Best open-source 2D game engine out there?

Started by Fantasist, March 02, 2009, 11:35:47 am

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Fantasist

March 02, 2009, 11:35:47 am Last Edit: March 07, 2009, 05:46:00 am by Fantasist
Current considerations







What I'm looking for



  • Free and/or open-source. Anything that I don't have to pay for using or distributing/selling the games I make with it.
  • Object oriented.
  • Preferably multi-platform. Games I make should be playable in Linux OSes especially.





Information I gathered during my search


Note: I'm not necessarily supporting and/or agreeing with the information below.






Note: I will most likely settle for Pygame, but if you have anything to say, please do so :)
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Blizzard

I use Ogre and it's awesome. But then again, it's 3D. :P
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Fantasist

March 02, 2009, 03:52:00 pm #2 Last Edit: March 02, 2009, 03:53:28 pm by Fantasist
Yeah... And Allegro is pretty confusing. First, I can't get any example to run. I spend nearly 2 hours trying to make it work :argh:
Then, I notice that C is being used and not C++. If I can't use C++ (for its OO), there's no way I'm gonna go ahead.

Anyway, any other suggestions?

EDIT: Oh, and I prefer object-oriented languages. btw, how efficient is this language Lua? I wen't for Allegro mainly b/c it uses C++ and that's supposedly among the fast languages,
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Blizzard

I have absolutely no idea. This is the first time I heard about Lua. xD

C++ is pretty fast, but you should always consider how much speed you really need. i.e. My A* implementation working on a hexagon grid might be fast enough in Python that I won't have to make C++ .dll. 2D is usually doesn't require too much CPU so I recommend a slower but easier language. Honestly, I have no idea why RGSS is so slow. They must've messed up majorly.
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Diokatsu

Quote from: Fantasist on March 02, 2009, 03:52:00 pm
EDIT: Oh, and I prefer object-oriented languages. btw, how efficient is this language Lua? I wen't for Allegro mainly b/c it uses C++ and that's supposedly among the fast languages,


I heard that Playstation Home and WoW used Lua. It supposedly fast, for a high level language that is. Here's the Wiki

Blizzard

Lol, reminds me of a crossbreed between Matlab's M-Scripts, Ruby and C# 3.0's functional extensions that allow lambda statements. xD
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Fantasist

QuoteHonestly, I have no idea why RGSS is so slow. They must've messed up majorly.

That's a relief, b/c I feel RGSS is really slow and I was afraid about the performance. I've looked up a list of game engines on a website and Lua is used quite a few times as the scripting language.

If Lua is good enough, there's this game engine called Love (weird, huh?). I can give it a shot.

QuoteI heard that Playstation Home and WoW used Lua. It supposedly fast, for a high level language that is.

Seems to be good. Thanks, I'll check it out.

One more thing I forgot to mention: I'm looking for only free and/or open-source licensed engines. Anything that I don't have to pay for.

QuoteLol, reminds me of a crossbreed between Matlab's M-Scripts, Ruby and C# 3.0's functional extensions that allow lambda statements. xD

So what do you think? Is it worth a shot?
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Blizzard

If you know Ruby, you shouldn't have problems learning it. Sure, try it.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Fantasist

March 02, 2009, 04:22:35 pm #8 Last Edit: March 02, 2009, 04:31:24 pm by Fantasist
Decided then. I'll reply in about 16 hours. It's 3 AM and I'm so screwed tomorrow in college *panics*

EDIT:

OMG! Love is awesome! It's nearly as easy as RGSS and it pulled of some amazing particle effects in my old clunker of a PC without problems! I'm starting to love Love! (why... WHY did they have to name it that :rolleyes:)
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Blizzard

March 02, 2009, 04:31:11 pm #9 Last Edit: March 02, 2009, 04:42:36 pm by Blizzard
LOL! I've learned my lesson. It's 22:30 right now. After Stealth puts Futurama 4 on my mp4 player, I'm going home. It's just enough time to watch it (around 90 minutes probably) till midnight. Then I'll simply go to sleep since I have to get up at around 8 am tomorrow to go to work. xD

Another suggestion I can give you is Python + PyGame, but it's not a fullfletched engine as far as I know. You could also try C# + XNA. We at Cateia will probably switch to C# + XNA since the games should be working for the XBox without problems. But this won't happen for at least another 1.5 years. I might do my master thesis in C# + XNA in a year. xD
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Fantasist

QuoteLOL! I've learned my lesson. It's 22:30 right now. After Stealth puts Futurama 4 on my mp4 player, I'm going home. It's just enough time to watch it (around 90 minutes probably) till midnight. Then I'll simply go to sleep since I have to get up at around 8 am tomorrow to go to work. xD

I've got to wake up in 4 hours :'(

QuoteAnother suggestion I can give you is Python + PyGame, but it's not a fullfletched engine as far as I know. You could also try C# + XNA.

Oh yeah... I remember that. I downloaded it some weeks ago I think. Next option after Love. No, PyGame is the next option, I'm gonna try that. Python seems to be quite popular, implying it's probably good.
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fugibo

Hmm. If you still want C++, there's always SDL, just a suggestion :P

Good luck with whatever you're trying to do, though.

Fantasist

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tSwitch

March 03, 2009, 09:09:57 am #13 Last Edit: March 03, 2009, 09:11:01 am by NAMKCOR
I think Source might use Lua.

When I load up Gmod and connect to a server, I often have to download .lua files for the server in question, since I don't have those specific ones (for mods).

edit:

sure enough:
Garry's Mod and Fortress Forever, mods for Half-Life 2, use Lua scripting for tools and other sorts of things for full customization.


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Fantasist

March 04, 2009, 07:01:09 am #14 Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 08:51:03 am by Fantasist
I haven't tried out SDL yet. This Love is... OK, I guess... first disappointment: it's not a typical OO language, so it kind of sucks. Second, I can't get rid of this feeling that I should use C++. Allegro would've been awesome (probably) but I just can't set it up right. I'll look into SDL next.

EDIT: I've updated the first post, made it the way it should've been.
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Blizzard

My boss compiled Ogre for Linux and our games seem to work on Linux without major issues. o.o; Sure, there are some small issues, but nothing serious that would need changing a lot of code or the very game core engine. I'd still recommend Python + Ogre, but it's up to you.
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tSwitch

why does Object Oriented suck?
I don't understand.


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Fantasist

@Blizz: Python + Ogre. But I want 2D. I'll take a look at Python + PyGame

@Namk:
Quoteit's not a typical OO language, so it kind of sucks.
:P
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Blizzard

You can always make a 2D game using a 3D engine. If you don't use high-vertex-count meshes but simple planes with texture, you basically have sprites. It's up to you, though. I'm not sure, but I think PyGame is also cross-platform.

@NAMK: He meant that it's not really OO so it sucked. It wouldn't suck if it was proper OO. What he said. xD
Check out Daygames and our games:

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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

tSwitch

oh whoops, I missed the 'not' in there.
carry on.


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