Introduction

Long has the topic of game engines been debated. Many people swear by one of them, and others bounce through them depending on their needs. So far in these devlogs, I’ve talked about game design. Today, I’m going to share the more technical side of things. Now, with that, some people don’t use a game engine at all. I’ve chosen to use c++ for this project, so let’s talk about those game engines.

To Use a Game Engine?

If you have followed this devlog series, you know that I chose to use SDL, which is not a game engine, but a graphics library. However, here, I’ll tell why. There are so many options when it comes to a c++ game engine. Things like Unreal, Godot, and Allegro. CLIPS needs to be small to run on most  computers. This means that a game engine would not be helpful in terms of space. Even though they are easy, I decided to make the user experience simpler.

This would be different if CLIPs was a 3D game. If it was, I would use unreal engine, hands down, because of its power. But CLIPs is 2D, so I want to create a 2D game engine to use.

Making A Game Engine

To start, I must confess, I am not good at c++. I learned how to program like a master, but not how to code like one. So, with my experience, how do I make an engine? It’s simple. I follow a tutorial for a basis, and then develop off it. At first, it was chaotic and made without an engine. Now, it is easy to add behavior, decoration, and other game components. Overall, this approach has been my favorite and the easiest way to begin developing my dream horror game.

Want to play other puzzle games like this? Try:

Mere Tiles (Demo)

Or, for a finished game:

The Forest of Endings

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