List of game engines
Several tools called game engines are available for game designers to code a game quickly and easily without building from the ground up.
Free / open source engines
| Primary programming language | Bindings | Cross-platform? | SDL? | Scripting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleph One | C | N/A | Yes | Yes | Lua, Marathon Markup Language |
| Allegro library | C | Ada, C++, C#, D, Lisp, Lua, Mercury, Pascal, Perl, Python, Scheme | Yes | No | N/A |
| Axiom Engine | C# | N/A | Yes | Yes | Dynamic Language Runtime |
| Blender3D | C++ | Python | Yes | — | Python |
| Box2D | C++ | Java, ActionScript, C#, JavaScript, D, Python, DarkBasic, Lua | Yes | No | N/A |
| Build engine | C | N/A | No | No | N/A |
| Cafu Engine | C++ | N/A | Yes | — | Lua |
| ClanLib | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Crystal Space | C++ | Python, Perl, Java | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Cube | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Cube 2 | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| DarkPlaces | C | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Delta3d | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | Python |
| id Tech 1 | C | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| DXFramework | C++ | N/A | No | No | Python |
| Exult | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Genesis3D | C | N/A | No | No | N/A |
| Genesis Device | Object Pascal | N/A | No | No | Pascal Script |
| Glest | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | Lua |
| id Tech 2 | C | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| id Tech 3 | C | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| ika | C++, C# | N/A | Yes | No | Python |
| ioquake3 | C | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Irrlicht Engine | C++ | Java, Perl, Ruby, Python, FreeBASIC, Lua, Delphi, Game Maker | Yes | Yes | Squirrel |
| jMonkeyEngine | Java | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| Jogre | Java | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| Lightweight Java Game Library | Java | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| LÖVE | Lua | N/A | Yes | Yes | Lua |
| Nebula Device | C++ | Python, Java | Yes | No | Lua, Tcl/Tk |
| OpenSceneGraph | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| ORX | C | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Panda3D | C++ | Python | Yes | No | Python |
| Quake engine | C | N/A | Yes | No | QuakeC |
| PLIB | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Retribution Engine | C++ | N/A | No | No | N/A |
| Second Life | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | N/A |
| SLUDGE | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | SLUDGE |
| Sphere | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | JavaScript |
| Spring | C++ | N/A | Yes | No | Lua |
| Stratagus | C | N/A | Yes | Yes | Lua |
| Troll2D | C++ | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Verge 3.2 | VC | N/A | Yes | Yes | Lua, VergeC |
| Xilon Engine II | Visual Basic .NET | N/A | No | No | N/A |
Freeware engines
These engines are available for free use, but without the source code being available under an open source license. Many of these engines are commercial products which have a free edition available for them:
- Adventure Game Studio – Mainly used to develop third-person pre-rendered adventure games, this engine is one of the most popular for developing amateur adventure games.
- dim3 – Freeware 3D javascript engine for the Mac (although finished games are cross platform).
- Game Maker Lite – Object-oriented game development software with a scripting language as well as a drag-and-drop interface.
- M.U.G.E.N – A 2D fighting game engine.
- Panda3D – (Releases prior to May 28, 2008) A relatively easy to use C++ game engine with Python bindings that was made by Disney and is owned by Carnegie Mellon University. Disney uses it to produce some of their games.
- Platinum_Arts_Sandbox_Free_3D_Game_Maker - Open source and based on the Cube_2:_Sauerbraten engine with a focus on game creation and designed for kids and adults. The program includes Non commercial content, but the main engine and large majority of the media can be used commercially. The Exciting Adventures of Master Chef Ogro was created using this engine by High School students.
- Unity – An open-ended 3D game/interactive software engine for web, Windows, and Mac OS X. Upgrading to paid licenses can additionally enable support for the iPhone and Nintendo Wii.
- World Builder – A classic Mac OS game engine.
- Wintermute Engine – A runtime and development tools for creating 2D and 2.5D point'n'click adventure games.[1][2]
- RGSS - An engine made by enterbrain to create RPG's using RPG Maker XP. RGSS2 was used for RPG Maker VX.
Commercial engines
- Alamo - the engine used in Star Wars: Empire at War by Petroglyph Games.
- A.L.I.V.E. - the engine used in Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus by Oddworld Inhabitants.
- Aurora Engine – For Role-playing games.
- BigWorld - Server, client and development tools for the development of MMOG for games that run on Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3.
- BRender – A real-time 3D graphics engine for computer games, simulators and graphic tools.
- C4 Engine – A cross-platform game engine developed by Terathon Software.
- Cafu Engine – A game engine with development tools for creating multiplayer, cross-platform, real-time 3D games and applications.
- Coldstone game engine – An old game creation suite for Macintosh/Windows to create role-playing or adventure-style games.
- CPAL3D - Complete game creation tools with scene editor, IDE and text server. Best known for adventure games, for instance Memento Mori.
- CryEngine, CryEngine 2, CryEngine 3 – The game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry. CryEngine 2 is a new generation engine developed by Crytek to create the FPS game Crysis.
- Crystal Tools – Square Enix's proprietary seventh generation game engine.
- DX Studio – Engine and editing suite that allows creation of real-time games and simulations.
- Dunia Engine – Engine (heavily modified version of the CryEngine (1)) made especially for Far Cry 2 by Ubisoft Montreal.
- Earth-4 Engine – The graphics engine used in Earth 2160
- Electron engine – Developed by Obsidian Entertainment for their game Neverwinter Nights 2, based on the Aurora engine.
- Elflight Engine – Cross-platform 3D streaming game engine designed from the ground up for use over the Web. Games can play in a web browser window, in a separate window or full-screen. Java and OpenGL based.
- Enigma Engine – A real-time tactics game engine, used in Blitzkrieg.
- Esenthel Engine - An advanced 3D game engine, supporting unlimited sized worlds.
- Esperient Creator – A very powerful 3D modeler and engine, used world wide for training, simulation, architecture, and games. Built-in Scripting, C/C++, CScript, or Lisp, Shader Editor, import 50+ 3D formats.
- Euphoria – This is a biomechanical Ragdoll engine by NaturalMotion.
- Freescape (1986) – Incentive Software; One of the first proprietary 3D game engines, used in Driller and 3D Construction Kit.
- Frostbite Engine – Game engine used for the next-gen title Battlefield: Bad Company.
- Gamebryo – Cross-platform game middleware for professional developers, notable for its rapid development.
- GameSalad - A 2D game engine that currently targets the iPhone and a Apple Safari Web-plugin developed by Gendai Games. Has a visual programming interface that allows for rapid development.
- Gamestudio - A 2D and 3D game engine for beginners. Uses the Gamestudio development system and the lite-C programming language.
- Glacier, Glacier2 – Developed by IO Interactive and used for the Hitman series of games. Glacier2 is a new generation engine currently in development for upcoming games.[3]
- GrimE - Used in LucasArts graphical adventure games starting with Grim Fandango.
- Hedgehog Engine - Created by the Sonic Team with the capability of rendering high quality graphics at high speed. It was first used in Sonic Unleashed.
- HeroEngine - 3D game engine by Simutronics for building MMOs in a live collaborative environment.
- id Tech 4 – (Also known as Doom 3 engine) Used by the games Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey and Quake Wars. Will become Open Source with the release of RAGE some time in 2010[4].
- id Tech 5 - Currently in development by id Software as engine for their games, Doom 4 and Rage, and as a general purpose engine to be licensed.
- IMUSE – Specifically designed to synchronize music with visual action.
- Infernal Engine - Created by Terminal Reality, provides rendering, physics, sound, AI, and metrics for game development. Used in several games such as Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Bass Pro Shops: The Strike and Roogoo: Twisted Towers.[5]
- INSANE – Used in LucasArts games.
- Infinity Engine – Allows the creation of isometric computer role-playing games.
- Jade engine – Developed by Ubisoft, originally for Beyond Good & Evil.
- Jedi – A game engine developed by LucasArts for Star Wars: Dark Forces and Outlaws.
- Kaneva Game Platform – A MMOG engine for independent and professional game development.
- Kinetica - A game engine developed by Sony for PlayStation 2.
- Leadwerks Engine - Leadwerks Engine is a 3D engine for rendering, sound, and physics in real-time games and simulations.
- Lemon Engine - Lemon Engine is a modular set of libraries for all aspects of game development across all major platforms.
- Lithtech Jupiter Ex – Developed by Monolith Productions to create the game F.E.A.R.
- LyN engine - Developed by Ubisoft, originally for Rabbids Go Home and Beyond Good & Evil 2.
- Medusa – A C++ 3D game engine developed by Palestar and used in the DarkSpace MMO. It features distributed world simulation, single tool version control and asset realisation, cross-platform compatibility and an integrated client/server network system.
- Monumental Technology Suite – A MMOG platform, including server and client technology and development / live management tools.
- MT Framework - Game engine created by Capcom and used for their games on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
- Multimedia Fusion 2 – A 2D game development system.
- Multiverse Network – An MMOG platform, including server, client, and tools. (Free for development and use — revenue sharing upon commercial deployment).
- Odyssey Engine – Used to create three dimensional computer role-playing games, used in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Onyx Engine – Developed by Ubisoft
- PhyreEngine - A cross platform (PC & PS3) graphics engine from Sony Computer Entertainment.
- Q (game engine) - A fully pluggable, extensible and customisable framework and tools from Qube Software for PC, Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, iPhone etc created by the team behind Direct3D.
- RAGE – A game engine created by Rockstar Games to power their upcoming video games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Implemented in Grand Theft Auto 4.
- RelentENGINE – A next-generation FPS engine supporting massive destroyable city environments and realistic vehicle control, makes extensive use of shader model 3.
- RenderWare – A 3D API and graphics rendering engine.
- Revolution3D – A 3D graphics engine developed by X-Dream Project.
- RPG Maker VX – A 2D engine to make top-down and isometric-style role-playing games for Windows.
- RPG Maker XP – A 2D engine to make top-down and isometric-style role-playing games for Windows.
- RPG Maker 2003 - A 2D engine to make top-down and isometric-style role-playing games for Windows.
- RPG Maker 95 - A 2D engine to make top-down and isometric-style role-playing games for Windows.
- SAGE engine – Used to create real-time strategy games.
- Scaleform – A vector graphics rendering engine used to display Adobe Flash-based user interfaces, HUDs, and animated textures for games in PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
- SCUMM engine – Used in LucasArts graphical adventure games.
- Serious Engine – The engine by Croteam used in the epic Serious Sam: The First Encounter and The Second Encounter.
- Shark 3D – A middleware from Spinor for computer, video games and realtime 3D applications.
- ShiVa - A game engine with an authoring tool to produce 3d real time applications for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and iPhone.
- Silent Storm engine – A turn-based tactics/tactical RPG game engine, used in Silent Storm.
- Sith – A game engine developed by LucasArts for Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
- Source engine – A game engine developed by Valve Software for Half-Life 2.The SDK comes with Half Life 2
- Torque Game Engine – A modified version of a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2.
- Torque Game Engine Advanced – A next-generation 3D game engine support modern GPU hardware and shaders.
- TOSHI – A fourth generation cross platform game engine designed by Blue Tongue Entertainment.
- Truevision3D – A 3D game engine using the DirectX API.
- Unigine – Cross-platform middleware engine.
- Unity – An open-ended 3D game/interactive software engine for web, Windows, Mac OS X, the iPhone, and Nintendo Wii .
- Unreal Engine – A game engine for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 .
- Vengeance engine – A video game engine based on the Unreal Engine 2/2.5
- Vicious Engine – Available for Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation Portable
- Virtools – A 3D engine combined with high-level development framework, used for game prototyping and rapid developments. Available for Windows, Macintosh, Xbox, PSP. Can publish standalone or for the 3DVia Web Player browser plugin.
- Vision Engine – A cross platform game engine, developed by Trinigy
- Visual3D.NET Game Engine - All-in-One 3D game engine and toolset, fully written in C#/.NET for Windows A browser player is roadmapped for v1.1.
- WGAF – The game engine developed by Guild Software which powers their MMORPG Vendetta Online.
- X-Ray – The game engine developed by GSC Game World which powers their FPS series, "S.T.A.L.K.E.R".
- XnGine – Developed by Bethesda Softworks, one of the first true 3D engines.
- Zillions of Games - used to develop games that happen on a grid, like chess
Games and the game engines they use
See also
References
- ^ Marsh, David (February 26, 2008). "Nine Paths To Indie Game Greatness". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ^ Broekhuis, Erwin. "A word with Steve Ince". Adventure Developers. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ^ http://www.computerworld.dk/art/37193?a=related&i=38760&bottom
- ^ "QuakeCon Wrapup". LinuxGames. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ http://www.infernalengine.com/