Game Engines Edd Soper

Contents What is a game engine. Why big developers use their own engines. Why small developers might use their own engines. Benefits of using an existing engine. Benefits of making your own engine. How engines became more accessible. Unity vs Unreal. Pre existing engines vs Dev made

What is a game engine (The short) It’s software used to make a game. An engine will include different components. Render engine Physics engine AI Sound Animation scripting

Why Big developers use their own engines Avoid licensing fees associated with certain versions of an engine like Unity. Royalty fees aren’t taken from selling the game. More creative control. More powerful Can be updated/upgraded easier Not all Triple A/Larger devs use entirely their own engines. More control over what goes into the game and the engine.

Using an existing engine. Why small devs may use their own engines vs existing ones. Using an existing engine. Cuts down on development time. Massively cheaper than using your own engine. Easier to create demos & prototypes. Their own engine. Avoid licensing fees associated with certain versions of an engine like Unity. Royalty fees aren’t taken from selling the game. More creative control. More expensive & time consuming.

Benefits of using an existing engine. Certain aspects of lighting, rendering, data management, programming, and animation are handled by the engine. Reduces development time. Access to large forums, tutorials, and asset stores. Easier to use/learn. Avoid the development time of building an engine from scratch.

Downside to using an existing engine Restrictions to the engines technical limitations. Licensing fees. Restricted to how powerful the specific engine is. Certain aspects of the engine may not be as good like scripting, graphics, asset loading, etc. While still being powerful pieces of software, they might not be what you need.

pros of making your own engine You can tailor the engine to your own specific needs. Not bloated with stuff you don’t need. It’s free to an extent. Good for learning how making an engine works. You have control over the engine. Gives you practice in more advanced programing techniques.

cons of making your own engine You’ll never be able to compete in terms of efficiency, quality, functionality and stability as existing mature engines. You probably won’t finish making a game. You may have to make your own tools and file formats. Responsible for all of the engine, if you forget something, 1. it won’t be there when you need it and 2. it may break something down the line. Can be tedious/challenging and time consuming.

Unity vs Unreal Unreal Amazing graphical capabilities. Both Engines Asset stores. Free versions. Unreal Amazing graphical capabilities. Good for designers. Open source+ the blueprints visual programming is powerful. Better suited for teams. Unity Supports 21 platforms. Easy to use/easy workflow. Good for small teams/solo devs. Easy Scripting. Better asset store.

Unity vs Unreal – Continued Unreal 1 was first seem in a 1998 fps called unreal. UE4 for free in education in September 2014. Free for everyone as of march 2015. Supports 10 platforms. (not counting individual VR platforms). Unity was first released in 2005. October 2009 Unity 2.6 was made free for everyone. Originally made for 3 target platforms PC/Mac, Consoles, and mobile. (now supports 25+ platforms).

Pre existing engines vs Dev made Because dev engines are made by the developers the engine will be built more specifically for the game they’re making. Pre existing engines can’t be tailored to a specific type of game. Saves developers the time and stress of building an engine from scratch. Quicker and easier to learn/use. Depends on the size of your team. Engines like Unity & Unreal tend to be better for solo devs or small teams due to them being easy to use/learn and they cut down the development time. Big devs will tend to use their own engines. They will tend to build from an engine they have built before. Creative freedom. Avoid licensing which comes with existing engines. More responsibility

Links/References https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-main-pros-and-cons-of-Unity-3D-and- Unreal-Engine http://wimi5.com/pros-and-cons-for-using-a-game-engine/ https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-main-pros-and-cons-of-Unreal-Engine-4-in- general https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-making-your-own-game- engine-Is-it-worth-it https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/41gmre/why_do_a_lot_of_games _companies_make_their_own/ https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/667026-from-scratch-vs-unity/ https://unity3d.com/company/public-relations/news/unity2.6-press https://unity3d.com/unity/features/multiplatform

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