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A Brief Guide to Game Engines

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David Parsons
David Parsons

A brief introduction to different types of game engine and how they provide different levels of support for creating games

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Associate Professor David Parsons Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
How a Computer Game Works • Initial state (birds, pigs, woodpile) • Game loop starts • Take user input events (fire catapult) • Update and display game state (bird flies, things collide) • Game loop finishes when you win or lose (and the score is calculated) Image source: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsrio
Back in the Day… • Arcade games were pretty much built from scratch every time • Not any more… Image source: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Space-Invaders-Arcade- Cabinet-Classic-Video-Game-Poster-Posters_i9718572_.htm
Abstraction • Like every software tool, a games engine provides a level of abstraction to hide underlying complexity Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/images/1300-2500834
Game Engines Provide • Graphics rendering (2D or 3D) • Physics/collision engine • Scene graphs • Animation • Scripting • AI – And a whole lot more…
Types of Game Engine • Roll-your-own (lowest level) – Using APIs like XNA and OpenGL, and libraries like Havok and OpenSceneGraph • Mostly-ready game engines (mid level) – Require some programming to make a complete game, e.g Torque and Unreal • Point-and-click engines (highest level) – Require as little coding as possible, e.g. Unity3D
Why All the 1st Person Shooters? • (partly) because it’s a standard games engine style Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnJr9vfvQ2M Not actually a game at all but a spoof video
By The Way… • Violence isn’t a requirement – Find appropriate enemies • e.g. stinging insects • Neither is being a misogynistic troll – @see #gamergate
Platform Interoperability • A selection of engines and platforms • Choice of target(s) will affect choice of engine Games Engine Target Platforms Unreal Engine 4 Android, HTML5, iOS, Linux, Mac, Oculus, PC, PS4, SteamOS, Xbox One Unity Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Linux, Mac, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows 8 CryEngine Android, iOS, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U GameMaker Android, Browser, iOS, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Windows Phone ShiVa Android, Blackberry, iOS, Linux, Mac, PS3, SteamOS, Vita, Wii, Windows, Windows Phone 8, Xbox 360 Marmalade Android, BlackBerry, iOS Mac, Windows, Tizen
Hopscotch • Scratch-style programming on the iPad • School kids can create 2D games
iPad 4 Schools • Richard Wells at Orewa College uses HopScotch for games programming with his classes
Unity3D • Point and Click – Free version available with tutorials
Unreal Development Kit (UDK) • Mostly-ready – Free edition of Unreal Engine 3
Narrative Frameworks • One aspect of game design is the narrative framework • Games need a beginning, a middle and an end – As opposed to a ‘world’, which just ‘is’ • An engine helps you build the software • A framework helps you build the narrative
Sources • Craig Chapple. (2014). The top 16 game engines for 2014 http://www.develop-online.net/tools-and-tech/the-top-16-game- engines-for-2014/0192302 • Michael Enger. (2013). Game Engines: How do they work? http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/michaelenger/blog/game- engines-how-do-they-work/101529/ • Ben Smiley. (2012). What is a game engine? http://www.deluge.co/?q=what-is-a-game-engine • Jonas Heide Smith. (2000). The Road not Taken - The How’s and Why’s of Interactive Fiction http://game- research.com/index.php/articles/the-road-not-taken-the-hows- and-whys-of-interactive-fiction/ • Jeff Ward. (2008). What is a Game Engine? http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/529/what_is_a_gam e_.php • Richard Wells. iPad 4 Schools. http://ipad4schools.org/

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A Brief Guide to Game Engines

  • 1. Associate Professor David Parsons Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 2. How a Computer Game Works • Initial state (birds, pigs, woodpile) • Game loop starts • Take user input events (fire catapult) • Update and display game state (bird flies, things collide) • Game loop finishes when you win or lose (and the score is calculated) Image source: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsrio
  • 3. Back in the Day… • Arcade games were pretty much built from scratch every time • Not any more… Image source: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Space-Invaders-Arcade- Cabinet-Classic-Video-Game-Poster-Posters_i9718572_.htm
  • 4. Abstraction • Like every software tool, a games engine provides a level of abstraction to hide underlying complexity Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/images/1300-2500834
  • 5. Game Engines Provide • Graphics rendering (2D or 3D) • Physics/collision engine • Scene graphs • Animation • Scripting • AI – And a whole lot more…
  • 6. Types of Game Engine • Roll-your-own (lowest level) – Using APIs like XNA and OpenGL, and libraries like Havok and OpenSceneGraph • Mostly-ready game engines (mid level) – Require some programming to make a complete game, e.g Torque and Unreal • Point-and-click engines (highest level) – Require as little coding as possible, e.g. Unity3D
  • 7. Why All the 1st Person Shooters? • (partly) because it’s a standard games engine style Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnJr9vfvQ2M Not actually a game at all but a spoof video
  • 8. By The Way… • Violence isn’t a requirement – Find appropriate enemies • e.g. stinging insects • Neither is being a misogynistic troll – @see #gamergate
  • 9. Platform Interoperability • A selection of engines and platforms • Choice of target(s) will affect choice of engine Games Engine Target Platforms Unreal Engine 4 Android, HTML5, iOS, Linux, Mac, Oculus, PC, PS4, SteamOS, Xbox One Unity Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Linux, Mac, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows 8 CryEngine Android, iOS, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U GameMaker Android, Browser, iOS, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Windows Phone ShiVa Android, Blackberry, iOS, Linux, Mac, PS3, SteamOS, Vita, Wii, Windows, Windows Phone 8, Xbox 360 Marmalade Android, BlackBerry, iOS Mac, Windows, Tizen
  • 10. Hopscotch • Scratch-style programming on the iPad • School kids can create 2D games
  • 11. iPad 4 Schools • Richard Wells at Orewa College uses HopScotch for games programming with his classes
  • 12. Unity3D • Point and Click – Free version available with tutorials
  • 13. Unreal Development Kit (UDK) • Mostly-ready – Free edition of Unreal Engine 3
  • 14. Narrative Frameworks • One aspect of game design is the narrative framework • Games need a beginning, a middle and an end – As opposed to a ‘world’, which just ‘is’ • An engine helps you build the software • A framework helps you build the narrative
  • 15. Sources • Craig Chapple. (2014). The top 16 game engines for 2014 http://www.develop-online.net/tools-and-tech/the-top-16-game- engines-for-2014/0192302 • Michael Enger. (2013). Game Engines: How do they work? http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/michaelenger/blog/game- engines-how-do-they-work/101529/ • Ben Smiley. (2012). What is a game engine? http://www.deluge.co/?q=what-is-a-game-engine • Jonas Heide Smith. (2000). The Road not Taken - The How’s and Why’s of Interactive Fiction http://game- research.com/index.php/articles/the-road-not-taken-the-hows- and-whys-of-interactive-fiction/ • Jeff Ward. (2008). What is a Game Engine? http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/529/what_is_a_gam e_.php • Richard Wells. iPad 4 Schools. http://ipad4schools.org/