Guess I might as well do it myself. I'll try to make this as un-biased as possible. Pictures coming soon.
<font size="4"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Construct 2</font></font>
What is it? Construct 2 is an HTML5 game engine with a nice drag-and-drop editor, and simple to use event based programming. Although this can slightly hinder its abilities, it is still open to a world of possibilities.
Price and license: The free edition is free (Who would have guessed?), personal edition is ?79 ($119 USD), the business edition is ?239 ($399 USD). You can not sell any games you make with the free edition, and the personal edition is good up until ?3150 ($5000 USD).
Make games for:Any device that can support and run HTML5 with the free version. iOS and Android versions with a license. Executable files with a license.
Link: http://www.scirra.com/
Tutorial: http://www.scirra.com/tutorials
<font size="4">Case Study: AirScape</font>
Developer: Daniel West (Sqiddster)
Get it: for free
How long does Construct 2 take to learn?
The great thing about Construct 2 is that you'll be able to make simple games right after finishing the beginner's tutorial. After that you'll be learning at your own pace. I still don't know the intricate uses of all the advanced features but it only took a few weeks to get the hang of the software. Most of your learning after you are comfortable with C2 will be discovering the best way to accomplish a task - not necessarily the first way that comes to mind. That's what programming is all about, really.
What prior knowledge or skills are helpful?
I've played around with robots for a while, so I definitely had a conceptual grasp of programming when I came to C2. Although this meant I had a grasp of the more abstract concepts (variables, arrays, and whatnot), I can say with confidence that these concepts are very easy to learn by experimentation within C2.
What can't you do with it?
Obviously Construct 2 is restricted to the 2D domain. There are few other restrictions - The largest probably being the lack of multiplayer, but even this is being worked around by third-party plugin developers. Smaller things of note include the lack of advanced vector manipulation, and then all the restrictions that come on HTML5 and the browsers' side - things like sketchy audio support and occasional poor mobile performance.
How long did AirScape take to make?
I worked on it during the timeframe of Scirra's Rotary competition, so it took me about 2 months to make. This was in addition to going to school full-time, so it was probably a couple week's worth of full-time work.
How much of the development time was enjoyable?
Disregarding those inevitable insidious 2-hour-fix bugs of my own making, 100% of the development time was enjoyable. Construct 2 lets you focus on the fun aspects of game design, like level creation and adding those killer features.
How much did it cost you to develop?
The price of my early-adopter's license for Construct 2 was $40. Other than that, there were no costs. I drew all the assets and music and sound were sourced from royalty-free websites.
If you could give your past self one piece of advice before starting to make the game, what would it be?
Never, ever play 2 solid weeks of Super Meat Boy before designing your platform game. Your skills will become so godly that all your levels will be designed with soul-crushing difficulty. Everyone who plays the game will hate your guts (Especially if they ever reach World 4).