No matter what kind of game you want to make or whatever company you want to work for… Game engines are the central point of game development. Those are the programs on which your game is built upon and where everything slowly gets pieced together. But what makes them so special and why does everything revolve around it? Couldn’t you just make everything from scratch instead of relying on another software? That’s why we are going to cover what game engines are and why they are so important.
The Core Of Game Development
I am sure if you’re a passionate gamer you’ve stumbled across the term game engine in one way or another. A game engine is basically a software framework that is specifically designed for the development of video games. It provides you with a comprehensive set of tools & features that developers can use at their disposal. No matter what kind of platform you’re aiming for.
You can either code your game completely from scratch or use an already game engine like Unity or Unreal Engine to give yourself a head start. Of course there are many more out there like Godot, RPG Maker or Cry Engine… But they are all different from each other. Which game engine a studio uses depends on different factors. Like how complex their game is, how many people are on team and the cost of the engine itself. There is no right or wrong answer here. For example, the RPG Maker is perfect for a simply pixel RPG while a complex 3D FPS needs something stronger like the Unreal Engine.
Rendering In Real Time
One of the most important things to know about a game engine is the fact that they prioritize smooth gameplay and real-time rendering over real-world accuracy. Why? The answer is simple: To save time and resources. This means that instead of endlessly calculating how light rays or balls would bounce around in real life, the engine takes a lot of shortcuts. While this means that a scene probably doesn’t look 100% accurate… As long as it is believable for the naked, the game will still look super realistic.
For films, some frames get rendered for hours or even for days until you can see the final result. Of course this would be ridiculous for a video game nowadays. If we look back at older games, they also made pre-rendered cutscenes for their games. They looked more cinematic and more high quality than the actual game. Simply because the engine wasn’t as strong as they are today. Of course, over the years they developed further and further to make things more realistic over time. Even film studios nowadays start working with real-time render engines to speed up their process and to see results more quickly instead of waiting for days.
Either way, creating an engine is one of the most difficult parts of game development so if you don’t have the budget or the people to do it, we highly recommend looking into already existing engines and picking one of those to create your game on.
Tools & Functions Of A Game Engine
Now that we’ve established what they roughly are, we can explore the different components that actually make an engine an engine. As we’ve established in the previous chapter, the game engine is a pre-built toolbox that contains all the essential things you need to develop your own video game, which is plenty. You don’t have to be an expert in every single one of them to understand how they function but it is a good thing to at least know the basics of all of them.
Rendering Engine
The rendering engine is responsible for creating the graphics that you are going to see on the screen. It takes 3d models, textures, and other visual data and converts it into a format that can be displayed by your computer’s graphics card. So it basically acts as your visual translator by bringing the world to life.
A rendering engine is quite the powerhouse and usually the thing that takes up the most resources and what makes graphic cards so expensive. If you are struggling to run certain games with high graphics or stable frame rates, you should probably consider upgrading your computer before directly jumping into a game engine itself… Because those games are already going to be optimized for weaker systems, while in an engine you often have to work with the raw mass of assets which can be quite challenging for most systems.
Physics Engine
Next on the line after we looked at the graphics is the physics engine. It ensures that objects move realistically or at least gives the world the logic it needs to feel cohesive. After all, some video games don’t want real physics at all and rather play with the endless possibilities of technology.
The physics engine simulates things like gravity, collisions, water or any other physical interactions. This means every time you throw a ball and it bounces around, the engine makes it look as real and natural as possible. After all, it would be very weird if you threw a round bouncy object onto the ground and it would just drop to the floor and stay there as if nothing happened.
Sound Engine
Of course, what would a good game be without any sounds? As the name suggests, the sound engine is responsible for playing, simulating, and manipulating sounds in the game. With it you can create the background music, sound effects and implement the dialogue voiceover.
This is a very strong tool because it usually uses 3D sounds that make things louder or more quiet depending on where you are located in the scene. For example, if a car drives by it sounds more believable or if you get closer and closer to a large factory machine it gets louder and louder.
Input Handling
The game engine also acts as a bridge between the player and the program by capturing the player’s actions. This means whenever you press a button, click with the mouse or use your joystick, the engine translates this input to whatever it’s assigned to in the game. This allows the player to move around and interact with the world around him.
It is also able to read the context of the input given. That means while A usually makes you shoot your weapon, in a menu it makes you select an item or login option changes. It observes the input of various devices like keyboards, mice, and even touch screens and can also handle multiple inputs at once. This either makes your character do multiple things at once or it can create a whole new command depending on the situation.
Scripting
Of course, a game engine wouldn’t be a proper tool without it allowing devs to customize it. Every engine runs on its own or maybe even multiple programming languages which makes it very easy to add custom logic and behaviors you want for your game.
Another wonderful tool a lot of game engines have nowadays is something visual scripting. This is a node system that allows people with hardly any programming skills to easily implement functions. This enables writers, level designers or other artists to implement features without having to learn a whole programming language. For advanced programmers, this tool is an excellent way to speed up their process while still being able to implement custom scripts and commands whenever they want to.
Asset Management & Libraries
One of the biggest perks of a game engine is the way they manage all the assets you need for your game. It makes it rather easy to organize and implement your various models, textures, sounds etc. without having to painfully go through your computer every time you need something.
Another handy feature a lot of the big engines have is their libraries. Libraries contain free or paid assets you can download that are already optimized and ready to go. They are perfect for block-ins and game drafts or to fill gaps if there is an emergency. But if you want your game to look unique, you should make your own assets or customize them for your personal use.
Simultaneous Editing & Version Control
A wonderful feature a lot of game engines provide either through plug-ins or directly implemented in their core engine is that multiple people can work on the same file. This not only speeds up your work process but it also allows you to see the work being done in real-time without having to wait for a colleague to finish.
Of course, when multiple people work on the same thing, you also need to have some version control. With version control, you can make sure that everyone knows which version of the game you are currently at and if things go south you can simply go back a few versions and start from there. Not all game engines come with their own version control system but usually, they are very easy to set up if you know how.
As you can see, game engines are the most valuable tools for any game developer out there. It takes over the biggest chunks of work so you don’t have to worry about those things later on. Knowing how to properly utilize it for your own needs is a valuable skill and once you’ve learned one engine you can easily switch around to others as well because they are quite similar to each other.
Since you’re interested in game engines, you might also be looking for other tools you need to develop your own game in the future:
Game Development Essentials: Tools You Need To Start Creating Your Own Game
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