Top 5 Game Engines

Nour Bou Nasr — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 20:03:02 +0000

Top 5 Game Engines

Godot

Godot is an open source cross platform 2D and 3D game engine. It has visual scripting and its own python like language called gdscript. It also supports C# and C++. Godot is based on the node system(tree like structure), which makes it easy to make games. in my opinion it is the easiest engine to get started with if you want to make 2d games like super mario, zelda etc..
link to Godot engine : https://godotengine.org

Unity

Unity is a powerful 2D and 3D game engine, it has been the main requirement for mobile publishers, most mobile games from top publishers are built using unity. you can also build amazing 3D games with very high graphics and lighting. it is free to get started with. it has multiple membership programs it you want to remove the unity splash screen, and if you make more than 100k, check unity pricing for more details. it also has a unity asset store where you can get a lot of free assets, tools, and plugins to get started with since it's almost the standard game engine for mobile as described above you can find a lot of tutorials about it on youtube or check the unity official learning platform (unity learn). in my opinion it is the best engine if you are targeting mobile games
link to Unity engine : https://unity.com

Unreal Engine

Unreal engine is the most powerful 3d game engine, it's known to be the most successful game engine too. most popular games are built with unreal engine including fortnite and pubg. it also has its own asset store, where you can get a lot of free stuff, unreal is free with all its features, they charge you 5% after reaching 1million dollars, it also has its own online services. in my opinion it is the best when it comes to high graphics pc games including fps, rpg, platformer games. thus it is also good for mobile but I do recommand godot and unity for mobile
link to Unreal engine : https://www.unrealengine.com/

Amazon Lumberyard

It is a free 3d game engine made by amazon, it has native integration with twitch features and amazon web service and cloud in my opinion it is the best if you want to include AWS really fast into your games, but if you want to make mobile games I recommand godot or unity
link to Amazon Lumberyard : https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/

CryEngine

is a free 3d game engine with no royalities or hidden fees, it supports exporting to xbox, playstation, windows and oculus rift. it has amazing graphics and owned by crytek in my opinion it is good for pc games, and if you are looking for a totally free engine, but I do recommand unreal for 3d over it and godot/unity for 2d and mobile games.
link to CryEngine : https://www.cryengine.com

Conclusion

if you are a beginner and don't know where to get started, I totally recommand godot engine. if you want a more robust game engine with lots of tutorials and docs you should definetily use unity if you are targeting pc gamers with high graphics games, I recommand unreal engine personally I am not a fan of Amazon Lumberyard and CryEngine but you absolutely can give them a try. in my opinion those are the best game engines but at the end it is a matter of preference.

Simple unity 2d platformer AI

Nour Bou Nasr — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 11:35:17 +0000

First Step

So, this is a simple AI for follow and attack the player in a 2d platformer game in unity, it is not the optimal solution but it is the easiest and simplest.
So first we have to add a rigidbody2d for the enemies and don't forget to add a collider so it wont fall down and an animator to trigger the animations.

Second Step

Let's create a base enemy class so our enemies can inherit from it because usually we will have multiple types of enemies in the game so every enemy can have his own life points , damage etc...

first let's name our base class enemy, create a c sharp script and add the following code

public class Enemies : MonoBehaviour
{
//base class so it can be inherited from other scripts

    int moveSpeed;
    int attackDamage;
    int lifePoints;
    float attackRadius;

    //movement
    float followRadius;

    public void setMoveSpeed(int speed)
    {
        moveSpeed = speed;
    }

    public void setAttackDamage(int attdmg)
    {
        attackDamage = attdmg;
    }

    public void setLifePoints(int lp)
    {
        lifePoints = lp;
    }

    public int getMoveSpeed()
    {
        return moveSpeed;
    }

    public int getAttackDamage()
    {
        return attackDamage;
    }

    public int getLifePoints()
    {
        return lifePoints;
    }


    //movement toward a player
    public void setFollowRadius(float r)
    {
        followRadius = r;
    }
    //attack radius 
    public void setAttackRadius(float r)
    {
        attackRadius = r;
    }

    //if player in radius move toward him 
    public bool checkFollowRadius(float playerPosition, float enemyPosition)
    {
        if(Mathf.Abs(playerPosition -enemyPosition) < followRadius)
        {
            //player in range
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    //if player in radius attack him
    public bool checkAttackRadius(float playerPosition, float enemyPosition)
    {
        if (Mathf.Abs(playerPosition - enemyPosition) < attackRadius)
        {
            //in range for attack
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return false;
        }
    }
}

Third Step

Now we will create the actual movement, let's create a script called EnemyMove and let's add this code

public class EnemyMove : Enemies
{

//variables
    public int _moveSpeed;
    public int _attackDamage;
    public  int _lifePoints;
    public float _attackRadius;

    //movement
    public float _followRadius;
    //end
    [SerializeField] Transform playerTransform;
    [SerializeField]Animator enemyAnim;
    SpriteRenderer enemySR;

    void Start()
    {
      //get the player transform   
playerTransform = FindObjectOfType<Player>().GetComponent<Transform>();
      //enemy animation and sprite renderer 
        enemyAnim = gameObject.GetComponent<Animator>();
        enemySR = GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>();
      //set the variables
        setMoveSpeed(_moveSpeed);
        setAttackDamage(_attackDamage);
        setLifePoints(_lifePoints);
        setAttackRadius(_attackRadius);
        setFollowRadius(_followRadius);
    }

    // Update is called once per frame
    void Update()
    {
        if (checkFollowRadius(playerTransform.position.x,transform.position.x))
        {
            //if player in front of the enemies
            if (playerTransform.position.x < transform.position.x)
            {

                if (checkAttackRadius(playerTransform.position.x, transform.position.x))
                {
                    //for attack animation
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("AttackA", true);
                }
                else
                {
                    this.transform.position += new Vector3(-getMoveSpeed() * Time.deltaTime, 0f, 0f);
                    //for attack animation
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("AttackA", false);
                    //walk
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("Walking", true);
                    enemySR.flipX = true;
                }

            }
            //if player is behind enemies
            else if(playerTransform.position.x > transform.position.x)
            {
                if (checkAttackRadius(playerTransform.position.x, transform.position.x))
                {
                    //for attack animation
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("AttackA", true);
                }
                else
                {
                    this.transform.position += new Vector3(getMoveSpeed() * Time.deltaTime, 0f, 0f);
                    //for attack animation
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("AttackA", false);
                    //walk
                    enemyAnim.SetBool("Walking", true);
                    enemySR.flipX = false;
                }


            }
        }
        else
        {
            enemyAnim.SetBool("Walking", false);
        }


    }
}

Hope you like it!

DEV Community: Nour Bou Nasr

Top 5 Game Engines

Top 5 Game Engines

Godot

Unity

Unreal Engine

Amazon Lumberyard

CryEngine

Conclusion

Simple unity 2d platformer AI

First Step

Second Step

Third Step