Hello everyone,
I’m making an isometric RPG game using C++ and Raylib.
I’ve been working on it for about 4 months now, and most of that time has gone into writing my own little engine/framework around Raylib.
Since I’m new to game development (but not programming), I’m a bit unsure about some technical decisions I need to make. Right now, I’m trying to figure out a good level design workflow.
Here’s what I have in mind: for each level, I design the map and entity textures in Blender, export them as PNGs, then design the level itself somewhere, and finally load it into the code. I’ve thought about several ways to do this. I’m leaning toward one, but I’d like your opinions:
- Use Blender as the level editor.
Blender’s editor is essentially like a game engine editor, and since I’m designing my maps and models there anyway, I could theoretically assemble the level directly in Blender, then export a config file using the Python API. The problem is, I’m not sure if this is practical (I’m new to Blender), and since my game is 2D, designing levels in 3D means I wouldn’t see the exact end result while working, which could lead to inaccuracies. - Create a minimal level editor using my game code.
This way, the process would be more accurate and tailored to the game itself. The editor could export JSON or binary files, which I’d then load in the game. - Build a custom editor with Lua as the “source of truth.”
This is the option I’m leaning toward. The idea is to have a Lua file for each level, with bidirectional synchronization between the editor and the Lua file(s). Lua would act kind of like Unity’s property editor: easy to read, write, and tweak directly in code (which I generally prefer over GUIs). For the release version of the game, I’m considering generating a C++ file from the Lua data, since I don’t want the final build to read levels directly from Lua, because performance is very important to me.
My concern is that this last option excites me (because I enjoy building tools like this), but that also makes me worry I might be biased. I’m not sure if it’s the best choice in terms of time investment and technical soundness.
Sorry this turned out a bit long. I’d really appreciate your comments and advice!
