www.digitalmars.com         C & C++   DMDScript  

digitalmars.D.announce - Poll for D Game Dev

reply Hipreme <msnmancini hotmail.com> writes:
Hello D Game Developers. As you guys know, I have been developing 
a cross platform game engine for some years right now. I'm close 
to release version 1.0. If everything goes right, I can do it 
before the Global Game Jam, though I'm still studying other 
related things.

My engine is stable right now (probably won't have a massive 
refactor for quite a time), and I would like to ask some things 
for you guys only to know which priorities to give in my roadmap:


1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam? I'm 
going to promote those in near future with paid prizes (though 
those are going to require using my engine as its main purpose is 
making it better).

2: Why did you started using D for developing games?

3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
D? Are you developing your own?

3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?
3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
game?

5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
compatible? And why?

6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
platform are you targeting?

7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?
Jan 03 2023
next sibling parent Mike Shah <mshah.475 gmail.com> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 Hello D Game Developers. As you guys know, I have been 
 developing a cross platform game engine for some years right 
 now. I'm close to release version 1.0. If everything goes 
 right, I can do it before the Global Game Jam, though I'm still 
 studying other related things.

 My engine is stable right now (probably won't have a massive 
 refactor for quite a time), and I would like to ask some things 
 for you guys only to know which priorities to give in my 
 roadmap:


 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam? 
 I'm going to promote those in near future with paid prizes 
 (though those are going to require using my engine as its main 
 purpose is making it better).


I'm hoping to find some time for the Global Game Jam coming up. 
I'm likely to use D or some combination of D and C-based 
libraries.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


To learn more :)


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


SDL2 (and eventually 3) and OpenGL


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?
 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


Generally like the platform support with SDL (meaning it runs on 
linux, mac, windows, etc.).

Generally, when developing games I spent a bit of time on the 
abstraction.


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


I think D ecosystem is missing iOS support. SDL and OpenGL are 
enough for the time being otherwise (eventually I'll look more at 
vulkan-d)


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


I haven't done much with betterC yet -- but that is likely 
something that will get attention from game devs.


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


Both 2D/3D and targeting Desktop and Android.


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


Right now I'm faculty, but thinking hard about more graphics/game 
dev tools and building serious projects in D.
Jan 03 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent thebluepandabear <therealbluepandabear protonmail.com> writes:
 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam? 
 I'm going to promote those in near future with paid prizes 
 (though those are going to require using my engine as its main 
 purpose is making it better).


I am interested in the game jam idea, although -- with all due 
respect -- I prefer to use other 'engines' such as CSFML D 
bindings.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


I started a week or two ago and it's been going well. I just like 
2d graphics and I want to improve my D language knowledge. I like 
2d games and the pixel art style so I'm thinking of making that 
type of game.


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


CSFML D bindings.


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?


It's easy to use and fast.


 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


It's low level, is not OOP so I have to create pseudo OOP 
functions with templates, I also don't have access to some 
abstract classes, it's not too bad though.

Also, the syntax is quite long such as `sfRectangleShape_setSize` 
instead of `setSize` or simply `sfRect_setSize`.

Should I have picked SDL? Am I just being that annoying kid in 
class for picking CSFML?


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


I wish there was an OOP based SFML bindings (not sure how you'd 
go around doing that...?) as D is an OOP language and I like OOP. 
It's still possible to write OOP with CSFML, so it's not too much 
of an issue.


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


I'm a noob I don't know what 'betterC' means.


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


2d game, I am targeting all platforms, but my main goal is Linux 
as Windows/MAC is proprietary NSA spyware.


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


I don't care about money when it comes to writing code. 
Everything I have made so far is FOSS and will continue to be 
FOSS, I don't like proprietary stuff. I will make a serious 
project in the future and it will be FOSS.

Btw this is a snake game I recently made (still WIP) so check it 
out: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/Snake

apologies if I didn't answer things well, I am tired and it's 
late here
Jan 03 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent Doigt <labog outlook.com> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam? 
 I'm going to promote those in near future with paid prizes 
 (though those are going to require using my engine as its main 
 purpose is making it better).


Not really, but I will spread the word around.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


For a game jam.


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


Raylib and tonc. Yes, sort of.


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?


Raylib: It's not a big engine with a ui I have to learn like the 
huge beast of an engine Unity is. It's so simple that you don't 
need to be a genius to use it and the minimalism of it makes it 
appealing also as it isn't really in your way. It lets you make 
what you want in the way you want. If you want to make a game in 
Godot or Unity, you have to do it their way and you don't really 
control anything.

Tonc: it exists.


 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


Both: Not in D, installation is sometimes a complex issue and not 
object oriented.


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


The D ecosystem isn't really missing anything.


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


I don't really care. I just want it to work.


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


Mostly 2d, but I intend to eventually make 2.5d and 3d games.


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


They're serious projects for which I have assembled a small team 
of people with game designers, artists, composers and two 
programmers on the projects, but I don't plan to make any money 
out of them unless I change my mind.

I make games for fun and I want them to be good, but I don't 
consider game developing to be a future job. My games would have 
to become incredibly popular for me to jump into it with a 
different mindset.
Jan 03 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent Doigt <labog outlook.com> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 Which platform are you targeting?


sorry forgot to answer this. I'm targeting the Game Boy Advance, 
Steam Deck and Linux platforms.
Jan 03 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent Jordan Wilson <wilsonjord gmail.com> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam?


Sadly, being time poor means participating is unlikely.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


It's the language I'm most comfortable with.


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


Allegro and entitysysd.


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?
 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


I find allegro fairly straight forward although some simple 3d 
stuff was pretty hard to understand and get working. What I 
dislike about ECS is that it it sill doesn't feel like a totally 
comfortable way to think (i.e. OOP still seems to be more 
natural). Since I'm doing it for learning, I'll persist.


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


I followed a tutorial in a book and got a simple 2d game running 
where a character ran around collecting coins while time ran out. 
It used the Godot Engine, with Python as the language. It took an 
afternoon. I don't think I could do something similar for D in an 
afternoon, but perhaps I should try using what's on offer 
currently, or perhaps it can be the start of my own engine...


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


Neutral


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


2D, Windows and Linux.


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


Hobby. Although I'd love to make a game worthy of people paying 
$1 on Steam...

Hope this helps,

Jordan K. Wilson
Jan 04 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent Guillaume Piolat <first.last spam.org> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam? 
 I'm going to promote those in near future with paid prizes 
 (though those are going to require using my engine as its main 
 purpose is making it better).


Maybe.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


I discovered C++ at work in 2006 and was surprised how obviously 
worse it was vs the Wirth family of language. D came up as 
replacement.



 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


Developing the framework turtle, but well I don't really have 
time for this. The examples are pretty cool if you'd like to 
check it out: https://github.com/p0nce/turtle



 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?


Well I spent some like looking more like Love2d, I think Love2d 
and Godot nail the API thing.

I think anyone that want success making an engine would do good 
having a simple and
documented API above any other considerations. This is the lesson 
of developing Dplug over 8 years, easy API creates more power for 
the framework user, anything hard to use WILL be used incorrectly.



 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


I don't have time to maintain it. I created too much things 
already.
Having a good design for UI and 2D objects is not that easy.
About Love2d, I don't really like the language or packaging, and 
wouldn't feel like building on that.
About Godot, it's great but lacks bugfixing in the 3D department, 
it becomes slow when you do layered 2D in the editor 
unfortunately.
About Unity, it was too slow for my laptop a while ago, and 
strangely idiosyncratic.

My fav at this moment is: https://microstudio.dev/projects/



 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


I would prefer something non-hackable (so I'm not tempted to 
change it), with limits, and integrated, with great documentation.



 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


As a framework user I don't care, if the global experience is 
good.



 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


I'd like to do small 2D games eventually. It was my original plan 
but the sales of my Steam game weren't there. And other types of 
apps worked better for me.



 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


Will probably just toy because I already released a game on Steam 
and I had bad market-fit, it's not clear which style of game 
allow you to earn money apart from 2d puzzle game... if anyone 
has a clue here?
Jan 04 2023
prev sibling next sibling parent Ola Fosheim =?UTF-8?B?R3LDuHN0YWQ=?= <ola.fosheim.grostad gmail.com> writes:
(This is my second attempt, the forums were down the first time… 
:-( )

On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:

 Hello D Game Developers. As you guys know, I have been 
 developing a cross platform game engine for some years right 
 now. I'm close to release version 1.0.


That's nice, I believe the best way to get attraction for a game 
framework is to create a demo-game that is visually interesting 
and showcase it. Screenshots and "glitter" sells...


 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam?


No time at this point.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


I viewed C++ as expensive to develop in (this was pre C++10) and 
was looking for a cheaper alternative (e.g. less work).


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


I created my own (no longer pursuing it).


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?
 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


I don't really want a full framework, I would be attracted to a 
set of low-overhead libraries that sits right on top of Metal and 
Vulcan, with some abstractions that allows me to write my own 
shaders. And high quality tutorials.

Focused up-to-date demo-tutorials are very important for getting 
people interested in frameworks. Outdated tutorials often linger 
around after the framework has moved on, which is a source for 
frustration that it is better to avoid.


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


At the time, the GC turned out to be unsuitable which reduced the 
usefulness of this approach for me.


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


I don't care how it is achieved in the framework, but in order to 
be interested I would need to be able to control memory 
allocations with ease. So not "betterC" per se.


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


3D or 2.5, shaders. I probably would require iOS, and all 
desktops. WebGL2/WebAssembly would be a strong selling point.

I don't know if it is possible to develop games for ChromeOS, but 
one way to generate some initial interest is to support a 
platform that others don't and market it in forums geared towards 
that platform.

In essence you can choose between designing a framework that 
makes very good use of a small number of platforms (with stiff 
competition) or make a more abstract framework that is highly 
portable (but less fancy).


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


If I were to make a full game that isn't a web-only game then 
there would have to be a solid source for revenue.

I once created a prototype in 
[Metaplace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaplace), which was a 
hosted multi-user platform where you could write your own games 
(using 2D, with basic physics engine and scripting). It allowed 
you to create sub-games/sub-worlds. Something like that could be 
interesting, but creating a hosted multi-user solution is also 
very challenging.

I guess it is possible to create a single user game that is 
structured in the same way. Basically let individual contributors 
create subgames within a larger game. Something like that could 
be interesting, but not sure how you can ensure quality. You 
might need to use the same graphical/sound artists for all 
subworlds, but then you need solid funding…
Jan 04 2023
prev sibling parent Kenny Shields <mail kennyshields.net> writes:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2023 at 02:54:51 UTC, Hipreme wrote:


 1: Would you be interested in participating in a D game jam?


Not interested in these personally but I think they would be 
beneficial for D game development in general.


 2: Why did you started using D for developing games?


Wanted to move on from using higher-level languages to a compiled 
language capable of producing binaries for different systems. D 
was the obvious choice after a friend introduced me to it.


 3: What frameworks, libraries or game engines are you using for 
 D? Are you developing your own?


I've been writing my own engine for the past 3 years which uses a 
variety of C libraries for different purposes. The primary ones 
are the following:

- CSFML: Rendering and Audio
- Chipmunk2D: Physics
- Lua: Scripting/modding
- SQLite: Database stuff


 3.1: What do you like more about the framework you're using?


Both CSFML and Chipmunk have pretty straightforward APIs and were 
extremely easy to integrate/abstract within my engine. Both also 
perform very well and don't seem to have any glaring bugs or 
issues that can't be worked-around.


 3.2: What do you dislike about the framework you're using?


The SFML release cycle can be pretty slow at times, and it 
doesn't seem like Chipmunk is officially maintained anymore.


 4: What the D ecosystem is missing for you to develop your own 
 game?


Nothing really. The fact that D interfaces so easily with C 
libraries means that you have access to almost anything you might 
need (at least for 2D games). It would be nice if there were 
(maintained) D ports of popular C libraries readily available  in 
the ecosystem, but honestly it's not a huge issue to me.


 5: How much do you care about the game engine being betterC 
 compatible? And why?


Haven't done much with BetterC so I really don't have a 
preference on this.


 6: Which kind of game do you plan to develop? 2D or 3D? Which 
 platform are you targeting?


I've been working on a 2D game for about a year now using my 
engine that I mentioned above. It currently targets Linux and 
Windows and also runs on the Steam Deck (though it was not 
designed for hand-held/mobile devices). The game can be found 
here for those who are interested: 
https://kenny-shields.itch.io/imperium-scenario-system


 7: Are you looking to sell your game or just toying with the D 
 language ( not going to make any serious project )? Why?


No plans to sell my current game, however I would like to work on 
a larger commercial project in the future, likely some sort of 
top-down simulation/management game. This is probably a way off 
though, as I'll need to put some funds aside to hire a couple of 
art and sound designers.
Jan 04 2023