Awe+
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Welcome! This is the Table of Contents page for the new 2D Game Engine project. If you just signed up, please post a message on the Talk page.
News
If anyone has a clever name for the first layer, please post on the Talk page. I just started this section, so they'll be lacking in details for a couple days. Feel free to add input on any topics, what you feel the engine should cover, or possible ways to implement something.
Index
The Big Idea
I believe "enginery" as we know it is about to end. Right now, engines are created and licensed by few, and those who don't create them are left in the dust. A development team would have to go through all the research and hard work and debugging that other established game companies have already been through. I believe if engines are open sourced, game creation can be a more artistic effort than a programming effort.
Two dimensional engines haven't really had much work, as far as I have seen. After 2D game consoles have died out, not many PC games expanded on what we've seen. Few innovative coders have, though, and produced amazing results, but usually it's unfortunately not engine work.
I believe if an open source engine is created and maintained, as Linux was, games can be created like never before. We'd start seeing new 2D innovation, and more variations of 3D game style. One important technique in my opinion would be to have both 2D and 3D objects running interchangeably, yet encapsulated from one another so they can be expanded upon individually. Having a powerful engine that handles both 2D and 3D efficiently would create stunning libraries of visual effects available to everyone.
There are so many sites out there that try to give newcomers tutorials and lessons to start getting involved in game programming, but the topics are so vast that it's easy to get discouraged. I believe it's important to have fast results, and an open framework, to see the gears running, and to actually go in and tinker with things. There are amazing games on the market, and VERY few have the expertise to make them. Will this knowledge die off with their host brains? I'm sure the open source community can top them, and produce amazing results.
I'm sick of being limited to games with huge releases, from EA or a susidiary, just because they hoard all the technology. Lets get games rolling on Linux, Windows, Macs, and mobile devices, folks, all at once. Screw proprietary languages and protocols, we need to adhere to the standards of openness, and define not only the future of game development, but the future of gaming.
Team Info
A Google Calendar has been created so we can list dates for meetings and propose deadlines for features. If you're not a member of the team presently, and are in the DC metro area, leave Scott a message if you would like an invitation to the Calendar.
