Stencyl is a program that allows the creation of video games for multiple platforms without the need to write code.

The creation of video games attracts many people because by creating a video game, we can tell an interactive story, create a challenge for the player, or make the user have a good time. One of the basic requirements to create a video game is to know how to code.

Stencyl is a tool that allows game development without the need for programming skills. It uses graphics blocks representing the basic control structures (loops, conditions, events, etc.) to achieve that. Thanks to that, we can program the game's behavior using only the mouse. Even so, we must know a few programming fundamentals to understand how to operate the control blocks. While it is true that we will be able to start using the program without knowing anything about programming, having prior knowledge will help us greatly understand its use.

The program is divided into several sections belonging to the different elements we can create within the game. For example:

• Actor Types : Here, we can create the characters of the game, the main character, as the enemies. Within this section, we can import or create the sprites that will make up the characters.
  Also, we will control the characters' behavior when jumping, running, squatting, etc.
  We can add events that happen when a key is pressed or happen from time to time, etc.
  We can also define the collision detection between the different characters, and also we can define the physics that affects the character we are creating.
• Background : Here, we can define how it will be the background of the video game and how the scroll will move vertically or horizontally. This is essential to creating a typical platform video game with horizontal scroll or creating a shoot 'em-up with vertical scroll.
• Scenes : Here, we add and edit levels of the game. For example, if we're creating a 2D platforms game, we will be able to define where the platforms will be located, in which place there are obstacles, and there will be a hole in the ground. The creation/editing of maps is very simple since we will use an interface similar to a graphical editor.
• Sound : Here, we can add the sounds that will be part of the game. We will be able to use MP3 and OGG files. The audio files that we import may be used as sound effects: when the character jumps, falls on an enemy, or shoot, etc. We can also import a song and use it as background music.
• Tiles : In this screen, we will be able to create the “image blocks” that we will use to create objects that appear in each level of the game.
• Logic : In this section, we can define the characters' behavior (jumping, running, squatting, etc.) and the behavior of the scenes. This part is where we program, and to do this, we will be able to make use of the “graphics blocks” that allow us to program without coding, or if we know to program, we can select the “ Code Mode ” option, where we can type the instructions that we want to give to the characters and scenarios of the game.

In the “ StencylForge ” option, located in the program's top menu, we can download a large number of items that have already been created in such a way that we can download images of characters, background images, sounds, behaviors, etc. This way, we can create a game by reusing already existing elements, which is a great advantage when we are just beginning to use the program.

Learning how to manage Stencyl is somewhat complex since there are many sections that we must master to start the creation of our video games. For this reason, we should not confuse the comfort of creating and programming games using only the mouse with the ease of understanding and mastering this software.

One of the outstanding features of the program is that it is free, and we will be able to use all its features without any limitations. The free version allows us to export our game to Flash format, which can be used on almost any browser. We must buy a license if we want to export our video game to desktop platforms (Windows, Linux, and Mac). In addition, if we want to export the game to iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android platforms, we must acquire another license.

The program is available for download and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.