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.

We support major Game Engines via plugin systems to integrate the Metakraft AI workflow directly inside the engines. 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.