Task 18: Elements of Game Technology, part one: game engines

The Unreal Editor founded by Epic Games is a powerful engine that utilises various components to make up a modern Unreal-based game, these components are brought together to give you a quality real-time experience.

The first game that would utilise this engine is called Unreal this was launched back in June 1998, it received a warm welcome from the PC gaming community. It was arguably one of the best looking games released at that time.

 Epic spawned off many more games using the Unreal Editor

List of games:

1.       Unreal (June 1998)

2.       Unreal Tournament (November 1999)

3.       Unreal Championship (September 2002)

4.       Unreal 2: The Awakening (February 2003)

5.       Unreal Tournament (March 2004)

6.       The list goes on.....

The unreal engine can be used by anyone as it is a free software that consumers can download. It’s mainly used for aspiring mod makers or fledging game designers. Also for anyone who has ever wondered exactly what kind of work goes into making his favourite game.

The next engine that I would like to talk about is the Cry Engine developed by Crytek the makers of Crysis. The engine was first used as a technology demo for Nvidia, but when the company saw its potential they turned it in to a fully fledged game. Resulting in games like Farcry and Crysis.

List of games:

1.       Farcry (2004)

2.       Crysis (November 2007)

3.       Crysis 2 (March 2011)

 

The Cryengine is also a free non-commercial software that anyone can try out for free. The cry engine is mainly used for first person shooters this is where it has got its recognition from. Whereas the Unreal Engine can be used for a variety of games. The graphics that are used in the Cryengine look mature and lend more towards the realistic sides of things, whereas the Unreal Engine has a graphics system where almost any format of game would fit perfectly with the engine.

More and more developers are using Unreal Engine this is because of its usability to port a game on existing platforms, it has also spawned a fair amount of successful titles such as Gears of War and Unreal Tournament most of the reviewers commenting on the vibrant graphics. I think the Cryengine is still in its early days so it may take years for developers to start taking the engine seriously. I know that THQ has acquired the licensing rights to develop the successor to Homefront on the Cryengine so things are looking bright for the engine.

Links:

www.udk.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games

www.mycryengine.com

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryEngine

Book:

Mastering Unreal Technology published by SAMS