Engines... not car ones, game ones!

Out in the gaming world, there are so many different engines, all doing what they need to do. Game Engines is what is needed to create the game, to make it one. It allows you to create real-time renders, add particle effects, are multiple animations, interactions and much more. But what is so special about all these engines?


Well there are a lot of engines that are used by one company for their games only, as an example GIANTS Engine by GIANTS software (the one's who make all the simulators). This isn't a very sophisticated engine and isn't really as intense as what CryEngine or Unreal is. But it gets the job done for their games. But there are engines which are used by a variety of companies such as Unreal. Unreal engine has been used through many games from different companies such as “Mass Effect” which was EA, “Bioshock” which was 2K, “Borderlands” which was Gearbox etc.


The advantage of Unreal engine is that it can be modified, to the companies needs in a way to create what they want. With companies own built engines it's more difficult to do so as they make it for that particular game in mind. With the new Unreal engine 4, it allows the building of high quality games across all platforms. Its engine rendering architecture enables developers to achieve great visuals. Its new workflow features a deep toolset which allows developers to quickily iterate ideas and immediate results, including a complete C++ source code which brings a new experience. Big game engines like this are great for creating games and a wide scale, but can also have a disadvantage. One that's most common is that it might not be able to do what you want it to do. Such as it might not be able to create light in the sense that the game needs it, it might not be able to produce effects that are needed in a certain way, which another engine could give. One of the things the frostbite engine is great for is the real-time destruction, which is being seen more in games. I saw this personally when I was playing “Call Of Duty: Ghosts” online. I saw there being real time destruction, as in someone would blow something up and the whole building would just collapse in front of you. But in “Battlefield 4” with the new Frostbite engine, this is become more of a thing. It's great what engines can do, but they all have their disadvantages and advantages.


A lot of engines aren't great for first time users. Some require some understanding of the engine and what certain things mean, but a lot require just patience and lots of tutorials. From personal experience learning Unreal wasn't too bad, as there were tutorials to get set up. But to create more complex things, such as flames etc. It became a little more difficult. It was just through pushing and testing that I'd finally learnt the basics of Unreal.






















https://www.unrealengine.com/products/unreal-engine-4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostbite_(game_engine)