An OpenGL game engine is a software library that provides a framework for creating video games, integrating graphics and game logic. It can include features such as user input, GUI, networking, physics, and timing mechanisms. It eliminates the need to rewrite standard code and integrates disparate elements of a game. It can also refer to a completed game with custom data files removed, allowing users to create their own content.
An Open Graphics Library® (OpenGL®) game engine is a programming library or other collection of software that is intended to facilitate the creation of video games by providing a fully implemented framework that can be built to create a custom application. The foundation for any OpenGL® game engine is the interface between higher-level programming logic and OpenGL® libraries which, in turn, access low-level graphics hardware. Some engines focus primarily on easy access to graphics features and special algorithms by including features optimized for effects such as blurs, light maps, or custom shaders. Most commonly, an OpenGL® game engine adds various levels of functionality through higher-level libraries, scripting languages, or even custom development environments. Some of the features of the different OpenGL® game engines include user input routines, shadow rendering, a graphical user interface (GUI) framework, networking support, physics, and advanced timing mechanisms for smooth animations.
When creating games that use OpenGL®, whether they are two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D), a fair amount of programming code must be written to integrate the mostly static OpenGL® code libraries into a dynamic game environment in where objects change and move and users can interact with the virtual world. One of the primary purposes of an OpenGL® game engine is to eliminate the need to rewrite this type of standard code and instead provide a consistent, structured framework around which to build a game. OpenGL® only contains functions for displaying or rendering graphics on a device, so all game logic must be wrapped around that core, including developing a way to integrate objects that move within a scene or that can be added or deleted from a scene. A structure that uses OpenGL® for dynamic object graphics is generally known as a scene graph and is the basis for many implementations of the OpenGL® game engine.
Another reason an OpenGL® game engine might be used by developers is to eliminate the need to integrate several disparate elements of a game into a single framework, which can be time consuming to do properly. User input from a keyboard, GUI elements such as a window to select yes or no options, and even optimizations for some popular graphics cards can be included with an OpenGL® game engine, making it unnecessary for developers the sorting of hardware specifications to write the code itself. As a trade-off, engines that have such complex capabilities are usually very expensive or carry very restrictive licenses for commercial use, although some open source game engines do exist.
The term “OpenGL® game engine” can also refer to a completed computer game that has most or all of its custom data files removed, leaving only the compiled programming code. This allows a user to create custom graphics, maps, and sometimes events with scripts loaded by the game engine. The game is usually not editable to a large extent in this type of game engine and instead serves as a platform for users to create their own levels and content as opposed to an original indie game.
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