Y
ou probably hear about 'video game engines' all the time, but what are they? Simply, they are fundamental parts of games which developers can create or buy to help cut costs and time around creating their own engine.The term 'reinventing the wheel' is used a lot in software development and is a term used to describe the process of making something unnecessarily. Making a game engine requires large amounts of skill, time and money. Something which not all developers can do. Cost is a huge factor, it will usually take 2 to 3 years to make an effective engine and then a further 1 or 2 years to develop a game ontop of that engine. Costs now-a-day run into the millions to create a video game and developing an engine just adds to that cost.
Developers, however, can turn to those amongst them who are offering their own engines to be used in games for a tidy price. Thus, the booming trade of video game engines is born. In this article, we'll step through some engines you've probably encountered and why they're so popular.
Unreal EngineDeveloper: Epic Games
Current Version: 3
The Unreal Engine is one of the most popular game engines out there today. Over it's time in use, it's appeared in games such as Postal 2, Unreal Tournament, Gears of War and even Mirror's Edge. Outside of the world of video games, it's used by a wide range of CGI movie companies such as Warner Bros., Sony Columbia and TriStar Pictures.
The Unreal Engine handles things from model (3D character/stages) rendering, collision detection (keeping your character from going through floors and walls) and Artificial Intelligence (keep enemies shootin' you). Version 3 includes sophisticated physics engines which treat objects as they would in real life. Wood has the same properties of real-world wood.
Source Engine
Developer: Valve
Current Version: 14
Source, probably best know for it's place in the title of a version of the popular online first person shooter; Counter Strike: Source. It's appeared in games such as Half Life, Portal, Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead. And has been licensed out to companies like Ubisoft to create games such as Dark Messiah, Postal 3 and Zeno Clash.
Although now showing it's age, it can still dish out the goods. The game handles a lot of aspects of the game along with a heavily edited Havok Physics engine. Later versions of the engine include some nifty features such as HDR lighting (used to give games greater realistic lighting effects).
Havok Engine
Developed by: Havok, Intel
Current Version: 6
Havok is one of the most common physics engines in the video game world. Used by several hundred video game titles as well known as Dead Rising, Alone in the Dark, Halo 2/3, Motorstorm, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and even Time Crisis 4. It's use is so widespread by no little part of it's versatility. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, it was used along side 2 other simulation engines. Not bad for an engine near enough 9 years old.
Since it's initial arrival, Havok has been bought out by one of the biggest names in the computing industry; Intel.
id Tech 5
Developed by: id
Herelded as the "Doom 4 Engine", it's currently being used for ID's more near-release title; Rage. It's an engine which enables utterly huge worlds to be highly detailed. Shown off at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in 2007, the initial demo for the engine shown a huge map in development for Rage with over 20GB (yep, gigabytes) of texture data being streamed in as needed. What does that mean? Well, simple. It means that more detailed worlds can be made. No more fuzzy textures or long load times as the game gathers all the textures from the disc. The engine will be licensed out to other developers, with potential licensees shown a more modern demo at E3 earlier this year.
C4 Engine
Developed by: Terathon Software
Current Version:1.4
As an example of a more freely available engine, the C4 Engine is an engine open to just about anyone. A highly flexible pricing scheme makes the engine viable for indie gamers and big publishers alike. Although used in games which are so far un-noteworthy (sorry developers), the C4 engine licences start at $350 US dollars or about 140 pounds sterling.
For this you'll get a basic game engine which covers audio, graphics and even input methods (controllers, keyboards, ect). Developers are more likely to enjoy these bonuses rather than the player.
G
ame Engines come in various different forms and can take on jobs of several different aspects of simulation to emulate real life. A lot of games' features are embedded in the game's engine which are usually highly customisable to meet the desired need. For example, take Gears of War and Mirror's Edge, both use the game game engine. One's a first person adventure game with weak combat mechanics, the other's a rough third person shooter game with excellent combat mechanics. Both use the same basic game engine (Unreal Engine 3). If you've played a game within the last 5 years, there's a good chance the game is running on an already existing engine or that engine will be used in future games you play. It's also a roaring trade for game companies who can now specialise in one field and get huge returns from licensing out the engine rather than making a game ontop of it.
