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With indie game design on the rise there’s a growing demand for new tools and game engines.

My engine is 100% data driven so all the logic is handled by Lua, I'm instantiating a LuaGameObject in my game which is a wrapper for an instance of a Lua class (using some meta table tricks), each game object has the following handlers: construct destruct update If the object has a physical representation: collide. Leadwerks game engine is a cross-platform game development engine that is great for beginners. In fact, it stresses the ease of access and use of the engine for newer programmers. The engine utilizes C, Objective-C, and Lua as its programming languages, with a particular emphasis on Lua and LuaJT.

The advantage of using a game engine is that is solves many universal problems that apply to all games. Things like user input, physics, lighting, rendering, and collision are all pre-designed so you can focus on the fun part: making games.

But there are so many free game engines all competing for your creative energy. How do you choose?

Before diving into this list I’d like to say that there is no “one engine to rule them all.”

Each engine has its strengths and weaknesses. Each will have its advantages for certain projects. Also, each engine has its own style and user in mind.

Construct 2 is aimed at beginners and non-programmers while the Unreal Engine was originally built for first-person shooters.

Search around, try a few, see which ones stand out. The more you play around the more you’ll learn about the game design process.

And don’t be afraid of making the wrong choice! Every game engine will teach useful skills with many shared features between them all.

1. Godot

The Godot engine is your open source solution for true cross-platform game development.

It’s my engine of choice for 2D game development and it works well with 3D too. The release of Godot 3.0 brought a major update to the 3D features, bringing it up to speed with other modern game engines while keeping the free price tag.

Godot also offers a dedicated 2D engine that works in pixel coordinates and makes 2D development a breeze.

With a variety of languages available including C++, C#, and GDScript(a python variant), Godot is easy to program and easy to learn.

The best part of the Godot engine is the scene and node system. It makes organizing your games easy which speeds up development and improves the scalability of your projects.

With powerful animation tools and a built-in scripting editor, making games with Godot is a joy. Definitely worth a try, especially if you’re into 2D projects.

2. Armory

Here’s a neat open-source game engine that integrates with the 3D animation software Blender, one of the most popular choices for anyone in the 3D open source community.

Blender is a popular choice among indie developers so Armory solves the problem of having to bounce between programs to develop games.

There are several demos available to get you started, including a twin-stick game and third-person character demo.

Before learning Armory it helps to have knowledge of Blender and its exhaustive list of tools.

But if you want a game engine that’s big in the open source world, Armory is well worth looking into. Plus if you never learned Blender it’s not a bad idea to pick that up!

3. Unity

If you’re looking for a one-size-fits-all game engine, Unity is basically what you want.

It boasts an accessible but powerful set of tools that have made Unity the most popular game engine around.

Because of its powerful cross-platform toolset, Unity has been used to create hit games like Pokemon Go, Hearthstone, and Rimworld.

Perhaps the best part of Unity is the massive community which provides a never-ending supply of new assets and learning resources. If you have the time and dedication to put into learning Unity, the community will be a wildly valuable asset.

Using pre-made assets and Unity’s advanced rendering engine, it’s possible to get a beautiful prototype up and running within days or weeks.

Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, Unity developers also have the option of using Visual Studio as a scripting editor. Visual Studio provides tools that offer vast improvements over Unity’s native experience and it’s useful if you typically code in MS Visual Studio anyways.

Note that Unity is not 100% free if you’re making money with the game. To practice and build your own stuff, totally free. But check out their store for pricing details if you want to actually publish a game and earn some real money from it.

4. Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine 4 is truly the rock star of this list.

Responsible for games like Fortnite, Player Unknown Battlegrounds, and even the final choice for Kingdom Hearts 3, Unreal Engine offers everything you need to make stunning high-quality games.

To design a real AAA game you’d likely need a massive team. But that doesn’t mean a small indie studio can’t dive in and start working on something here.

Unreal’s graphics capabilities rival CryEngine, but Unreal is more polished and user-friendly.

Scripting is handled in C++ so you may benefit from some programming background. But with Blueprints, a node-based scripting editor, Unreal developers can create behavior without writing a single line of code.

Epic has provided a variety of tutorials to help beginners get comfortable with the engine. Unreal also offers cross-platform support and templates for both 2D and 3D games.

Like Unity, Unreal has its own asset marketplace where uses can find models and tools to use in their own projects.

Lua Game Engine Tutorial

While it does feature quality content, Unreal’s marketplace isn’t as robust as Unity’s asset store. But don’t let that dissuade you from trying it!

End of the day you will never go wrong trying Unreal and learning this platform inside-out. It can be used on practically any game so what you learn here can carry over to practically any other game engine.

5. CryEngine

CryEngine is a powerful 3D game engine aimed at delivering state of the art graphics for console or PC.

With solid VR support and advanced visual effects, CryEngine appeals to developers looking to make photorealistic games or next-gen games on a platform like Steam.

Generally speaking, this game engine aims for AAA quality content with highly detailed & super realistic characters. Like Unity and Unreal 4, CryEngine offers a suite of tools to make game development easier.

This is definitely worth picking up if you’re serious about high-level game design.

With CryEngine’s level editor and design tools, efficient level editing is possible even with a semi-novice skillset. Developing a complete working game from start to finish can be pretty fast once you really learn the engine.

Unfortunately, CryEngine has a reputation for being difficult to use and harder to learn than most engines. Total beginners should probably start somewhere else to at least get familiar with how a game engine works.

Also worth noting this engine is totally free to use, but when publishing a commercial game there is a royalty to consider. Check out the registration page for more info there.

6. Defold

Looking for a 2D game engine? Well Defold packs everything you need for development into one tool.

It’s marketed as the best way to make games for web and mobile designers. And with built-in version control and team management features, they may be right.

By focusing on 2D game development Defold can deliver a streamlined package with tools geared specifically towards the 2D world.

Getting started is easy with the many detailed tutorials provided in the editor right after installation. Following through can take a few hours but you’ll learn all the basics of building a platformer from scratch, or creating background parallax effects, or whatever you want!

Defold uses the Lua programming language for scripting behaviors. It’s also free and open source, keeping with the goal of providing a lightweight & free development experience.

7. Monogame

So Monogame is an open source framework made specifically for creating cross-platform games.

Fans of the popular Stardew Valley will be pleased to learn it was developed using Monogame.

Those w

Lua Game Engine C++