Choosing the best game engine is essential for any game development project. It concerns many factors, such as technical aspects, budget, and development timeline.  With the wide range of engines on the market, from commercial engines like Unreal Engine, Unity or Godot to the possibility of developing an in-house proprietary solution, it’s crucial to understand the pros and cons of each decision.

Factors to Consider

1. One of the first things you will determine is the visual style, genre, complexity of game mechanics, and 2D or 3D. It can all impact the suitability of a particular engine.
2. Make sure that the engine’s unique features and capabilities, such as physics handling, visual effects, multiplayer support, and others, match your game’s requirements
3. Some engines are better designed for mobile development, others perform better on cross-platform deployment, and some are optimized for something specific, like consoles.
4. It’s essential to consider your team’s existing expertise. Leveraging your team’s skills can be more efficient than learning a new engine from scratch. Especially for complex projects.
5. Game engine licenses, programming languages, and developer salaries contribute to the overall budget, so factoring in these costs is crucial.

Commercial Game Engines

Some time ago, commercial game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity revolutionized video game development. They made the process more accessible to both seasoned studios and aspiring developers. 

Here are the main advantages:

Accessibility

Commercial engines usually have user-friendly interfaces and extensive documentation as their core features. For example, Unity has long been a favorite among indie developers and educators for its intuitive nature, cross-platforming development, Unity Asset Store, and many other things. At the same time, Unreal Engine is often praised for its visual scripting system, and Blueprints allows non-programmers to dive into game development. Unreal Engine also has a wealth of available resources free and paid for developers to make use of.

Community and Support

Both UE and Unity boast large, active communities. They regularly provide the community with tutorials, forums, and additional tools. Also, regular updates and bug fixes are common enough to ensure these engines remain current.

Porting

As we mentioned before, cross-platforming is an essential part of game development planning. Both engines excel at deploying games across multiple platforms with minimal adjustments. 

Price

Of course, commercial engines often involve revenue sharing or licensing fees. At the same time, developing and maintaining an in-house engine may be much more expensive for some projects. Sticking with a commercial engine can be the only option if your budget is tight.

In-House Game Engines (Proprietary Solutions)

Sometimes, there are better answers than the one-size-fits-all approach; the decision is to create your proprietary engine. While this approach needs some additional costs and considerations, it offers unique advantages:

Full Control

Having your engine means having complete control over every aspect of the overall process, from graphics to gameplay mechanics. It allows you to build your vision and develop it in the future. 

Intellectual Property (IP)

It is your property, and that means you fully own the technology. Treat it like a valuable asset without external dependencies or licensing restrictions.

Long-term Investment

When planning a series of games with similar tech requirements, investing in an in-house engine can make financial sense over time. Reusing assets and updating them for new games costs less than starting all over.

So, there are a bunch of factors to consider when it comes to choosing the engine. Whether you need a full-packed solution or your answer is customs and ownership, there’s a vital need that requires careful consideration of your fundamental needs and resources. You can make a correct decision by weighing the factors outlined above and understanding the pros and cons of both commercial and proprietary solutions.

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