What Is a Game Engine?
Have you ever played video games and wondered how they’re made or how they even work? The secret is in the game engine, the complex set of software tools that lies at the heart of every modern video game today.
Imagine you’re an artist, preparing to create your masterpiece. You’ll need tools of some sort to do the job. These could include brushes, paints, and a canvas to bring your vision to life.
Similarly, game developers need a game engine to design, develop, and breathe life into their virtual worlds. A game engine is a software framework that streamlines, accelerates, and simplifies the game development process.
Essentially, a game engine takes care of the heavy lifting of game creation. At least when it comes to the technical aspects of the work. It handles graphics, physics, sound, artificial intelligence, user input, and more.
In the early days of game development, a game would be written in machine code or something close to it (such as Assembly language) after being designed on paper. However, as games became more complex, game developers realized they’d have to create game development tools before creating their actual games. These tools and core game components became what we know as game engines today.
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A game engine isn’t a single monolithic thing. They consist of several components that work together to create the final gaming experience. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, some key components include:
Each game engine has different approaches to these different areas under the hood. Engine developers strive to get the best results in each area as efficiently as possible.
Game engines play a vital role in streamlining the game development process. They allow developers
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