ArcadeMaker - 2D game engine with custom scripting language and IDE
Show HN: C# Game Engine with its own scripting language and IDE
ArcadeMaker is a beginner-friendly, cross-platform 2D game engine that comes with its own programming language (Exp) and an integrated development environment (IDE). Built in C# and powered by MonoGame, it supports desktop, mobile, and console exports, with plans for web support via a KNI-engine backend. Inspired by GameMaker 8, it offers a familiar workflow for creating games. The project is open-source and welcomes contributions to help it reach its full potential.
By open-sourcing it, I hope others will experiment with the engine, improve the language and tooling, and help shape the future of the project.
- am-gm
Wow, my post suddenly went viral! Just opened GitHub a few minutes ago, and saw +17 stars on my project from the last few hours... Anyway, i see a lot of people asking WHY making ky own engine or language. So the main answer is: for fun. it's clearly not going to be even close to a professional engine like godot/unity/modern gamemaker, but this is mine, and the others aren't :)
But i wrote more about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/csharp/comments/1tmcg6j/my_biggest_...
- h2aichat
This is a massive undertaking... building a whole language + IDE + engine from scratch is insane.
I am curious: what made you go with a custom language instead of just embedding Lua or something? Was it a learning thing, or do you think Exp brings something Lua (or GML) doesn't?
- Altern4tiveAcc
The inspiration on GameMaker is clear and very much appreciated.
Can the IDE run on other OSes besides Windows? You seem to be using WinForms.I tried building it and running through Wine, but it didn't work.
Congrats on the project, making an IDE is no easy task. I believe there's room for a game engine to offer what GameMaker 8.1 used to (near instant runs, extremely fast iteration time for 2D games).
- BSTRhino
I think if you're looking for other people to use your game engine, it helps to have one killer feature. I'm not clear what yours is at this point. Even if your killer feature is not something you have yet completely implemented, but it is simply a long-term goal, I think it is worth listing that front and center.
- theyliesoeasily
To any aspiring game developers out there: If you need AAA-equivalent graphics and are willing to tank the overhead, use UE5. Otherwise, homebrew everything in the language you prefer (use an LLM, make sure you understand the architecture perfectly).
Using a half-baked semi-supported game engine which you don't understand will destroy your project sooner or later. The cognitive overhead of understanding someone else's code is far, far higher than using your own. If you can't handle any of this, get a developer on board who can - you aren't equipped for this.