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A game engine (game environment) is a specialized development environment for creating video games. The features one provides depends on the type and the granularity of control allowed by the underlying framework. Some may provide diagrams, a windowing environment and debugging facilities. Users build the game with the game IDE, which may incorporate a game engine or call it externally. Game IDEs are typically specialized and tailored to work with one specific game engine.

This is not to be confused with game environment art, which is "the setting or location in which game takes place."^[1] This is also in distinction from domain-specific entertainment languages, where all is needed is a text editor. They are distinct from integrated development environments which are more general, and may provide different sets of features.

There is also a distinction from Visual programming language in that programming languages are more general than Game Engines.

Examples

Below are some game engines and frameworks which come with specialized IDEs.

• 3D Game Creation System
• Adventure Game Studio^[2]
• Blender Game Engine^[3] (discontinued)
• Buildbox
• Construct
• Clickteam Fusion
• CryEngine^[4]
• FPS Creator
• Game Core^[5]
• Game Editor^[6]
• GameMaker
• Gamut from CMU (not Stanford)^[7]
• Gamestudio
• GDevelop
• Godot
• Goji Editor^[8]
• GameSalad
• Magic Work Station^[9]
• PlayCanvas^[10]
• Roblox^{[11][circular reference]}
• RPG Maker
• SdlBasic
• SharpLudus^[12]
• Stencyl
• The 3D Gamemaker
• Unity^[13]
• Unreal Engine^[14]
• Virtual Play Table^[15]
• VASSAL^[16]

References