Tech Toolbox for Game Programmers

Have you ever bumped into another developer and noticed they're using a code snippet or tool that you feel like you could've used a million times? In this collection of ten-minute technical talks, developers Jonatan Van Hove, Omar Cornut, Keir Miron, Evan Todd, Kate Compton and Alan Hazelden take you through one of their tools, solutions, or hacks that could benefit the average indie developer on a very practical level.
GDC talks cover a range of developmental topics including game design, programming, audio, visual arts, business management, production, online games, and much more. We post a fresh GDC video every weekday. Subscribe to the channel to stay on top of regular updates, and check out GDC Vault for thousands of more in-depth talks from our archives.
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[@bs-yn7su]

1:30 dialogue tree 7:24 automating data 16:16 procedural generation of ideas in text format 24:18 puzzle editor 38:23 stats viusalize for debugging

[@leonardusl5141]

thanks

[@Drahamable]

Yo I just wanted to let you know that I liked the poor mans dialouge tree a lot. I felt like it was spot on in terms of solving the actual problem while focussing on the problem rather than the dogmatic point of view.

[@7410n0]

Also the most humorous.

[@JimGiant]

I spent about an hour looking at that guy's website after this section and almost forgot I was in the middle of this video.

[@JonesCrimson]

I thought it was so incredibly lazy he could have just programmed it correctly.

[@tech6hutch]

@@JonesCrimson what do you think is wrong with the way he programmed it?

[@mohandasjung]

@@capturedflame There is always a easier way to do a job!

[@twicepast7]

You know you like making games when you get excited at "node based dialog trees"

[@tj12711]

Or you're a mathematician

[@JimGiant]

etodd.io/2014/05/16/the-poor-mans-dialogue-tree/

[@justiceforsethrichwwg1wga160]

❄️

[@RobertFletcherOBE]

wait till you start getting excited when someone mentions optimising cache lines.. you know you've gone too far then :D

[@wonderfulworldofmarkets9033]

lol exactly I loved this talk so much

[@haxpor]

Seriously this is the one single talk that packs the whole bunch of interesting stuff inside. Thanks!

[@DragonDePlatino]

34:22 My new favorite GDC moment. People should make compilations like compilations like AGDQ!

[@AndrosYang]

38:54 the man helped build a generation of indies

[@Gahanun]

I instantly recognized his face from the github issue discussion threads :D

[@xananacs]

Evan Todd! Hero of the people! Best dude out there. Correction: I did not know the others by name, but I knew every game. Excellent panel. Thanks!

[@benjoe1993]

Awesome talks! One of the best panels I've seen.

[@iamarugin]

38:23 and here the legend was born..

[@TheMasonX23]

I made a tool that lets you modify mesh vertex colors per channel based on a curve and a few options like along an axis (useful for things like by height) or based on distance (either spherical or planar/horizontal). I originally made it for baking occlusion into trees, but our lead artist started using it for all sorts of things, and said he used it more than Maya haha.

[@Yuriosity]

Link to the git

[@leonardoraele]

That's awesome

[@BADC0FFEE]

dear imgui is awesome, I'm using it for my editor and debugging tools. Thanks a lot Omar!

[@SijmenMulder]

The macro trick in the 7:24 talk is called "X macros", very effective for C and C++ and commonly used in some communities.

[@Rockyzach88]

This video is 7 years old, but I hope they did a lot more of these "tools" talks.

[@TroyLowry]

Cool, I've never heard of ImGui before.I will definitely be using this because I hate building my own UI from scratch.

[@Robota73]

Omar changed the game in the game industry with ImGUI!

[@mikeg4691]

I wish he would share more on the integration between puzzlescript and the final version of the snowman game.

[@OGBhyve]

Didn't know NW.js was still around (they are). I thought they were displaced by electron.

[@dealloc]

They are two different projects with different maintainers. Electron is created by GitHub and NW created by Robert Wang, Zhao Cheng and Ma Donghao. While they are similar, Electron is focused on modularity and speed and was primarily created out of Atom-it was called Atom Shell before-and gained popularity pretty much of the same reason other newer JS libraries gains popularity; because they are similar but different and that they are... well.. new. Although Electron is easier to use and setup and also-in my opinion-has a better API. There are more technical differences, but those are the main ones.

[@Nevarek_]

OH! Nice to see Kate in here! What a pleasant surprise :O

[@benjoe1993]

I'm still wondering why is that when someone randomly mentions your small country/language that you get the feeling like "omg, he said Hungarian, and I'm from Hungary, wooooooow"?

[@krux02]

is that really necessary?

[@benjoe1993]

+WinterXL I hope you are not talking about me as my first comment wasn't a hateful one. It was just a random thought on how people like to emphasize the fact that they belong to a certain group of people when it's mentioned in a context that would not necessarily have to contain such a mention. No hate for Hungarians from me...except for our government but that's a totally other question.

[@oooBASTIooo]

USA, USA!!!! USA, USA!!!!

[@nero3700]

Agree... It's like being in a live stream... 1 random guys tells in chat "I'm watching this at 4am" and within 2 minutes half of the chat shared their local time... :/ ... Djeez, extra points for us keeping comments ontopic :p

[@benjoe1993]

+nero3700 Can relate! Been listening to a livestream radio on YT lately and all the chat consists of is messages like "8:32 in Indianapolis" :D

[@lolindirlink]

I'm working on a similar system to the dialog file, but for characters and their stats. converting them to Excel is a great idea! Although, i build the editor inside the game so it's not really necessary as everyone who's going to play the game theorethically has easy access to these dev tools as i'm probably leaving them in. Thinking of making it into some sort of modding tool.

[@shadoninja]

Some criticism of the first presentation on dialog trees: he overreaches about making everything yourself. That is a huge mistake for a lot of developers to try to do (I tried this exact thing at one point). Whenever you decide to make something yourself, you should be aware of what tools are available and why you aren't using them. It can be price, the tool does too much for what you need from it, the tool doesn't solve your use case well enough, etc. Just make sure to think. Don't live and die by libraries/asset stores, but also take small wins when you can.

[@garryiglesias4074]

Didn't you feel the sense of humour ? Seems you're not so much a "ninja" in human (*) communication... We are not robots. We MAKE them... (*) ENJOYABLE, FUNNY human communication.

[@StarfallXIV]

@@garryiglesias4074 what are you even talking about? For someone who claims "we are not robots", you sound like your parsing algorithm just malfunctioned. Shadoninja made a perfectly valid point. If there's an existing tool that addresses your problem, why spend a week making a similar one? In development, time you spent doing something that contributes nothing is money wasted.

[@BrainSlugs83]

I'm late to the party, but I had the same knee jerk reaction at first, but as he went on, it became pretty clear to *me* that he wasn't advocating for making *everything* yourself. He uses a literal laundry list of tools to make his tool easily, and meanwhile, his entire tool was 700 lines of code. I think that if you can make something in 700 lines of code that gives you 80% of the functionality you want, that you're in pretty safe territory. :)

[@baggern]

Isn't reshade using imgui?

[@ss-oq9pc]

At 39:00 he says "I realize theres probably 5 people in the room still using C++." Does anyone know why he said that? What other programming languages or game devs shifting to now? Or is he just being sarcastic? I'm learning Python right now and intended on learning C++ in a year or two for games.

[@Asuraii]

He said that because a lot of the games nowadays are for mobile(ie Iphone/android) specially indie game.

[@lamle5183]

Because... Unity allows you to use C# :P

[@Mustis1524]

He's speaking from the standpoint of indie devs there. C++ is still the dominant industry standard for AAA games. But the best way to get into game dev on your own is imo to learn Unity together with C# by getting one or a few courses from Udemy. Don't buy anything from there if it isn't on sale though, as they regularly have all courses on the site on sale for 10-15$, meaning that $200 courses get a 95% price reduction, it's pretty ridiculous. I find that to be a MUCH better way of learning instead of searching for fragments of things you might need, through youtube and various forums, having it all spread out and varying in quality and applicability to your own future projects. Just get a few long courses from there with 4.5/5 ratings or above for 10$ each and you're set. I can recommend specific ones if you're interested.

[@ss-oq9pc]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'd prefer C# and Unity but I don't know if those can handle the type of games I want to make. They'd be similar to dwarf fortress. Not clones but simple 2D roguelike graphics, with a lot going on under the hood. Procedural generation, challenging/evolving AI and relevant simulations that impact gameplay and force the player to think and plan in order to advance rather than just paper thin repetitive stuff. If I knew C# and unity could handle it I'd go straight for them. I'm pretty sure Caves of Qud is on unity but that's all I know. I have a bunch of tutorials on them but I went to Python instead to first learn how to program, and just recently switched to Java after around 3 months with Python. I'm trying to work my way up to more complicated things but I'm totally on my own. Still tons to learn before I can even really start. Right now I'm trying to learn about what design patterns are most common for roguelikes, and entity components. I know Caves of Qud uses a lot of entity components also. I need to start with small games first, I know that much but theres probably a long way to go before I can begin. At least C# is similar to Java if I went that way.

[@Mustis1524]

I think you might be underestimating how powerful Unity is. Some games made with Unity include Cities: Skylines, Kerbal Space Program and Wasteland 2, just to name a few that might be somewhat relevant to your ideas. Other amazing titles using the Unity engine are Cuphead, Pillars of Eternity, Yooka-Laylee, Ori and the Blind Forest, Escape from Tarkov, Subnautica and also Blizzard's Hearthstone. I highly doubt you will be limited by the engine or language as a solo developer, not to mention that Unity is amazing for 2D games. There are such amazing resources for becoming proficient with the engine and language, while both being VERY powerful, that I don't know what your misgivings are based on. This is not something you will outgrow, yet it doesn't require prior experience with programming to get started and create something good. The Udemy courses I mentioned assume no prior knowledge of the language, nor Unity, so you can learn the language by creating games. Hearing your plans, I honestly think it would be a shame if you didn't explore this and I think you might regret later that you didn't start sooner. The complexity of your game will only be down to your level of expertise and not the limitations of the engine, nor C#. I have no doubt in my mind that the things you mentioned could be done using Unity. I won't pretend that there aren't plenty of bad and shallow games made with Unity, but that's merely a testament to it's accessibility and certainly not to any limitations of it and I think the above mentioned titles serve as proof of that.

[@MrEyeball66]

I love this talk! It was eye opening!

[@freecode.ai-]

I want to use excel as a database in Unity like at 6:10 any advice? Thanks

[@MrNucleosome]

This comment is 7months old, so... did you really do it?

[@freecode.ai-]

@@MrNucleosome I bought an assest in the assest store to handle my data.

[@MrNucleosome]

That's much better. Excel as data storage might sound very intuitive but as someone who actually worked with mass data and sometimes had the luck to deal with "excel data bases", I can tell you that it is a bad idea.

[@SamFreelancePolice]

"l still love you *hug*" :)

[@11b11b1]

1:50 Actually a good punchline lmao

[@shortsdeliveries]

nice one Todd, i will build a dialog system soon and should check it out yours

[@Zarala2010]

First guy, funny divorce joke. :D PCG girl strikes again! Awesome! T.T Hugging snowmen can not be overemphasized. ^.^

[@BrainSlugs83]

"We flipped that idea on its head and embedded the game in the level editor." ... so, like, every single Unity game. XD

[@TheReferrer72]

imgui looks cool, going to find a java port.

[@fyndor]

Interesting. I didnt know imgui was released in a talk

[@Flackon]

Isn't it a bit odd that the first guy mentions one of the drawbacks of buying a node dialogue system from the asset store is that it's "expensive" but then says he made his own using JointJS, where the cheapest license costs $2490? That's doesn't sound very "poor man" to me

[@TheCornishmafia]

This talk is from 4 years ago, and I think you can still use JointJS source for free? You might be looking at Rappid

[@DieMasterMonkey]

Tracery: Very cool!

[@k3daevin]

It's just L-Systems en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-system

[@TreetopCanopy]

I follow a bunch of those twitter bots!

[@JinKee]

Spoilers for Westworld: script=MAINLAND_INFILTRATION is actually written in Tracery.

[@simonfarre4907]

Now think if that macro enum stuff was compile time checked... like how Rust macros can be.

[@MuradBeybalaev]

dear imgui looks suspiciously like SpecialK. What graphic library do they have in common?

[@lyingpancake95]

The poor guy following up the snowman presentation...

[@JimGiant]

Someone should port the snowman game to the 2600.

[@ianschimnoski870]

is it hypothetically possible to use Scriptory to make a "swarm" of viruses that retroactively alter pieces of their "offspring's" owm code to avoid getting detected by antivirus software; by reporting back to a conjoined virus program, or by reporting back to a hide folder of viruses, semi-continously, so that when they suspect that they have been isolated by protection software: they can tell their kin to randomly jumble their code? I'm not recommending that anyone do such a thing outside of a controlled setting, but hypothetically: couldn't that create a whole new kingdom of life which metabolizes off of electricity and reproduces/evolves inside of computer systems? (with a selective pressure given to it in the form of things that attempt to get rid of it?)

[@ianschimnoski870]

if someone did that in a secure offline setting, on a CPU with custom/unique processor architecture which used non-standard sub-routines (to prevent programs on said machine from being compatible with other computers (as a safety procaution)) would the creation of such an entity be any kind of historical milestone worthy by of applaud?

[@ultraviper1884]

excel for poor man? that shits expensive.

[@dewolenyt]

ultraviper Use a free alternative?

[@tonyrigatoni766]

lol best comment.

[@shortsdeliveries]

Keir Miron looks like a wildling from Game of Thrones :)))

[@KeirMiron]

thanks?

[@monopoliz___2856]

tracery is so dope - atta girl

[@syzer3921]

35:00 .. love it!

[@FF18Cloud]

NW.js, I'll keep that in mind

[@VickylanceMedia]

also electron js

[@doodlemonstah5656]

COOL! Have an idea on how to use tracery in my game yeeeee :D thanks galaxyKate

[@antonsimkin]

my goodness they are geniuses

[@UltimatePerfection]

6:04 What if someone doesn't have Excel? What then? That's why I'm fan of text files for translation. Either standard .po files or INI-like files which are also easy to understand. These can be edited with an ordinary text editor.

[@Arganoid]

QVear LibreOffice Calc

[@jayeisenhardt1337]

The spreadsheet way looks nicer as you can see all the languages translations side by side for each small bit. You might catch a phrase or idiom in that language that reminds you of a story/phrase you can use in your own.

[@silversolver7809]

@ QVear If someone doesn't have Excel, they either have or can get an alternative like: Excel Web App Zoho Sheet Google Sheets Calc - Libre office Calc - Open Office OnlyOffice Gnumeric EtherCalc Spread 32 Birt Tableau PlanMaker Kingsoft Matrify

[@einsteinx2]

Also while he said it was an excel file, I have a feeling it was actually just a CSV file which can be opened in any text editor. Or if it was actually Excel, Google Docs and Libre Office are both free…

[@yapayzeka]

this is gold

[@sebastianmol1146]

Do people really not use c++ ?

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

'i'm kidding they're still divorced' :)

[@shdon]

Wow. Kate speaks so fast. She seems very nervous or pressed for time. It would have been easier to follow if she'd spoken a little bit slower. I found her talk to be the most interesting one among an already very good bunch.

[@person8203]

I feel like a lot of programmers code their own tools for the sake of coding like a badge of honour. The first guy said getting something off the shelf is expensive and, crucially, boring. Few unity assets could be considered expensive at all, most are easily affordable for even hobbyists. Why waste your time building, testing and debugging something that won't be as good. I come across a lot of coders like this that reinvent the wheel all the time. The asset store is one of unity's strengths, use it if you can!

[@Aalnius]

im a student so i cant afford to be throwing $50 at unity assets, although i have found a few that work well but tbh its normally easier for me to just make my own things as my needs are generally a lot less then what the assets offer anyway. Although the xci control wrapper asset saved me a lot of headaches when dealing with unitys "quirky" handling of xbox controllers.

[@GranCenturio]

person8203 What? Unity assets can be outrageously expensive! Specially if you live in a country which has a currency that has much less value than the american dollar.

[@schnoodle1824]

This is a bit silly - sometimes you need to build something very specific for your needs. Additionally, you inherently have a greater understanding of a tool or program if you build it yourself. Even still, coding your own tools can allow a sense of greater self-realized satisfaction - I would venture to say most game dev isn't just about making money, but also making games that they think they'd enjoy. It's like crafting a desk - you could go out and buy your own if you don't have skill, time, or specific vision - but if you handcrafted other furniture in your room, it just makes a lot more sense and gives more satisfaction to create a matching piece in the image you desire.

[@somedude4122]

Because it makes you a better coder, you;re next iteration will be better, and you'll never get anywhere if you pass up the chance to learn more

[@Mustis1524]

I won't say you're wrong but the main point for me about doing things myself and building something from scratch is due to a genuine interest, wanting to learn more and approve as a programmer. It's not a race to the finish line for me. The journey to a completed project is as important as the final product, if not more imo. I get that if you're on a tight deadline or the end product is the most important, or if programming isn't your preferred part of game development then yes, the asset store is there for you. As someone said above me, learning and improving is an iterative process and if you're interested, passing on opportunities to learn will only halt your improvement. I always want to demystify the magic going on under the hood and it's often my main motivation in programming.

[@monstereugene]

haven't watched but it thinks I have...

[@calebtaylor4352]

nice

[@trickynekoman]

Use XML

[@BADC0FFEE]

XML sucks

[@SamGarcia]

This comment was made by a KZbin bot.

[@derekp10000]

Evan Todd. Excel..why not notepad?

[@nescirian]

my sailor is rich

[@simpson6700]

do it yourself, also use my program makes sense i guess

[@Merthalophor]

"and then I got bored and went back to get a PhD" arrogance is on point

[@fabiboiii]

I'm kinda doing the same right now and I approve.

[@fabiboiii]

People early into their personal development (no matter the age!) will see a PhD as a lifetime goal but once you adopt a learning mindset you'll see it as a tiny stepping stone on your way to your way The way she said it was just an explanation for leaving the company, she didn't brag about it nor did she bash people who struggle I don't see the problem (but I get called arrogant for living in the fast lane and achieving great things others consider dreams)

[@rameynoodles152]

No, she DID bash the people who struggle by saying "and then I got bored, so I went and did that little thing that you may be struggling with." As if it was nothing, and required zero effort. She could have just said, I went back to school to get a PhD in such and such. And it's hardly a tiny stepping stone "on your way to your way" if it's literally the key to opening the door. A learning mindset doesn't see everything as a tiny stepping stone, it sees everything you don't know as the next big thing, and you need to learn it. Saying the opposite, is simply arrogance in itself.

[@rameynoodles152]

+DuckieMcduck Yes, she is bashing, because the "get's bored" comment was totally unnecessary to make the point that she went back to school, and is put forth in such a way as to suggest that she is superior to everybody else, because she get's PhDs as a hobby. If that one comment was left out, then the arrogance would have been eliminated. Seriously, why was that comment necessary to convey the point that she went back to school? And just because she holds a PhD doesn't give her the unique human right to bash lesser achieved humans and assert that she is superior. This is what we call an "asshole" ladies and gentlemen. The way she talks, I'll bet the only reason she goes to these talks is to assert herself over everybody else and prove to herself that she knows more, and is a superior programmer. The definition of arrogance. I could be wrong, and she may not be an arrogant person overall, but that statement was definitely an arrogant one.

[@rameynoodles152]

+DuckieMcduck Well, first of all, I do listen to what they say, or we wouldn't be having this discussion, and I wouldn't have clicked on this video. And yes, almost anything could probably be put into an arrogant way, but you really have to go out of your way to do this. And that's my point. She expends extra effort to make a comment that has no purpose other than to propel her ego into the sky. It's not really about other's struggling with school, or her ease of learning. It's about her throwing it in everybody's face for no reason. If I said, "So after making the super encryptor program, I went and made a clone of Battlefield 4 out of boredom." Would that not be arrogant? Couldn't I have said, "I went and made a clone of Battlefield 4?" It's all in the details... And maybe you're right. Maybe it was a joke. But I think it's a very poor joke, and in fact... I don't get the humor in it at all. Why would that be funny? Oh I did something that most people consider a great achievement, because I was bored. Ha ha ha, hilarious.

[@vyz333]

A "poor man's" dialogue tree... using a $1062.951 node visualizer. That's way more expensive than any Unity dialogue pack I've ever seen.

[@Attakijing]

huh? what costed that much? are you talking about excel?

[@SimonBuchanNz]

A bit late a reply, but it looks like he's referring to the commercial "rappid" tool built on their free and open source joint.js library. The website doesn't make the separation very clear.

[@bigmofo1122]

5:40 "Why do I use Excel?" Because spending a couples more hours to make a simple string editor in the same JS/HTML environment as the rest of your editor is not expensive enough. So let waste hundreds of dollars on proprietary software instead! If you think using Excel is a good idea, think again. Using Excel is never a good idea. FFS, even a simple text file like 'key=value ' would have been easier.

[@bl1398]

but how are you going to create all the graphs your game needs????

[@R0ndras]

First. Excel doesn't cost that much. Second: Excel has a better compatibility than OpenOffice or any other "excel" type of software. ;)

[@pavelkazantsev3771]

Actually CSV exists, it's super simple and is supported by Excel and literally all other spreadsheet software. Since there's no need for formulas and other fancy stuff I would just use it so it's both easy to parse programmatically and anyone can open and edit it in their software of choice.

[@omicron4714]

Incomptibility issues it created itself. I have no problem with using LibreOffice.

[@patrickj]

@@pavelkazantsev3771 Excel's default CSV handling is horrible, especially when working with people from different locales. That said, it's not about explicitly using Excel, just about using Excel's file format, which is supported by virtually any spreadsheet application out there.

[@MasthaX]

How is the first guy even making games with so much overhead code and side alley's. He's making a tool, to use in another tool to be visualized in another tool which eventually will be put into a game.. If you're a starting-out programmer, seriously don't listen to this crap.

[@maddehaan]

Very funny: Don't use tools created by another because crap...but....use libraries created by another...because easier.....sigh...simpleton approach. 15 seconds on: ooh...wait...don't use stuff from another...but I made a nice tool that I advertise now....sigh.

[@Max_G4]

I also found the last one the least helpful and most inconclusive. It really sounded like most of the time he advertised for his library, while others showed their thoughts on creating and using non-standard tools and integrating them into your development. The others also all showed some real examples of what can be done with that or how they are used, while I didn't get anything out of the last one.

[@undefined7206]

victims.dll

[@JonesCrimson]

UUuuugggh, *UNITY DEVELOPERS!* Get away from me!

[@Max_G4]

This seems very pretentious and gatekeeping. Unity is an engine like any other. It's not the tools you use that matters, it's what you do with them.

[@JonesCrimson]

@@Max_G4 Any attempts to equate two clearly different sets of tools is just misleading advertisement for the inferior toolset. Is it pretentious for the vast majority of users who have used both to think Unity is Inferior? Is it pretentious to think McDonald's hamburgers are less healthy than a salad? Is pretentious to think the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean? Is it pretentious to think gravity is higher magnitude on earth than the moon?

[@Max_G4]

@@JonesCrimson Okay, what completely tool are you comparing Unity to then? Since the only thing I see is "Ugh, Unity developers, go away and don't try to tell me anything" without mention of comparing it to anything else or any elaboration on why Unity is a bad tool.

[@JonesCrimson]

@@Max_G4 Godot is what I recommend for 2D developers, it's still better 3D than Unity, and for all 3D developers I recommend Unreal or potentially Lumberyard, potentially something else for specific uses. Unity is a jack of all trades, garbage at everything tool made as a product to people dumb enough to fall for cheap marketing.

[@Max_G4]

@@JonesCrimson I wouldn't call it people being "dumb enough for cheap marketing", but people choosing which tool they like best. Unity is not universally garbage. There are many good examples of games made with it that are good or are even critically acclaimed (Hollow Knight, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest & Will of the Wisps, Cities: Skylines, Hearthstone - just to name a few notable examples). You could say that the majority of games made with Unity are bad, but the majority of games that make it on Steam is bad too. It's not a problem with a tool, but with who uses it and how to use it There are also really bad games made with Unreal and Godot. It is not a tool that makes the game. It is the developers that *use* the tool to make it. Saying that Unity is trash is just like saying that Photoshop is trash, that nothing done with Photoshop is good and that people who use it for art are incompetent. That's what I got from your initial comment and that last one. I'm not trying to say that Unity is the absolute best Engine ever and that everybody should use it, but I don't appreciate you disregarding people's skill at game design, art, programming etc. just because of *one* tool used during the game's production. Those people at the panel could have just as well made the same things using Unreal and it would not make any difference.

[@TheMrKeksLp]

Ugh JavaScript on the Desktop. No thanks

[@WiseWeeabo]

I really don't understand this video at all. They tell you the right way to do something, then they tell you that for some reason writing in C# costs money as opposed to HTML5 which doesn't cost money? This is all stupid, just use Unity and extend the Unity Editor to all the functionality you could possibly dream of and it's all free, both poor man and rich man should use Unity.

[@user-qy2wf2lt6v]

Unity is free only your company does not exceed $100 000 in revenue or funding. After that is $1500 per year for one licence. And you need to have as many licences, as people.at the company use Unity. 100 000 dollars may seem like a lot, keep in mind that in Denmark (Unity was created in Denmark), a junior programmer starts at something like $27 an hour, which is around $53000 per year, but the company has to pay extra taxes, so the total sum is closer to $70000. But you have to keep in mind, that there are various taxes, rent to be paid, as well as other things. Even if people are working for free or at a reduced wage, you will have to pay the licence fees. You may end up paying $9000 per year, if you have 6 people working on the project. If you have 100-150 000 bucks to operate with, it may be harsh, to give 9000 of those away. And so ce your game will probably not going to need 3d eye candy and lightning techniques, you may give be better of just building a simple "engine" using Java Script in a HTML, and then just add the feature you need. Also, it may be faster, if not single person on your team knows how to use Unity. But what if... You are a big studio with a 200 developers, working on differ et titles at the same time? Then paying for unity, may not make much sense either. Why? Same reasons as with the small studio. Not enough people may know Unity, 300 000 per year may be too much, when you can build your own tool, or Unity may not fit the current needs. Since it's not an open source, there isn't much to be done about it. But if you are a mid-size studio, I believe that Unreal 4 or Unity seems like a good deal. BTW - Ninja Theory's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was sort of a "independent AAA" title (that's how the developers decided it) with a "micro" budget of "only" 10 million dollars. Without Unreal Engine 4, I doubt that they would've gotten even half as far.

[@mandisaw]

@@user-qy2wf2lt6v If you're paying 6 people $50K+, that's at least $300K/yr just for salaries (plus benefits & labor taxes, depending on country), not counting equipment, space rental, utilities, administrative overhead & vendors (lawyer, accountant, etc). Unity is $1500/yr, per *developer seat* - so it's not like you need a license for everyone on staff, only the 1-3 developers. Making $100K/yr in revenue already means that you're in a pretty high percentile in the games business. License fees for your essential tools is just a necessary budget line-item.

[@user-qy2wf2lt6v]

@@mandisaw Even then your investors/product owner would like sit down and go trough every single item on the budget. While 4 500 dollar out of 450 000 may seem completely justified to you (and to me as well, to be honest here), they may ask you why didn't you picked another tool. You may say that "is a necessary budget line-item", but you will just hear "No, it's not, because there are free alternatives. Please explain why should we spend any money on Unity". And the thing is, that maybe you shouldn't. Depends on the scenario. If you are making a rather simplistic 2d platformer for iOS and Android, you may not even need a tool like Unity. But as I said - it depends on your specific needs.

[@mandisaw]

@@user-qy2wf2lt6v It's always going to come down to a cost-benefit analysis. If using an engine saves your team months of time, then it's worth the cost.

[@bradleyberthold4606]

It's JIFS as in Jump, NOT G ifff Not "Guh" - it's "Ji"

[@zhorky]

Bradley Berthold actually it's "zhaif"

[@eelfroth]

Jraphics Interchange Format

[@animowany111]

howtoreallypronouncegif.com/

[@lvx969]

NO. Gif is "GIF" not "JIF".

[@madelinebitts2766]

And the "creator" was on a team with several people, who all later came out and said it's pronounced "Gif"