Stencyl - Create Flash Games on Windows

I first came upon Stencyl while searching for "gamesalad for windows". I was excited about the Mac-only game design tool Gamesalad, especially because the software offered an easy and relatively inexpensive way to develop a game and sell it on the Apple store. Coincidentally, Gamesalad does not support flash game creation. Stencyl, on the other hand, is available on both Mac and Windows platforms, and can make flash games as well as iOS (iPhone/iPad) games. The software has made a lot of progress and eventually plans to support html5 and Android platforms. I have a feeling Stencyl will be around for a while.

Because I have very little coding experience but want a high level of control over my game design concepts, Stencyl is my top recommendation for making flash (or iOS) games. For the beginner, there are pre-made games Stencyl calls "kits" that can be modified for quick and easy game development. Those who invest the time in Stencyl's approachable tutorials and helpful community will find that making their own game from scratch is relatively painless.

The other great selling point for Stencyl is that you can actually make money with your Flash games. There are ways to incorporate ads into your game, and for the cost of an Apple developers license and the Stencyl Pro upgrade, your creations can be sold on the Apple store. Please remember me when you've grown rich from the success of your Angry Birds-killer.

Price: free-$150 (Flash game creation is, and always will be free. The pro license is for selling iOS games on the Apple store)

Pros: drag-and-drop visual design environment, easily monetize your game, you maintain the rights to the game, easy to dig into the AI thanks to visual block/behavior coding, great support community and library of components.

Cons: setting up a developer's license with Apple and publishing using Stencyl will cost around $250 the first year and can be kind of a hassle (especially if you have no access to a Mac). This will not affect those who only use Stencyl to create Flash games.