Game Engines

Game engines are software development tools for creating interactive software. They package together libraries and software which simplify the development of interactive software. Game engines are a widely used tool in the creation of real-time 3D VR software, and many engines support VR production workflows out-of-the-box.

A simple 3D scene open in the Unreal Engine 4.27 editor.

A modern game engine will typically include:

• A 3D or 2D renderer, which supports the rendering of a moving sequence in real-time.

• Physics simulation.

• Asset import and management.

• Scripting and programming tools to support dynamic, simulated and interactive elements.

• Sound processing.

• Extension through plugins and/or custom code.

There are numerous engines in use today. For real-time 3D rendering applications such as VR, Unity and Unreal Engine are currently the two most popular. Both are free to download and use non-commercially, which has contributed to their popularity.

An important implication of using an engine is that much programming has already happened before work on a project begins. The engines provides a toolset that can be used to realise the project and generate executable software, but as a creator you do not necessarily have full control or authorship of the code.

List of Engines

Name	Platforms	Download
Source / Source 2	Windows	Binaries distributed through Steam. Source code for 2013 edition available on GitHub.
Unity	Windows; MacOS (Intel & M1); Linux (Ubuntu and CentOS)	https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive
Unreal Engine 4	Windows; Linux (from source)	Binaries distributed through Epic Game Launcher. Source code available on restricted access GitHub repository.
Godot	Android; Linux; MacOs;Windows; WebEditor	Binaries and source code available on Github and in download section

Resources

Adrian Courrèges (2020) Graphics Studies Compilation. URL: http://www.adriancourreges.com/blog/2020/12/29/graphics-studies-compilation/.

baldurk (n.d.). Graphics in Plain Language: An introduction to how modern graphics work in video games. URL: https://renderdoc.org/blog/Graphics-in-Plain-Language/Part-1.html.

Brown University VR Software Wiki. URL: https://sites.google.com/view/brown-vr-sw-review-2018/home