While there are numerous game engines available, Godot is one that you may already be familiar with.
Godot has recently experienced a boom in popularity and is quickly turning into a favourite of many game developers! However, a similar number of developers are unaware of Godot or even understand why they might prefer it to other well-known engines like Unity or Unreal. After all, selecting a game engine is an important first step in the development of your games.
We’re going to walk you through understanding the Godot game engine in this post, as well as how it can help you as a game developer!
Let’s explore this incredible, cost-free engine.
The Godot cross-platform game engine was first introduced in 2014 by Juan Linietsky and Ariel Manzur, and it is focused on the development of both 2D and 3D games. The game engine places a strong emphasis on offering a comprehensive set of tools for development, including an integrated code editor, a graphics rendering engine, tools for playing back audio, tools for animating, and more. The engine has expanded significantly over time to now include more core contributors and also welcomes assistance from the Godot community in order to further develop the engine.
The Godot logo’s Key Characteristics
Let’s dive right in to some of the main features that the Godot game engine has to offer.
Support for 3D graphics
Godot has a lot of the features required for 3D graphics, as was already mentioned. This includes tools for post-processing effects, physics systems, and material support (reflection, refraction, etc.). Additionally, the engine supports more sophisticated graphics features like particles and shaders, giving game developers a complete set of tools to customise their creations.
An entirely devoted 2D engine
Godot provides a true 2D engine, in contrast to other engines where 2D is simply achieved by flattening a single axis. This indicates that the engine can effectively handle 2D backend calculations as well as deal with pixel-based units. Additionally, a variety of specialised tools, including tilemap editors, 2D physics support, and 2D lighting systems, are included in the 2D game development suite.
An example of a Godot Project Optimization with Nodes and Scenes-created 2D top-down RPG
The object-oriented design principle is heavily utilised in Godot. The node and scene architecture is one of the key methods by which it accomplishes this. Every object is a “scene” according to Godot, and a scene may contain several nodes. Godot offers a large number of nodes that give the game its fundamental functionality, such as collision detection, physics bodies, animations, sounds, etc. In essence, every fundamental mechanic that you might require to create a more complex mechanic can be found as a node.
As a result, Godot created a special system that makes it incredibly simple to add functions to objects at a very basic level in order to create complex objects (i.e. “scenes”). Additionally, this feature makes instances much simpler to manage than they would be with other engines and gives beginners tight control over inheritance between scenes.
Support for multiple platforms
Godot enables deployment to a variety of platforms, such as but not limited to Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, all of which are strong competitors in the gaming industry. Developers who want to publish their games online can also export their games for HTML5 using Godot. Although Godot does not currently support consoles due to a number of complex factors, such as the relatively closed nature of the console market, many independent companies do exist to support developers who want to port their games to console devices.
Beyond this, Godot also has a strong plugin architecture that enables developers to produce limited augmented reality applications as well as virtual reality games.
The Godot Engine added support for multiple languages and added a collision box to a 2D character.
Godot gives developers the option to code their games in a variety of languages right out of the box.
GDScript, a scripting language created especially for use with Godot, is at the top of the list. Many developers have discovered that it is the best option for using the Godot Engine because it was built to integrate tightly with the engine itself. Because it resembles Python in many ways, developers also appreciate the engine’s clarity and human readability when working with it.
Godot also includes a visual scripting tool for users who would rather not write their own code from scratch. With its node architecture, this tool was made to function incredibly well, allowing non-programmers and beginners to create games simply by dragging and dropping code blocks.
Godot, however, offers developers a variety of options and supports C++ and C# without much difficulty for those who are more experienced. Some developers have discovered the ability to use languages like Ruby or R with the engine thanks to Godot’s GDNative API, which supports limited language binding in addition to these two.
Creating a player using the built-in code editor in Godot, screenshot
System for Animation
Godot provides a comprehensive set of animation tools. The engine includes tools that let developers rig and animate 2D graphics with full IK bone support. This is true especially for 2D graphics. However, in addition to 2D sprite sheets, the engine also accepts imported 3D animations. No matter the source, Godot also includes a number of animator tools to assist developers in triggering and transitioning animations as necessary.
Free Software
Godot is an open-source engine, which means that anyone can access the engine’s source code (in this case, through a permissive MIT license). As a result, Godot developers are free to not only distribute the engine however they see fit, but also modify the engine however they see fit with no restrictions.
This also implies that the engine is community-driven, and developers are free to offer experiences and tools that extend the engine in distinctive, substantial ways as well as to contribute improvements to the engine’s source code. Additionally, this implies that using the engine is totally free of charge.
Godot Engine displaying the creation of a 3D animation for a sword
How Can Godot Be Made?
Godot most likely has the ability to assist you in realising your dreams. This includes turn-based deck builder games, RPGs, strategy games, simulation games, and more. The best way to see what Godot is capable of, though, is to take a look at some of their own developer showcases of recent and upcoming games made by creators just like you, which are all included below!