I'm quite certain that most Godot users take pride in the engine's simplicity. However, the question arises: to what extent does Godot aim to be simplistic, and how does it compare to other engines in this regard? What potential benefits and downsides do you see in Godot's simplicity?

To kick-start the topic, let me introduce you to what I have previously written about Godot's Simplicity. This exploration includes its motivations, a comparison to other game engines from the perspective of Godot's lead developer, and an analysis of its impact on Godot's future development.

Note: The reason why I included Unity and Unreal in the poll is that the Godot community tends to compare Godot to these engines, despite Godot's lead developer stating that Godot doesn't compete with them. Additionally, I included Roblox because of the emergence of a new all-in-one game development platform made with the Godot Engine, called The Mirror. This platform is often presented as a Roblox-like alternative by the community.

What do you think? Which game engine do you believe Godot truly aims to compete with? Let's engage in a positive and optimistic discussion!

With which game engine should Godot aim to compete in terms of simplicity?

GameMaker40%
Defold0%
Construct0%
GDevelop0%
Stencyl20%
Unity20%
Unreal20%
Roblox0%

although the underlying reasons may not be immediately apparent, even up to this day.

Conspiracy in all its glory. 😆

I haven't used much of these so I can't really vote, but I will say Godot is far ahead in usability compared to Unreal, Unity, and GameMaker.
Unreal Engine is very AAA-focused. It's so bloated and difficult to get into, the only saving grace is Blueprints. I have some pretty strong feelings against programming with a GUI instead of code but let's just say it all turns into spaghetti eventually.

Unity's kind of a mess. There's always actively 3+ ways to do one thing and it's kind of stuck in a limbo of being modern and being clearly made 10+ years ago. They keep replacing old features with new ones that are less usable (like the input system) and actively need tinkering. It's alright, but it's really not simple.

On the outside, GameMaker looks super user friendly but once you try to get into it (like doing UI) you'll realize how much of a pain it is. Lots of things need manual work and workarounds.

    godot has already cannibalized almost all of gamemaker's market share from what I can see. the only people still using that are the people who got big with it back when it was relevant. the subscription move was a nail in the coffin, I say.

    as for godot itself I really don't know what to compare it to, it's really as simple or complex as you want to make it. the node system is so freeform it comes down to what you know and what you like doing more than anything else. there's nothing stopping me or anyone else from making a pre-packaged unity style ECS system using nothing but godot's nodes and gdscript.

    it almost feels more like a framework with an engine on top than an engine unto itself, if that makes sense.

    popcar2 Unreal Engine is very AAA-focused. It's so bloated and difficult to get into, the only saving grace is Blueprints.

    Unreal has developed a new scripting language called Verse, which looks quite promising. It is interesting to see how they utilize it for Fortnite. Reminds me of The Mirror endeavors made with Godot Engine (Godot's co-founder apparently works at The Mirror, see their About page), so this makes me think that Godot will likely retain GDScript as its main language, despite some people wanting to see C# as the main language in Godot.

    Also, unlike Godot's VisualScript (which was removed in Godot 4.0 due to its usability issues, not because of lack of maintenance), I think Unreal will keep Blueprints since it caters to designers more anyways.

    When you mention AAA, it always surprises me when some Godot users see Godot as having potential for AAA. Have you noticed this? Would you say that Godot is aspiring for AAA-quality games, or is it just wishful thinking?

    popcar2 Unity's kind of a mess. There's always actively 3+ ways to do one thing

    Having several options to choose from is actually great. I think the issue here may be less about the availability of choices but rather the way they might be presented to the user. I have always felt that Godot is too limiting when attempting to create anything slightly less trivial with it.

    I think what makes Godot appealing to some users is that it allows them to alleviate the feelings of choice paralysis. However, one also has to consider the long-term impact of picking simplistic tools. That's why you'll often see Godot being used for game jams rather than for creating games intended for long-term development and production.

    popcar2 On the outside, GameMaker looks super user friendly but once you try to get into it (like doing UI) you'll realize how much of a pain it is. Lots of things need manual work and workarounds.

    I find it weird how Godot proclaims to its users that they don't have to reinvent the wheel, but when you look at engines such as Unity or even GameMaker, they tend to have more complete API...

    For example, if we take GameMaker, it has very interesting methods not found in Godot, such as choose(), various useful data structures such as priority queues, stacks, maps, grids, etc. I know you can simulate these structures in GDScript, but the point is that GameMaker already provides such features built-in, effectively eliminating manual work in some areas or use cases.

          the only one I have used is stencyl, but I stopped using it and started using godot because stencyl seemed a bit obsolete.