Video Game Engines
Video Game Engines
Although there are many different game engines, some are easier to use then others as well as some engines allowing for better quality games. Some engines only allow 2D games, some only allow 3D games but there are also engines that allow both 2D and 3D games to be made in them.
A video game engine (or simply game engine) is a software framework specifically designed for the creation and development of video games. Video game developers use them to create games for video game consoles, mobile devices and personal computers.
There are many different types of coding that can be used in the game engines themselves. They range from simple to complex and some engines even allow you to use more than one coding language. Some of these languages include C++, Lua, HTML5 and Java.
The game engines themselves are home to multiple tools that have been designed to help develop and create video games. The objective of these tools increase the overall development by providing the core functions needed to develop a game by reducing the amount of time a developer may need to carry out tasks such as sound, AI and graphics. The engine itself is accountable for every scene that is rendered including the mathematics that is used for each frame. The modern 3D engine contains reusable software components that can be modified and reused to create additional games once it has been used for the game it was originally intended for. The majority of mostly ready game engines include the major components needed for rendering, physics etc. and is ready to use immediately. These types of engines can be open source but depending on what you require the price range can vary form cheaper ones like torque to the higher priced ones such as Unreal and Gamebryo. Whilst programming and coding will be required it will be at a lower level compared to building your own and although the mostly ready engine may be limiting, the overall aim is to provide a better performance by supplying almost all of the necessary tools.
Coding in Unity compared to Coding in Stencyl
Some bigger game companies such as Valve and Crytek use their own private game engines that are not available to the public. These engines are the Source Engine by Valve and CryEngine 3 by Crytek. There are game engines that are used to create a specific genre of game. The BigWorld engine is used to MMO games and is currently available for use in browsers and on PC. The Marmalade engine by Marmalade is a cross-platform SDK based engine that allows developers to use C++, Lua or HTML5 all whilst working from a single code base. The Unreal Engine 4 by Epic Games is a purely C++ engine that is used for action games such as Gears of War, Mass Effect, Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite.
The first Video Game Engine The first video game to fully utilise an engine was the video game DOOM. The first engine that the game DOOm was made in was called the id Tech 1. Although the engine renders a 3D space, that space is projected from a two-dimensional floor plan. The line of sight is always parallel to the floor, walls must be perpendicular to the floors, and it is not possible to create multi-level structures or sloped areas. it was also one of the first engines to use portal rendering. this is when the game area is divided into several zones. These zones would then be connected to each other by small openings such as doors or windows. These openings are referred to as portals. When the zone behind a portal needs to be drawn, the only parts that are visible are the parts that can be seen through the portal. Therefore, the zone can be clipped against the portal boundaries to remove overdraw.