Open source game engines are gaining traction in the gaming industry due to the availability of funding and the benefits they provide to game developers. With the recent announcement of Cocos raising $50M to fuel open source game engine growth, open source game engines are becoming more popular than ever.
This introduction will focus on the importance and benefits of open source game engines and why developers should consider using them.
What is an open source game engine?
An open source game engine is a game development software program that is available free of charge, providing developers with an open-source code that can be modified and customised to meet their needs. This allows game developers to focus on the creative aspects of building a game, instead of creating the basic functions from scratch.
By utilising open source software, game developers can access feature-rich gaming engines used by large companies at no cost.
Open source engines are generally built on the idea of collaboration and provide developers with helpful web communities where they can get support from other members. Additionally, it encourages users to add or modify existing features to improve the engine for everyone’s benefit. This has resulted in an ever-growing list of powerful tools for developing high-quality video games without costly overhead fees or royalties. With this array of resources, independent video game developers can compete with larger companies in price and product quality.
Benefits of Open Source Game Engines
Open source game engines are becoming increasingly popular and are used by many software developers. These engines provide a great way to develop games in an affordable and user-friendly way. While the overall process and development might differ, open source game engines have several benefits that can be advantageous for developers and players.
- First, open source game engines allow developers to create their content. Such an environment allows them to control all aspects of their projects, including graphics, art assets, scripting language, networking protocol, audio library and even the physics engine. This flexibility gives developers unprecedented control over how their content will appear and how it will interact with the game engine’s features.
- Second, open source game engines are typically open source projects which can mean cost savings for development teams because they don’t have to purchase expensive licences or royalty fees for use of proprietary software or platforms. Such savings can help teams invest more resources towards creating more games or experimenting with new ideas that would not be possible using traditional methods such as proprietary software design tools.
- Finally, one of the key benefits is its cost effectiveness compared to other popular sources such as JavaScript frameworks like ThreeJS and BabylonJS or physics libraries like Physijs or AmmoJS. Open source solutions typically provide a much easier set-up experience since they often require little (if any) installation time as long as you have access to an internet browser— you can simply begin coding right away! Additionally, many open source projects also offer near up-time support, which can prove invaluable in case a bug or issue requires assistance during development – this eliminates added expenses associated with other sources such as hiring external expertise when unexpected problems arise.
History of Open Source Game Engines
Open source game engines have been around for quite some time and are becoming increasingly popular in today’s game development industry. They provide developers with the tools and frameworks to create a wide range of games, from indie-level to AAA blockbusters. In 2021, popular game engine Cocos raised $50 million to fuel its growth as an open source game engine.
Let’s take a look back at the history of open source game engines:
Early Adopters of Open Source Game Engines
The concept of freely distributing computer code as open source has been around since the early days of programming. As early as 1971, programmers worldwide had access to free software they could modify and use for their projects. While open source projects were largely based on research or utility-oriented programs, they would influence the gaming world in unexpected ways.
Early adopters of open source game engines used them to bring advanced 3D graphics capabilities to video game developers. By utilising an existing engine, these developers saved time and money developing their own from scratch. As a result, popular engine series such as JoyEngine, RenderWare and even Quake greatly influenced the history of game development.
Open source game engines also allowed for content creation tools to be made available on a wider scale than ever before, allowing more in-game assets and textures to be created faster. This gave rise to more complex stories within games and enabled mods and other user-generated content to be distributed easily across the internet and shared with a global community of players.
Recent Growth of Open Source Game Engines
The last decade has seen a rapid rise in the number of open source game engines being developed, with some of the most widely adopted including Unreal Engine 4, Godot Engine 3.2, Unity 8, Xenko 2, CryEngine 5 and Lumberyard 2. However, it’s evident that each is different and aims to provide a set of features for game development.
Open source game engines have become incredibly popular for developers due to their many benefits. These include a wide range of tools and libraries developed by the community and active support from many people across the globe. This has resulted in faster game development cycles and increased flexibility because developers have access to complete control over coding design. Additionally, open source technologies can save developers significant costs compared to proprietary engines requiring additional licence fees or royalty payments.
Another key factor is the ability to create more immersive experiences through these engines due to their improved graphical capabilities and use of 3D models, and animation techniques such as particle effects or shaders. With all these advantages combined, there are almost no limitations on what can be created with open source game engines today – all within an initial budget-friendly framework compared to proprietary engine purchases or subscriptions fees for access and future updates/features/improvements.
Cocos Raises $50M to Fuel Open Source Game Engine Growth
Cocos, a leading provider of open source game engines, recently raised $50M to fuel the growth of its game engine technology. This is good news for the open source community, as it indicates that more developers are turning to open source game engine technology for their projects.
Open source game engines are great for developers because they are free to use and can provide access to various powerful tech tools. This article will explore what open source game engines are and why they are becoming increasingly popular with developers.
What is Cocos?
Cocos is a family of game development platforms consisting of an open source game engine and integrated development environment. Developed by China-based Chukong Technologies, Cocos generates 2D games for mobile devices, computer platforms, and HTML5. Cocos has two versions; Cocos2dx for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and HTML5 and Cocos Creator which supports JavaScript.
The main purpose of Cocos is to help developers build their games faster with less time investment. This can be done by integrating various components such as UI Editor, Material Editor, Particle Editor and 3D Model Importer. The Cocos platform also supports a wide range of languages including C# and Lua.
Cocos has recently announced that it has raised a $50 million series C round from investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent and Japanese gaming giant Sega Sammy Holdings. The funding will go toward:
- Expanding its open source game engine platform to new markets in Asia-Pacific (APAC).
- Creating more powerful tools for developers to use when creating games on the platform.
- Enabling more seamless cross-platform experiences so that players playing the same game will have similar experiences regardless of device type or platform used.
How will the $50M be Used?
The $50 million funding that Cocos, a leading open source game engine for developers, has received will help them to spur the open source game engine ecosystem. The money will be used to further develop the community-driven engine. It will also help shape the future of interactive content creation and consumption from different devices and platforms.
With this new investment, Cocos plans to continue developing new features for their game engine and grow its brand recognition worldwide. This will allow more developers worldwide to access high-quality, accessible tools that make interactive experiences even more engaging and immersive. In addition, Cocos is focused on using the funding to build a strong and thriving developer community while enabling more efficient workflow processes and tools for content creators across multiple platforms.
Additionally, the funds are set aside for an open source coding platform that allows developers to collaborate on projects easily while maintaining control over their work. This platform would strive towards adding more depth in current gaming experiences while driving other ambitious initiatives such as blockchain integration into their game engines to increase user trust and transparency when playing games.
Impact of Open Source Game Engines
With the rise of open source game engines, the gaming industry has seen a major shift in how games are created and monetized. Open source game engines have allowed developers to build their games with more features and flexibility than before, while providing an alternative to expensive proprietary game engines.
The recent announcement of Cocos raising $50M to fuel open source game engine growth shows how much of an impact open source game engines have had on the industry.
Increased Accessibility to Game Development
Game development has long been a complex, expensive and time-consuming process, requiring expensive hardware, software, and specialised skills. Since the advent of open source game engines, many people have become able to participate in game development without the burden of high costs. Open source game engines provide access to tools that depend on large budgets and special skills. Through their use, those with fewer resources can bring their ideas to life while sharing their projects with the community through open source licensing principles.
Open source game developers from all over the world can contribute to existing games or create new ones since these engines provide developers access to core, low-level functions and optimizations which were formerly only achievable by hiring experts. These features include:
- Scripting languages (such as Lua and ECMAScript),
- Physics engine integration (such as Bullet physics engine powered by Nvidia PhysX),
- Graphics support (including advanced shaders that can utilise GPUs).
Additionally, open source game engines enable developers to port games easily across different platforms opening up whole new audiences for creative projects.
Rather than following traditional platform requirements monetization models – such as payment upfront fees or a strong reliance on in-app purchases – open sourcing options allow developers more control over pricing decisions and better incentivize reinvesting profits into future content or improvements in games. This benefit is particularly useful when developing niche titles created by smaller studios that may not generate enough sales had they followed a different model. However, providing affordable entry points allows them greater potential reach per project while staying financially sustainable.
Cost Savings
Open source game engines provide an invaluable solution and a great cost savings to those looking to make their games. By eliminating the cost of purchasing the engine or writing one from scratch, developers can free up their funds and focus on expanding their skill sets and innovating. Additionally, open source game engines often provide features that are not available in many proprietary engines. These features can include:
- Built-in multiplayer support
- Audio or video processing capabilities
- Artificial intelligence libraries
- 2D/3D graphics rendering libraries
- Physics libraries
- and much more.
In addition to saving on cost, developers can also take advantage of open source engine communities which offer technical support and advice from experienced developers worldwide. This allows for a library of resources that any new developer can draw upon for guidance and inspiration for their own game making expertise.
Increased Collaboration
Open source game engines allow developers to collaborate on crafting a gaming experience. By giving game developers access to the code written, minor tweaks or modifications can be made. While this is highly beneficial for professional studios and independent developers who frequently develop their games from the ground up, it’s also essential for smaller studios looking for faster, more accessible solutions.
With increased collaboration come some unique possibilities regarding how game content is created, distributed, marketed and even shared. Open source engine technology leads to more collaborative efforts between teams on larger projects. In addition, it enables better monetization opportunities as new content can be developed at a fraction of the cost traditionally associated with game creation.
Furthermore, open source engines benefit from the pooling of industry knowledge, allowing ideas to reach market faster while at the same time providing a wider range of resources than would otherwise be available if individuals worked independently with proprietary software solutions. Ultimately, increased collaboration leads to better games in less time and great gains in both learning and creativity, producing improved experiences; this makes open source engine technology an essential part of modern gaming development.
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