Building a Custom Game Engine: Architecture Decisions

Creating a game engine from scratch is one of the most challenging yet rewarding projects in game development. This guide explores the critical architectural decisions that will shape your engine's future.

Core Engine Architecture

Entity Component System (ECS)

class Entity {
public:
    EntityID id;
    std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Component>> components;
    
    template<typename T>
    T* GetComponent() {
        for (auto& comp : components) {
            if (auto* result = dynamic_cast<T*>(comp.get())) {
                return result;
            }
        }
        return nullptr;
    }
};

Memory Management

Custom allocators are essential for performance:

• ▸Stack Allocator: For temporary allocations
• ▸Pool Allocator: For fixed-size objects
• ▸Free List Allocator: For variable-size allocations

Rendering System

Modern engines should support multiple rendering APIs:

1. ▸OpenGL: Cross-platform compatibility
2. ▸Vulkan: Low-level control and performance
3. ▸DirectX 12: Windows optimization

Conclusion

Building a game engine requires careful planning and architectural decisions that will impact performance, maintainability, and scalability.