Game engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor.[1] The "engine" terminology is akin to the term "software engine" used more widely in the software industry.
Game engine can also refer to the development software supporting this framework, typically a suite of tools and features for developing games.[2][3]
Developers can use game engines to construct games for video game consoles and other types of computers. The core functionality typically provided by a game engine may include a rendering engine ("renderer") for 2D or 3D graphics, a physics engine or collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, scene graph, and video support for cinematics. Game engine implementers often economize on the process of game development by reusing/adapting, in large part, the same game engine to produce different games[4] or to aid in porting games to multiple platforms.
Game engines as an industry[edit]
Producers of game engines decide how they allow users to utilize their products. Just as gaming is an industry, so are the engines they are built off. The major game engines come at varying prices, whether it be in the form of subscription fees or license payments.[20] Unity and the Unreal Engine are currently the two most popular choices for game developers.[21] Although the differences among the different game engines blur as they build their own tools on top of them, different game developers may be too used to a system to change, or attracted by the huge benefits of such engines regardless of pay-walls.
Game middleware[edit]
In the broader sense of the term, game engines themselves can be described as middleware. In the context of video games, however, the term "middleware" is often used to refer to subsystems of functionality within a game engine. Some game middleware does only one thing but does it more convincingly or more efficiently than general purpose middleware.
The four most widely used middleware packages[22] that provide subsystems of functionality include RAD Game Tools' Bink, Firelight FMOD, Havok, and Scaleform GFx. RAD Game Tools develops Bink for basic video rendering, along with Miles audio, and Granny 3D rendering. Firelight FMOD is a low cost robust audio library and toolset. Havok provides a robust physics simulation system, along with a suite of animation and behavior applications. Scaleform provides GFx for high performance Flash UI and high-quality video playback, and an Input Method Editor (IME) add-on for in-game Asian chat support.
Other middleware is used for performance optimisation—for example 'Simplygon' helps to optimise and generate level of detail meshes, and 'Umbra' adds occlusion culling optimisations to 3d graphics.
Some middleware contains full source code, others just provide an API reference for a compiled binary library. Some middleware programs can be licensed either way, usually for a higher fee for full source code.
