Programming languages and software design interfaces

[Koh]

I agree that people should use what they're comfortable with, however, they should also understand the limitations and bounds of the shortcuts.

For example, I use Game Maker, but I don't use the drag and drop code replacements, because I'm aware they simply don't cover all the things you're going to need to take care of in a polished and intricate engine, as well as clutter up the event list. They're good for learning about elements of game design and programming, but they're no substitute for actually understanding how the logic works, and what else goes into implementing and polishing a mechanic. You can handle variable play within that just fine, but you can't do things like boolean arithmetic, or other kinds of intermediate to advanced calculations that you'd need to do for some of the fancier engine features. You also don't even have access to many of the functions that are available within the coding portion, such as file writing/reading or surfaces.