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Geek Culture / What is a Game Engine For?

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old_School
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Posted: 26th Nov 2011 21:41
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I want to post this question to see what others post. It's clear a lot of people are unclear as to the answer or the right answer should be. So please let people post their view rather its correct or not and then let us have a Mod or developer inform people of their views on what a engine is and how it should be used/viewed. Please reframe from quoting or referring to other posts when stating your thoughts.

I think it would be a good idea for TGC + Mods to review the responses, this way they can better understand people’s views on their products. I also am interested in the responses my self. As I plan on making some engine like software in the near future as well. So please keep your post civil and do not quote or bash others as well in your post.

Here are my thoughts:

A game engine to me is a platform or a base foundation for your software. Rather you’re making a video game or office software it provides a simple base of common code you need or intend to use in your program. Some engines allow detailed creation and others allow basic creation. In the end it’s nothing more then a collection of commonly used code you intend to use as a platform or base for your software. The primary use of it is to save you time and provide a organized direction for you to program your software.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 26th Nov 2011 23:47
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A system designed for the creation and development of games, which may be built up of a graphics engine, a physics engine, an audio engine and a scripting engine (and whatever else engine). The engine may include some editing tools, but I don't think it's essential to defining an engine. My basic text adventure engine just relied on scripting and required no editors (except Notepad), of course I could have coded an editor for making the scripts, but instead I'm lazy and just use a template of my basic script and just added what I needed.

The way I've approached engines is that you've got all the game elements already coded, you've just got to script in what you need and add the content. Of course, some engines offer more freedom than others - some try to cover as many bases as possible so you've got a lot of flexibility when it comes to scripting and some will allow you to edit the source code and recompile the engine.

Of course, at the end of the day it's all designed to be a time saver. If we were to use examples:
Dark Basic Pro - Not a game engine, but a programming language based on basic and is built around Direct X 9.0
FPS Creator - A Game Engine (which was built inside of Dark Basic Pro)

Both of course can be used to create games.

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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 00:41
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its easier to make games on an engine than hardcode it. but the advantage hardcoding a game might apply if the game needs some features that the engine does not support. Im proboly wrong about this. I tried hardcoding a game in dark basic, and i was making good progress too, but then i thought to myself about tyhe amount i have coded already and all the things i will have to add to it eventually and it occured to me how complicated its gonna be so i quit making the game and decided that i will try to build an engine first. Its gonna be vaery hard and it will take me a long time to do, but in the end it will sharpen my dark basic skills, and make a game a lot easier to make.


dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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MrValentine
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 04:58 Edited at: 27th Nov 2011 06:43
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A good way to look at what an engine is might be... to look up the meaning of the word engine... Preferably in a software development dictionary or glossary type thing... like maybe... wikipedia... http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine

EDIT

As you might have guessed I am using my mobile... here is the full desktop link...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Game_engine&mobileaction=view_normal_site

EDIT

sorry but could not resist...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dark_Basic_Pro&mobileaction=view_normal_site


EDIT

oops forgot to mention what I saw an Game Engine as...

Sorry...

To me a game engine at first before I started any sort of programming like DBPro... was they're those gimmick things... but after I took a closer look and realised after first hand experience... they indeed are Learning tools as well as building blocks from which to expand from.

They also help shape your production as sometimes they have specific procedures to follow... this I believe is true of that Unity Web Player... but to me something like FPSC... would be more a prototyping tool as it allows RAPID creation of maps which can be used in DBPro to expand upon as far as I know... So in short... Engines are a spring board to a quick prototype... in my opinion that is of course.

Also to elaborate on the prototype mention... some engines are often geared towards certain game types... take for instance... FPSC... its an FPSC engine... But can also be used for a first person adventure game or even an educational experience... and some for multiple scenarios...

Basically you make of your tools what you can.

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old_School
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 06:25
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This is your understanding of what you think a game enigne is etc in your own words. Please read the orginal post, follow directions and please correct your post above. Thank you.
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Thraxas
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 09:41
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To me a game engine is something that speeds up game development, by providing a base on which to build your games.

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DevilLiger
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Posted: 28th Nov 2011 09:50
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I agree Thraxas.

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Zotoaster
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Posted: 28th Nov 2011 10:12
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When talking about game engines it's important to talk about the distinction of interface and implementation. That is, the implementation is hidden to the user, but the interface isn't. A game engine is thus an API.

The game engine will process all the stuff you tell it to, and you do this by using it's interface. If the underlying implementation is robust, then using it's interface should mean you don't break it. This is where game engines are useful - they give you flexibility and security. If you want to make a game without a game engine, chances are you'll make some sort of framework upon which to base your game, otherwise it gets messy and hard to keep track of. Game engines simply provide you with such a framework, except they have been tested and are extendible, so you can add new features that the engine will incorporate.

Use engines.

"everyone forgets a semi-colon sometimes." - Phaelax
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Indicium
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Posted: 28th Nov 2011 15:38
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Quote: "Use engines."


I disagree with this. Engines can't tailor to everybody's needs.

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Grog Grueslayer
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Posted: 28th Nov 2011 17:40
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I consider Darkbasic Pro to be an engine but not just a game engine. 99% of the time I use Darkbasic to make applications to speed up my real life work. Even if Darkbasic is used to do something as simple as alphabetizing a list that only takes 7 lines of code you've created an engine.

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nonZero
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Posted: 28th Nov 2011 21:55
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Hmmm... I guess I'd say my take is an engine is anything that's been hardcoded to produce a result from a script. The line between engine and api is a little blurry though, granted.

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Zotoaster
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Posted: 29th Nov 2011 02:34
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Quote: "I disagree with this. Engines can't tailor to everybody's needs."


Some are very lightweight and flexible and can be extended in any way you want. I would think of Irrlicht in this way. Some are more specific. But there are so many game engines that you're bound to find one that does do what you want.

"everyone forgets a semi-colon sometimes." - Phaelax
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Indicium
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Posted: 29th Nov 2011 14:11
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Fair enough. I'd consider Irrlicht as a graphics engine, not a games engine, thus my statement.

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Zotoaster
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Posted: 29th Nov 2011 15:37
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I guess that's a fair distinction to make. I think it still makes a good analogy though. I mean it could include features for networking, music, scripting, etc, and still be as open ended as it is just now. I would call that a proper game engine, as it can handle all your scenes and other such entities, but still be flexible enough to do literally just about everything you want.

I think there's some confusion about game engines. Things like DBPro are very open-ended and allow for a lot of flexibility, and so people often assume it's not a game engine. I would argue that it is. DBPro is more than just a language - the language is in the syntax and the semantics. Part of the DBPro package is graphics, sounds, etc, and that goes beyond the scope of what anyone would normally define as a "language". If it's not a game engine, then it's at least a game library, which is in the ballpark.

"everyone forgets a semi-colon sometimes." - Phaelax
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bitJericho
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Posted: 29th Nov 2011 16:01
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I'd consider DBPro a compiled programming language containing a built-in game library.


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Travis Gatlin
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Posted: 30th Nov 2011 04:52
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To me: Game engines are programs to assist you in building games in a convenient, faster, more custom, and more precise manor.

http://awolthehunted.blogspot.com/
For the latest news on my FPS in development, check out my blog!
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ionstream
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Posted: 30th Nov 2011 06:19
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In a word: Abstraction. It separates the game logic from the technical backend. A game engine allows programmers and designers to create objects like Players and Enemies, without having to think about OpenGL textures or vertex objects, or anything that isn't specific to the game itself.

Quote: "I'd consider DBPro a compiled programming language containing a built-in game library."


Yeah I'd agree, I think DBPro is not a game engine by itself but allows for rapid development of engines, and therefore games.

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