I have decided to rewrite my game engine. In fact, I already started a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know, it's an insane decision to develop an engine all over again. But I have good excuses to do so. Here are the three reasons why I'm rewriting my engine:
- Acquired Expertise
- Desired to learn a new language
- Becoming an expert
Acquired Expertise
Over the past years, I have learned so much about computer graphics. I am not the same engineer who started writing an engine in 2013. And if given to chance, I would not develop Untold Engine the same way as I did. Looking at the codebase, I can pinpoint many issues with my game engine. As a matter of fact, I am embarrased with some implementations. But hey, I did not know, what I didn't know.
In a previous post, I mentioned three things that I would do differently. Code wise, I would implement the engine using ECS architecture. I would make use of compute kernels throughout the engine to help with performance. And more importantly, and this is a big one, the codebase would be a lot cleaner/simpler and less full of clutter.
Desired to learn a new language
I can rewrite my engine in C++. But I don't want to waste an opportunity to become an expert in Swift. You may say that is crazy, and maybe it is, but I want to be marketable and learning Swift may help landing job opportunities. Moreover, at work, I use C++ and Objective-C and I don't want to spend my weekends using the same languages. I want to try something new. Finally, Swift is kind of a cool language. I'm starting to like it.
Becoming an expert
My third reason for rewriting my game engine is a personal one. My personal goal is to be expert in this field. Is a personal goal that keeps me going.
We all know that the first time you do something, you are going to suck. The second time around, you will do better, and on and on.
I know that my game engine is not the best one out there. But I know that the second time around, I will develop a higher quality, higher performance game engine ready for the market to use.
So, wish me luck. I'm going to need it. :)
