What is a Game Engine? How Does it Work?

Game development used to be a time-taking process due to its complex details. But, with game engines, the process has become quite easy. As game developers and audiences are inclined towards realistic game visuals, it is necessary to use high-end technology that provides quick development and quality work. 

 

In this blog, we will look at game engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine. Moreover, we will also look at their work and how they can help your game development process. 

 

Game Engines 

 

A game engine is a software development program or the architect framework providing resources and essential game development tools. It is synonymous with the terms 'game framework' and 'game architecture, 'which comes with various settings and configurations to develop video games. 

 

An interesting fact about game engines is that they are not limited to game development but have also expanded to other industries. The best example is digital twins. Game engines are now used to develop high-fidelity layouts of physical objects in real-time. It emphasizes their use despite the growing capacities in virtual and real worlds. 

 

Best Game Engines

 

 

Determining the best engine for game development depends upon several factors, such as your project type, programming language, platform compatibility, and many others. Selecting the most suitable game engine requires a critical approach by analyzing your requirements and audience demands; otherwise, it can impact the project's development speed, performance, and overall success. Before you decide to choose the right engine for creating your game, here are some factors to consider:

 

1. Physics: Achieving in-game immersion through physics should strike a delicate balance between the quality of simulation and the computing power constraints of the end-user.
   
   
2. Input Handling: Managing input is a frequent challenge in cross-platform development. Does your game engine effectively address this issue, simplifying the process for developers?
   
   
3. Visual Asset Processing: Game engines streamline tasks like lighting, shading, texture-mapping, and depth-of-field, reducing the programming workload significantly while enhancing visual quality.

 

Here is a breakdown of the engines for game development categorized based on platforms such as mobile, console, AR, VR, etc. 

 

For Mobile Games

 

1. Unity
2. Unreal Engine
3. Godot Engine
4. Cocos2d
5. GameMaker Studio
6. Construct
7. Corona SDK
8. Phaser

 

For PC Games

 

1. Unity
2. Unreal Engine
3. Godot Engine
4. CryEngine
5. GameMaker Studio
6. RPG Maker
7. Lumberyard

 

For Console Games

 

1. Unreal Engine
2. Unity
3. CryEngine
4. Lumberyard

 

For AR/VR Platforms

 

1. Unity
2. Unreal Engine
3. Godot Engine
4. CryEngine (for VR)
5. A-Frame (WebVR framework)
6. PicoVR (for standalone VR headsets)
7. Vuforia (for AR)
8. ARCore (for Android AR)
9. ARKit (for iOS AR)
10. Oculus SDK (for Oculus VR)

 

Best Game Engines Comparison 

 

Game Engines	2D/3D	Ease of Use	VR Support
Unreal Engine	Both	High Difficulty	Yes
Amazon Lumberyard	3D Only	Low Difficulty	Yes
CryENGINE	Both	High Difficulty	Yes
Unity	Both	High Difficulty	Yes
GameMaker: Studio	2D Only	Low Difficulty	No
Godot	Both	Low Difficulty	No
Cocos2d	2D Only	Low Difficulty	No
Panda 3D	3D Only	Moderate Difficulty	No
Phaser	2D Only	Moderate Difficulty	No
Cafu Engine	3D Only	High Difficulty	No

Mobile Game Engines

Solar 2D	2D Only	Low Difficulty	No
BuildBox	2D Only	Moderate Difficulty	No
Construct 3	2D Only	Low Difficulty	No
MonoGame	Both	High Difficulty	No
Haxe	2D Only	Moderate Difficulty	No
Defold	Both	Moderate Difficulty	No

 

Benefits Of Using A Game Engine

 

Unity, Unreal Engine 4 and 5, CryEngine, etc., are few of the famous game engines and have proven to be helpful for game development. Game engines are important for managing different technical process of game development such as rendering and prototyping.

 

Here are some of the most prominent benefits of game engines:

 

Graphics and Rendering 

 

These two are the most important benefits of game engines. Game developers use Unity, Unreal, etc., to create realistic games. They use 3D render techniques such as shaders, lighting, and baking. It helps developers in getting realistic graphics, game textures, environments, and characters.

 

Cross-Platform Development

 

While developing games, the target audience must be kept in view. Stakeholders and investors for the development of a game want their game to reach a wider audience that can ultimately generate revenue. With this consideration, the best decision is to make a cross-platform game that players can access on different platforms such as console, mobile, PC, etc. 

 

Game engines support multi-platforms and make it easier for game developers to create games supported by various platforms. Another prominent benefit is that by using game engines, developers can code once and deploy multiple platforms. Moreover, they are also compatible with other operating systems such as Windows, iOS, Android, etc. They can help in seamless development by adapting graphics and input for different device specifications.

 

Asset Management

 

Game engines often include asset management systems for organizing and importing assets like 3D models, textures, and audio, for the organization and management of various 3D assets such as game props, game environments, textures, VFX and SFX, engines for game development help in importing the assets and converting the files to the required formats. Moreover, famous engines for game development, like Amazon Lumberyard, Unity, Unreal, etc., are also critical to version control and bring collaborative asset management while developing games. 

 

Prototyping and Rapid Development

 

Game engines facilitate rapid prototyping with their tools for quick iteration and gameplay testing, allowing developers to iterate and test. Moreover, they provide game developers with scripting languages and visual scripting interfaces for rapid game UI and UX development. Also, the pre-existing assets and libraries, and prefabs help rescue the game elements for other similar features and customizing the game elements.

 

Scalability

 

Another benefit is scalability by using game egnines. They help in creating high-performance games that have top-quality graphics and game mechanics. The game engines continue to have updates and upgraders that ease a lot of developing process. They play an important role in creating MMORPG, game streaming, and game mechanics. 

 

Game Engine Features

 

The essential features of a game engine depend upon the game requirements. It entirely depends upon the game genre and gaming platform, as you want to avoid any pitfalls that may occur. However, here are some of the core features of various game engines:

 

For creating a basic 2D game or a casual game, here are important features:

 

• Common elements (vector/point, matrix, color, etc.)
• Audio system

 

 

• Graphics system

 

 

• Collision system

 

 

• Window management framework
• Input handling

 

 

In the graphics engine, you will probably want support for:

 

• Textured/untextured quads (with/without lighting)

 

 

• Polylines/beams
• Debug lines/boxes / circles / grids

 

 

• Text rendering
• Particle systems

 

 

For more complex and high-performance projects, here are the features your game engine should provide: 

 

• Animation

 

 

• Models / Entities / Agents

 

 

• Scripting / Event systems

 

 

• UI widgets

 

 

• World/scene management
• Pathfinding

 

 

• File system

 

 

Unity and Unreal Game Development

Create casual or ultra-realistic games on the best game engines to fuel your business ROI. Outsource your game development project to our expert unity and unreal experts to quickly start the development process and gain more users. 

 

Contact us today and take your project to the next level.