.stencyl.com/game/showcase/
Option 2: Local
- Download from https://www.stencyl.com/
- Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Includes built-in simulator and testing tools
- One-click publish to web, Android, iOS, and desktop (free and paid tiers)
Key Concepts #
- Visual block-based logic
- Scene and actor design
- Scratch-inspired coding interface
- Event-driven game mechanics
- Supports custom code (Haxe)
- Physics and animation tools
- Cross-platform publishing
- No-code to low-code learning path
- Project-based learning
- Active educator and developer community
Try It Online #
Demo showcase: https://www.stencyl.com/game/showcase/
Fun Facts #
- Over 500 million game plays reported on games made with Stencyl
- Some Stencyl-made games have been featured on mobile app stores
- Great entry point into professional game design pipelines
Resources #
Official site
Docs or tutorial
GitHub or interpreter
Community or learning resources
