The modern gaming industry is gaining momentum every year. This also applies to mobile game development. So, how do you choose the best engine for your game or app? We’ll tell you below.
In 2022, the development of mobile applications for Android is gaining more and more popularity. Not only large companies but also small entrepreneurs decide to start their own applications for Android. Actually, how to choose the top mobile game engines?
Modern game engines usually combine many features: a visual scene editor, an animation utility, a scripting and testing area, customization of individual objects, and a mountain of other everyday tools. At the same time, they remain flexible. It is also possible to create objects, not through a visual editor, but by using programming languages. What makes it possible to implement such popular mechanics as procedural generation, when all stages of development have been completed, it is the engines that help to package the game for each compatible platform.
So which engine to choose for creating mobile games?
It is worth noting that the selected engine will not be the best in all areas. It is simply better suited for the task described. It will be convenient to make the first game on it, and understand how they create an application for creating edits and mobile games on a computer.
Our goal is free engines. As a last resort, a free basic license with enough functionality to release commercial games. The engine should be chosen with full documentation, at least in English. And its development should continue right now. And it turns out a rather modest list of applications.
Let me remind you that your first game should be 2d. Because a good game in two dimensions is better than a bad game in 3d. Don’t expect quick results, even with a great engine and basic app development experience.
Building Applications with Engines
On places 4 and 5 we will place all typical 2D editors. To be more precise, let’s put Solar2D and Defold there. These engines are cross-platform. There is clear documentation and even a community of developers who are always ready to help. That’s just not 3D, which for the first game and do not seem to need it. It’s still great to have it on hand, however.
And that’s why these tools won’t make it to the top 3, because even the above-mentioned 2d is implemented in them no better than in today’s winner. Although it is worth at least putting them up and trying them out in person. And at the same time look into the fan community and evaluate other people’s work and other people’s problems.
2-3. In third and second place are Unreal Engine and Unity3D, respectively. They are very similar in essence. Incredibly functional engines capable of rendering amazing graphics, detailed sound processing, or pushing hundreds of players in an online battle. Both engines have a huge user base, lessons, examples and assets that can be bought or downloaded for free.
Unity is a little more sharpened specifically for 2d graphics and physics. And Unreal is indispensable for the development of large projects, especially those requiring network interactions. But both of them are exaggerated for the development of simple games. The trouble is that both engines simulate 2d through 3d, which affects performance, certain aspects of development. Therefore, for the development of 2d games in Unity and Unreal, crutches are used in some way. And it’s not very good.
Both of them are not quite suitable for the role of the best engine. So save them for the future.
In the first place of our top Godot Engine. It implements 2D and 3D scenes. Moreover, two-dimensional games are not on crutches in three-dimensional space but are implemented on pixel 2D. 2D and 3D environments have their own physical objects, effects, cameras, and lighting. And it gives excellent performance and development convenience. But more importantly, the process does not require you to leave the engine at all.
Moreover, data on a load of iron can also be viewed and found out where the weak points of your game are. The syntax is described on the site in full detail with examples. And typical solutions can be viewed in demo projects available on the official website, as well as in hundreds of open projects and plugins. This approach significantly speeds up the process of developing simple games and simplifies work on weak computers.
Remember that all of the above is our subjective opinion. In the end, you have to decide for yourself what you like best and what should be your game. If you need help developing your dream game, consider game development outsourcing.