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So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

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Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#11

Post by badsectoracula »

(Considering the linked section) that is more or less how Petra Engine[0] came to be - making a gamejam game[1] for MSDOS over a few weeks. Though while i did make it for that specific game, i always had in mind that i may want to use it for other games in the future too so i tried to make it more "generic" and keep the engine and game bits separate while avoiding too many game-specific stuff (didn't fully manage it though - in the end i've been removing PAP-specific things and a bunch of hardcoded stuff over the years whenever i feel like using it).

That said, despite making a bunch of demos[2][3][4][5] since 2021 when i made the game, i never made any game using it after that as i always lose interest - perhaps i do need to be making an engine from scratch to keep myself interested :-P.

[0] http://runtimeterror.com/tech/petra/ (note the version is very old and i've made a lot of improvements since then - this includes the Codeberg repository which i'll move somewhere else at some point)

[1] https://bad-sector.itch.io/post-apocalyptic-petra

[2] http://runtimeterror.com/pages/iv/images/44d7537fb719e00fdcd...

[3] http://runtimeterror.com/pages/iv/images/d22ff83dd5e5109e02e...

[4] http://runtimeterror.com/pages/iv/images/1da6a4bce430a8d8507...

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx9KmkTLcB0

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#12

Post by kyzcdev »

drivers99 wrote: post #9
kyzcdev wrote: post #2

I believe the instinct to develop a game engine or framework comes down from loving programming and being passionate about mastering a tool. We humans love mastering something and we love masters, when we build something from scratch we own it, we are master of it and we lead the decision. That's so comforting and pleasurable, and the reward we see at the end of the path motivates us. But on the process it's too hard…

What's doomcoding? (It's not mentioned in the article and it doesn't appear to be a related term when I google it.) It sounds negative ("doom" + "we should limit ourselves" from it) but everything you said in the context before that sounds good.

Coding for pleasure I mean. We start a project and then get bored. Like Doomscrolling, for pleasure.

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#14

Post by kyzcdev »

vector_spaces wrote: post #5
daledavies wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we have to try these things at least once. My own attempt to write a javascript framework ended with me realising that I needed to put more effort into planning and research, which was a valuable lesson for me.

Right, I think the usual point here that if your goal is to make a game, then this is usually the painful route and conveniently one that up-fronts the likely more exciting and comfortable part for a software engineer, namely the software engineering. It also tends to defer the very important business of learning rather quickly whether our idea even leads to a fun game in the first place That said, it's still a worth…

Balance is required for everything. There was a youtuber called Randy, he tried to build everything from scratch using C and it took him 6-7 years to finally release a game. Meanwhile I watched a youtuber who just made games from fake-ads in Unity and marketed it well and earned bunch of money.

Do we want money or do we want to get the pleasure of being an engineer and make money as a side quest?

There was a video of tsoding about why he doesn't have a job, he says "when I have enough money for my needs I just go into coding instead of working". I like his vision. He likes coding for the sake of programming and earns money as a side quest.

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#15

Post by nsyne »

kyzcdev wrote: post #12
drivers99 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's doomcoding? (It's not mentioned in the article and it doesn't appear to be a related term when I google it.) It sounds negative ("doom" + "we should limit ourselves" from it) but everything you said in the context before that sounds good.

Coding for pleasure I mean. We start a project and then get bored. Like Doomscrolling, for pleasure.

I don't think I agree with this. Doomscrolling has a negative connotation - of wasting your time and being unhealthy for the mind. I don't see coding the same way. Sometimes, I code to finish a project and it's a major milestone and I feel accomplished. Other times, I just code something because it sounds like I'd enjoy it and it's fun. I feel fulfilled nonetheless, even if it goes nowhere. I wouldn't equate it to doomscrolling.

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#16

Post by lstodd »

kyzcdev wrote: post #14
vector_spaces wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, I think the usual point here that if your goal is to make a game, then this is usually the painful route and conveniently one that up-fronts the likely more exciting and comfortable part for a software engineer, namely the software engineering. It also tends to defer the very important business of learning rather quickly whether our idea even leads to a fun game in the first place That said, it's still a worth…

Balance is required for everything. There was a youtuber called Randy, he tried to build everything from scratch using C and it took him 6-7 years to finally release a game. Meanwhile I watched a youtuber who just made games from fake-ads in Unity and marketed it well and earned bunch of money. Do we want money or do we want to get the pleasure of being an engineer and make money as a side quest? There was a video of…

There is another angle: what if you want to express yourself, but, say, Unity is too limiting? Existing game engines were made to express existing ideas and while there is some stretch they do have hard limits.

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#17

Post by lstodd »

indy wrote: post #6
kyzcdev wrote: post #2

I believe the instinct to develop a game engine or framework comes down from loving programming and being passionate about mastering a tool. We humans love mastering something and we love masters, when we build something from scratch we own it, we are master of it and we lead the decision. That's so comforting and pleasurable, and the reward we see at the end of the path motivates us. But on the process it's too hard…

It helps to just write games and then over time an engine will emerge from the common code you carry across projects. Starting from a checklist of features for a game engine almost always ends in wasted effort

Exactly.

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#18

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

nsyne wrote: post #15
kyzcdev wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coding for pleasure I mean. We start a project and then get bored. Like Doomscrolling, for pleasure.

I don't think I agree with this. Doomscrolling has a negative connotation - of wasting your time and being unhealthy for the mind. I don't see coding the same way. Sometimes, I code to finish a project and it's a major milestone and I feel accomplished. Other times, I just code something because it sounds like I'd enjoy it and it's fun. I feel fulfilled nonetheless, even if it goes nowhere. I wouldn't equate it to do…

"Pridecoding"?

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#19

Post by jewel »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #18
nsyne wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I agree with this. Doomscrolling has a negative connotation - of wasting your time and being unhealthy for the mind. I don't see coding the same way. Sometimes, I code to finish a project and it's a major milestone and I feel accomplished. Other times, I just code something because it sounds like I'd enjoy it and it's fun. I feel fulfilled nonetheless, even if it goes nowhere. I wouldn't equate it to do…

"Pridecoding"?

"Hobbyhacking"?

Re: So, you want to make a game engine (2023)

#20

Post by ml_giant »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #18
nsyne wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I agree with this. Doomscrolling has a negative connotation - of wasting your time and being unhealthy for the mind. I don't see coding the same way. Sometimes, I code to finish a project and it's a major milestone and I feel accomplished. Other times, I just code something because it sounds like I'd enjoy it and it's fun. I feel fulfilled nonetheless, even if it goes nowhere. I wouldn't equate it to do…

"Pridecoding"?

Maybe just “coding”?
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