What is game engine

There are a lot of definitions which people will have of it. So it is hard to say something which everyone agrees with.

What I will say is though, that if you write your first few games without concerning yourself about having a game engine, when you look back, you will have been making game engines all along. Basically, don''t worry about it is what I''m trying to say.

Check the dictionary at this site, there is probably a definition there, and also in the past posts here at the forums, I know this gets asked a fair bit.

Trying is the first step towards failure.

A set of classes/functions which abstract the use of an API (like DirectX/OpenGL) to a point where is is very much geared towards games, and maybe even a specific genre of games.

It should include support for graphics, input, sound and perhaps networking.

Just like a car moves because of the car engine, a game moves because of the game engine. Essentailly, a game engine is just a set of code that takes care of everything that moves the game from frame to frame - from the start to the finish.

I disagree....

The gamecode iself is not part of the game engine...

Game Engine code should be reused for another game. The game code cannot be reused (maybe you can rip out some things but generally you cannot).


ENGINE STUFF:
- Graphics loading code
- Graphics drawing.
- Sound loading...
- bla bla bla....

I agree with "granat".

The programs and codes that drive the game running is the game engine.

The engine with all other things like graphics and sound compose a game.

A Game engine is a library of functions for solving generic common to all or most games. This does not include any game logic, or anything that would be specific to one particular game. Many people write game engines as a set of COM objects so that everything is plug and play.

A Game engine is a library of functions for solving generic problems common to all or most games. This does not include any game logic, or anything that would be specific to one particular game. Many people write game engines as a set of COM objects so that everything is plug and play.

Forgive me for the double post...

Margd: Then delete them. You do have that option.

A game engine, as some have said, is the code which allows your game to run, yet contains none of the game itself. I personally am working on completely abstracting my engine to the point where all content can be scripted, so the engine executable doesn''t even need to be touched to radically change the game. You notice soon that you''ll have to specialize what type of engine you''re writing (for example, mine is an outdoor first-person-shooter engine) because you just can''t have the ultimate in flexibility while maintaining the border between engine and game.

Anyway,
ZE.

quote:

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Original post by granat
A set of classes/functions which abstract the use of an API (like DirectX/OpenGL) to a point where is is very much geared towards games, and maybe even a specific genre of games.

It should include support for graphics, input, sound and perhaps networking.

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I agree

- Kaijin

Took this quote from electric playground:

"A game engine is much like the engine in an automobile. It''s really what makes the game run. It empowers the graphic environment and the artificial intelligence in the character. It cues the sound. It manages the collision-detection between the characters and the environment and it''s very independent of the actual game itself. A game engine can be used in several games for completely different experiences. Take, for example, Tomb Raider. It will change every year. It will be a different gaming experience, but the technology underlying it is pretty much the same. It advances a little bit every year, so you could use, much like you use the same engine in different automobiles and drive very differently, game engines are run very much the same way in that they can be used in different games to create different experiences."

Hi,

Thank you very much ^v^

Cheers,
Yanny