GameFromScratch.comHaxe Game Engines in 2025Today we have compiled a list of the best Haxe game engines and game development frameworks (and a few miscellaneous game development options) for game development in 2025. This is the fourth in a series of posts exploring the game engine options available for the most popular programming languages. WeThe post Haxe Game Engines in 2025 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

This week Microsoft (technically Microsoft Research Game Intelligence and Teachable AI Experiences teams) announced Microsoft Muse, a generative AI model designed for AI ideation. What the heck does that mean? Well, its very similar to Googles GameNGen which created a somewhat recreated version of Doom by having an AI play the game over and over again, then rendering a dynamic result based on the users input. With Microsoft MUSE they worked with Ninja Theory using their 2020 XBox game Bleeding Edge, both using gameplay footage and controller input data.As part of this process they created WHAM, the World Human Action Model as well as the WHAM Demonstrator which allows users to interface with the data model. At this point you may be asking yourself a very important question why?Today, our team is excited to be publishing our work in Nature and simultaneously releasing Muse open weights, the WHAM Demonstrator, and sample data to the community.I look forward to seeing the many ways in which the community will explore these models and build on our research. I cannot wait to see all the ways that these models and subsequent research will help shape and increase our understanding of how generative AI models of human gameplay may support gameplay ideation and pave the way for future, novel, AI-based game experiences, including the use cases that ourcolleagues at Xbox(opens in new tab)have already started to explore.One use case that Xbox head Phil Spencer (in this reveal video) suggested was gameplay preservation:You could imagine a world where, from gameplay data and video, a model could learn old games and really make them portable to any platform where these models could run, I feel thats really exciting.In a Eurogamer article, AI expert Dr Michael Cook responded accordingly:Bluntly, Cook calls Spencers comments idiotic.I mean, in a sense anything is a preservation tool, Cook writes. I could ask my friends five-year-old son to draw a crayon picture of what he thinks the ending cutscene ofFinal Fantasy 8looks like and that would still count as game preservation of a certain sort.Despite a decade of AI growth, Cook says, theres no method yet to measure what exactly an AI model has captured and what it has not. Muse is able to provide grainy gifs of one fairly simple video game based on seven years of footage, but it is not a solution for holding everything about a game or every possible outcome of what players could do.This is absolutely not a solution for game preservation, Cook concludes, citing areport by gaming archeologist Florence Smith Nicholls about the archiving of digital games. What does it mean to preserve a gameplay experience? Even if this model was a perfect replication of the original executable software, this is not the be-all and end-all of game preservation. A generative model of what game footage maybe looked like once might be a nice curio on the side of a real preservation process, but it is always going to be inferior to other ways we approach the problem.Last month,Take-Two InteractivebossStrauss Zelnick weighed in with his opinion of AI, saying that artificial intelligence is an oxymoron, theres no such thing.Key LinksMicrosoft Research Introducing MuseGoogles Similar GameNGen ProjectThe Eurogamer ArticleMore On Muse by Dr. Michael CookYou can learn more about Microsofts gameplay Ideation AI model in the video below.

Today as part of the Source SDK update, Valve have released the entire source code of Team Fortress 2, both client and server side. This source code is released under a non-commercial license which enables you to create from a mod to an entire game using the source code.Details of the Team Fortress 2 source release from the Team Fortress blog:Mod makers, rejoice! Weve just released a massive update to theSource SDK, adding all the Team Fortress 2 client and server game code. This update will allow content creators to build completely new games based on TF2. Were also doing a big update to all our multiplayer back-catalogue Source engine titles (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM, CS:S, and HLDM:S), adding 64-bit binary support, a scalable HUD/UI, prediction fixes, and a lot of other improvements!Unlike the Steam Workshop or local content mods, this SDK gives mod makers the ability to change, extend or rewrite TF2, making anything from small tweaks to complete conversions possible.The SDK is licensed to users on a non-commercial basis, meaning that any mod created using the SDK must be free, and any content in those mods must be free. TF2 mods may be published on the Steam Store, and after publication will appear as new games in the Steam game list.Players have a lot of investment in their TF2 inventories, and Steam Workshop contributors have created of a lot of that content. The majority of items in the game now are thanks to the hard work of the TF2 community. To respect that, were asking TF2 mod makers continue to respect that connection, and to not make mods that have the purpose of trying to profit off Workshop contributors efforts. Were hoping that many mods will continue to allow players access their TF2 inventory, if this makes sense for the mod.Key LinksTeam Fortress SDK Blog PostSDK Installation GuideSteam SDK Source Code on GitHubYou can learn more about the Team Fortress 2 source code release in the video below.

GameFromScratch.comGodot Programming Language Options in 2025An update on our 2020 guide to Godot game engine programming options today we look at the up to date and under active development programming language options for Godot developers. This list is composed mostly of GDExtension based projects for adding various programming language support to the Godot game engine.The post Godot Programming Language Options in 2025 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

NESFab is a new programming language for a very old platform, the Nintendo Entertainment System. It provides a C-like programming language but offers closer to assembly level performance. In fact NESFab claims to be the fast compiled programming language for the NES hardware (including the 6502 processor). NESFab is an open-source GPL 3 based project.Strengths and weaknesses of NESFab from their documentation:NESFab is a statically-typed, procedural programming language for creating NES games. Designed with 8-bit limitations in mind, the language is more ergonomic to use than C, while also producing faster assembly code. Its easy to get started with, and has a useful set of libraries for making your firstor hundredthNES game.2.1. Strengths of NESFabPerformance is generally superior to C and all other compiled languages.Mapperbanks are handled automatically and scale up without fuss.Multi-byte and fixed-point arithmetic is well supported and simpler than other languages.The compiler is easily configured, without needing complex build systems.Some asset loading is built-in. There are less steps to get your ideas onto the screen.2.2. Weaknesses of NESFabNESFab code is only compatible with the NES. It cannot compile to other systems.Only a select number of cartridgemappersare supported.Although NESFab performance is good, writing assembly by hand can obviously surpass it.NESFab is not as tried-and-true as other languages. They are likely bugs and missing features.Key LinksNESFab HomepageNESFab GitHubNESFab DocumentationNES Development WikiYou can learn more about NESFab in the video below.

Unity have 3 MegaBundles Right Now / News / February 14, 2025 / Bundle, UnityThe Unity Asset Store megabundles are back in a big way, with not one, but three Mega Bundles available. The Fantasy MegaBundle, the Sci-Fi MegaBundle and the Realistic MegaBundle. Thankfully the majority of assets in these bundles have not been featured in previous Unity Asset Store bundles or on Humble Bundle. Fantasy MegaBundleEnvironment / Weather / Nature VFX packLow-Poly Medieval Fantasy Heroes Basic PackLow Poly Fantasy BundleFS Melee Combat SystemFantacode StudiosvFavorites 2Fantasy Forest EnvironmentLinework: Easy Outlines, Edges and FillsUmbra Soft Shadows Better Directional & Contact Shadows for URPStylized Fantasy Dragons PackKayKit Adventurers Character Pack (for Unity)Decal SplinesPure Nature 2 : IslandsMonsters Fire PackSci-Fi MegaBundleSpace Combat KitSciFi Neon High CitySci-Fi Ship ControllerAMS UI Soft MaskSci-Fi SoundsModular Stylized Cyberpunk StreetKUBIKOS Sci-fi Cube WorldSciFi Space Station HeavyMighty Tracking Scene Optimization, AI Tracking and Physics DebuggingLightning SystemsCustomizable 3D Characters Complete BundleRealistic MegaBundleEasy Minimap System MT GPS, Radar, Worldmap, Fog of War & MoreObi SoftbodySmartTools Work Smarter, Not Harder.Real World TerrainRunning Water VFXSand Effects PackUltimate Chat BoxLUMINA GI: Real-Time Voxel Global IlluminationRealistic Car ControllerCharacter Controller ProDecaleryObfuscator ProPegasusOnline Maps v3Crest Water 4 BIRP (Ocean, Rivers & Lakes)House Props & Furniture Vol. 2Realistic Eye MovementsAltos Volumetric Clouds, Skybox, and Weather for Unity URPRealistic Cliffs and RocksIf you arent a Unity user, you can still export these assets to other engines, following these guides:Unity to Godot in SecondsUnity to Unreal Using Utu PluginExporting From Unity to Other Engines and BlenderAsset Store Assets in Other Engines Is It Legal?Links on this page contain an affiliate code that helps support GFS if used (and thanks so much if you do!). You can learn more about the Fantasy MegaBundle, the Sci-Fi MegaBundle and the Realistic MegaBundle in the video below.

Today we are checking out s&dBox, a new game engine and spiritual successor to Garys Mod by Facepunch (who also created the hit game Rust). While Garys Mod enabled gamers to create cool experiences to share and interact with, s&dbox takes it a step further, by not only having the interactive physics sandbox of Garys Mod, but also adding a full-blown game engine built on top of Valves source engine (and user the Hammer game editor). This will enable creators to actually publish their creations as full blown games and Facepunch intend to build their future projects on s&dboxs foundations.s&dbox is described as:S&box is not going to be Garrys Mod 2. It will eclipse what is possible in Garrys Mod rather than simply be a modern version of it.We are taking Source 2 and using our knowledge of Source 1, Garrys Mod, Unity and Unreal Engine were trying to create an intuitive, modern feeling game development environment where everything is moddable.Like Rust and Garrys Mod we see this as a long term thing. We intend to eventually make our own games using it. It is something for us to work on and improve every day for the next couple of decades.Right now you can sign up for s&dbox completely free, you simply need to log in using your Steam account on this page.S&dbox is a full-blown game engine with world editing tools (Hammer), animation tools, terrain tools, as well as a C# scripting support in addition to ActionGraph, their visual scripting solution. When you launch s&dbox you also have the option to simply launch into sandbox mode and play the creations of other users. One important question for developers of course is can we make money?Will creators be able to monetize?Yes. But we want to be careful about what that means. We dont want everything becoming pay to win like on other platforms.Key Linkss&dbox Homepages&dbox DocumentationYou can learn more about s&dbox and see it sorta in action (its a bit buggy for me it is still very much under development at this point) in the video below.

PlayCanvas is a popular 2D/3D game engine with a full editing environment for creating WebGL accelerated high performance games. PlayCanvas has a proprietary online 3D editor built on top of an open-source game development framework. We have long followed the progress of the PlayCanvas engine, including this multi-part creating your first game tutorial several years back. PlayCanvas just released PlayCanvas 2.5 with the following new features:Updates to material chunks override functionality by@mvaligurskyin#7284Small gsplat init update by@slimbuckin#7286Moved CameraFrame script to ESM folder by@mvaligurskyin#7285Script Types & ESLint by@kpal81xdin#7288Refactor Grid class initialization and set initial values by@marklundinin#7287Refactor first-person controller script by@marklundinin#7289Refactor Camera controls by@kpal81xdin#7291Unified handling of core shader generation defines by@mvaligurskyin#7298Replace skybox shader generator with a ShaderMaterial using few defines by@mvaligurskyin#7301GsplatMaterial interally uses ShaderMaterial to generate variants by@mvaligurskyin#7302WarnOnce in debug mode if material parameter is being set to undefined by@mvaligurskyin#7305Do not log warning when material data contains sheenGlossTint, which was removed by@mvaligurskyin#7306Shader WGSL example split single shader into vertex and fragment by@mvaligurskyin#7310Improve preprocessor to allow for define value injection by@mvaligurskyin#7309View Cube extra by@kpal81xdin#7081Examples build rework by@kpal81xdin#7314Script Destroy by@kpal81xdin#7315VecN/Color array conversion support by@kpal81xdin#7312Examples build static file optimisation by@kpal81xdin#7317Camera controls focus damping by@kpal81xdin#7313Editor example updates by@kpal81xdin#7319Easier to override render pass used by the CameraFrame by@mvaligurskyin#7321Improvements to sRGB support by the Texture by@mvaligurskyin#7323Gizmo rotate updates by@kpal81xdin#7327Improved support for WGSL shaders. by@mvaligurskyin#7320Improvement to internal WGSL shader processing to only replace whole words by@mvaligurskyin#7329Outline renderer supports morphed models by@mvaligurskyin#7333When Texture.srgb is changed, shaders are reevaluated to be recreated by@mvaligurskyin#7336Adds@enableifto Camera Controls Script by@marklundinin#7330Gsplat material creation no longer set undefined parameters on the material by@mvaligurskyin#7339Make Batch.destroy public as its useful for destroying manually created batch groups by@mvaligurskyin#7340There are also several fixes in the 2.5 release. Full release notes are linked below.Key LinksPlayCanvas 2.5 Release NotesPlayCanvas HomepagePlayCanvas GitHub RepositoriesYou can learn more about the PlayCanvas game engine and the 2.5 release in the video below.

Fab February 2025 Free Asset Giveaway #2 / News / February 11, 2025 / Assets, Free, UnrealEvery other Tuesday we get anUnreal EngineFab marketplace giveaway, and this Tuesday is no exception. You can get three free game development assets during the next two weeks; all of the assets work in Unreal natively as well as one asset being available for the Unity game engine. If you are using a different game engine or tool, we have guides below that instruct you on how to export from Unreal Engine to other engines such as Godot, Blender or Unity for example. These assets will be available until February 25th, 2025, when hopefully they will be replaced with 3 more free assets.This weeks free assets include:You can see all of these assets in action in thevideobelow.If you are interested in getting these assets into other game engines, check out our various guides available here:

After several years of layoffs following their 2020 IPO that cumulated in the ousting of CEO John Riccitiello, it had seemed that Unity was finally on solid footings going forward. Under new CEO Matthew Bromberg the state of Unity seemed to be heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, as reported by 80lv it seems the layoffs are not yet over. This morning the following memo was circulated by the CEO inside Unity describing the restructuring that is about to occur:Folks,We are making some important organizational changes today within the CTO, Engine Product, and Ads teams. These changes are a response to choices were making about what direction Unity will take in the future, and some of our colleagues jobs will be impacted.What follows provides some detail on the rationale behind the decisions weve made and how those decisions will be implemented. I know that there is some exhaustion associated with prior changes at Unity that havent delivered the promised results, but 2025 is going to be the year where we bring to market products and services that will transform our position in the marketplace and provide a springboard to long-term growth.The EngineOur product and engineering teams are currently stretched across too many products, creating complexity and limiting impact. Historically, weve engaged in extended debates about what our focus would be, which would prevent crisp decision making and limit release velocity. We also added people and created operating structures that were meant to speed us up, only to find they were slowing us down. Under the leadership of Steve Collins, Shanti Gaudreault, Andie Nordgren, and Adam Smith, we are changing this approach. Some principles well be following:Optimize around fidelity for ubiquity: While well always try to enable the best quality graphics we can, our primary directive is to help customers reach the widest possible audience across platforms and devices.Improve the customer experience today: While we wont sacrifice innovation, we need a better balance between looking ahead and shipping higher quality, better performing, more stable software. We are going to invest in stability by tackling critical technical debt, making it easier for customers to build and run games while reducing risks tied to outdated technologies. To innovate, we must first strengthen our existing foundation.Platform extensibility: Our platforms extensibility is its greatest strength. Well double down on this by allowing customers and partners to build on our core capabilities with strong support.Invest in Industry, Live Services, and AI.Data is our future: Our engine customers need better insight into player behavior and Runtime stability, and our advertising customers need better ROI to grow their games. The Runtime must enable both.As part of this new approach, we are also bringing key technical teams together to ensure all product decisions directly support our new principles. Pierre-Paul Girouxs AI group and Amar Mehtas Central Technology Services team are joining the CTO organization, with both Pierre-Paul and Amar reporting directly to Steve.Advertising Products, Engineering and RevenueTwo years on from the merger with ironSource, it is time to bring our go-to market teams, technology, and product offering together, integrating them directly into the Unity ecosystem so that our customers can gain a competitive edge in the market.In 2025, in conjunction with completing the rebuild of our machine learning stack, well integrate Unity Ads, Unity LevelPlay, and the Tapjoy offerwall into the Runtime so that they are on the same cloud and data platform and share a single data set. Our Ads revenue teams will then require some modification to align fully with our product and engineering teams, and well be able to streamline our data science and ad serving teams as well.We are splitting the revenue organization into two global teams Supply and Demand which will be led from EMEA and the U.S., respectively.This will allow the Demand leader in the U.S. to be closer to the PE teams working on the machine learning and data initiatives that will have the greatest impact on our advertising customers.The Supply team will align more closely with the relevant PE teams in Tel Aviv and EMEA for smoother coordination, and will own supply sales, LevelPlay and Offerwall integrations, and tech support.The product and engineering teams for the ironSource ad network will remain as a cohesive, standalone team that can move fast and adjust to customer needs with no investment in tech migrations. This will create two distinct paths for each network to thrive, and ensure we can maintain growth in our current business while evolving as quickly as we can to meet the challenges in the marketplace.As part of this change, we also want to consolidate the Ads leadership in the U.S., and therefore in a few months, after completing the transition and ensuring were set up for success, Nadav Ashkenazy will hand over the CRO responsibility to a new leader in North America. Nadav wears many hats at Unity leader of the Ads revenue org, GM of Supersonic, and site leader of Tel Aviv. I want to extend my deep gratitude to him for his leadership, dedication, and the amazing job hes done leading our Tel Aviv office. Im very grateful for his partnership.Thats the gist of what we are doing and why. People whose roles are being eliminated or those entering an employment consultation period will be notified over the course of the next couple of days, with instructions on next steps. We expect all notifications to be completed by EOD on Feb 12.I want to thank each impacted colleague for their contributions to Unity. Well do everything we can to handle these difficult changes with a lot of care and consideration, and to support impacted employees through this transition. Please remember to take care of yourselves as well. Confidential support through Lyra is available if you need it, and well extend access to mental health benefits to those who are leaving.If you have questions or concerns, dont hesitate to reach out to your manager, an executive leader, or #ask-hr. More details about the changes and updated org charts will be added to this intranet page.Starting later this week, Ill be sharing more about our 2025 strategy in a series of Town Halls in Montreal, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, and San Francisco, where Ill also be able to answer your questions about how these changes support that strategy. The first Town Hall will be global and I will host it in Montreal tomorrow. I look forward to seeing many of you both in person and virtually then.MattOur heart goes out to all of the employees at Unity Technologies that are impacted by the latest round of layoffs, which hopefully are the last of them. You can learn more about the layoffs and restructuring at Unity in the video below.

The idea of linking 3D experiences together to create cyberspace has been with us for a very long time, a term first coined in the book Neuromancer (published in 1984). Early technologies like VRML attempted this, but were ahead of the technology of the day. The Gates is one such modern project, that essentially provides a 3D web browser built upon the open source Godot game engine for connecting and playing Godot games online. It also comes with tooling that enables you to publish compatible Godot games to create your own online communities.The Gates is described as:TheGatesis a free and open-source 3D internet browser build withGodot Engine.It connects game experiences together like world wide web and allows you to easily access them without installing.Available on Windows, Linux and MacOSOne very important fact to be aware of right now:*important: Windows and MacOS version doesnt have sandboxing meaning its not secure to open non trusted gates and Linux sandboxing is not tested fully, so be carefulWe are working on it) any help is appreciatedThe Gates project is open source under the MIT license.Key LinksThe Gates HomepageThe Gates GitHubThe Gates DocumentationThe Gates Godot ExporterYou can learn more about this interesting (and very early) Godot cyberspace project The Gates in the video below.

Fyrox Rust Game Engine 0.36 Release / News / February 6, 2025 / Engine, Release, RustThe Rust-powered Fyrox game engine just released Fyrox 0.36, their biggest release to date. Fyrox is the closest thing to a Rust powered Unity game engine you will find. This open-source rust game engine saw improvements across the board, as well as new features such as a new project manager, 9-patch editor and a new tilemap system for 2D games.From the Fyrox 0.36 release blog:Im happy to announce that Fyrox 0.36 has been released! Fyrox is a modern game engine written in Rust, it helps you to create 2D and 3D games with low effort using native editor; it is like Unity, but in Rust. This release is the largest in history of the engine so far. It includes major rendering improvements, feature-rich tile maps, UI styling support, project manager, nine patch improvements, collider shape editing, terrain improvements, animation improvements, particle system improvements, huge amount of bugfixes and a lot more.Full release notes and details are available in the announcement.Key LinksFyrox HomepageFyrox 0.36 Release DetailsFyrox BookFyrox GitHubFyrox Demo Projects GitHubYou can learn more about the Rust-powered Fyrox game engine and the Fyrox 0.36 release in the video below.

GameFromScratch.comLua Game Engines in 2025Today we have compiled a list of the best Lua game engines and game frameworks (and a few miscellaneous game development options) for game development in 2025. This is the third in a series of posts exploring the game engine options available for the most popular programming languages. We haveThe post Lua Game Engines in 2025 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

There is a double decker of game development news in one post today. First, we have a new Humble Bundle of interest to game developers, the Game Programming Books by Pearson bundle, a collection of e-books on game design, programming and more. This joins yesterdays excellent Ovani Game Audio bundle.Second, you can get a copy of RPG Maker VX Ace completely for free on Steam right now in celebration of RPG Maker Festival 2025. The direct Steam link is available here if you want to pick up your own copy of RPG Maker VX Ace for free. Be careful there is also (oddly) an option to buy it on the same page, so be sure to select the right option. This offer is only available until February 10th at 10AM PST!Details of the RPG Maker Festival 2025:RPG Maker Festival 2025 A festival full of anniversaries, with all GAMES coming together!Maker Day (Tsukuru no Hi, February 15th) is the day for recognizing and spreading the joy of making games!To celebrate this day, we are holding the online event RPG Maker Festival again this year!The RPG Maker Festival is a grand event with the theme of Creators and players, everyone is the star!Therell be new releases and lots of discounts for RPG Maker products, DLCs, and a large number of games created with RPG Maker.This year, the number of participating titles is1074 games a record for the event! Dont miss your chance to discover new masterpieces and make some great purchases.Additionally, were pleased to inform you that RPG Maker VX Ace will be made free for a limited time! Please download it from the link at the bottom of the page.Using bundle links on this page helps support GFS (and thanks so much if you do!). You can learn more about both the new Game Programming Book bundle and the free release of RPG Maker VX Ace in the video below.

The Infinite Echoes Ultimate Ovani Game Sound and Music Humble Bundle is now live. This bundle is a huge collection of game development-oriented sound effects and music packs from Ovani Sound. It also includes dynamic music playback plugins for Unreal Engine, Unity and Godot. The best part of Ovani Humble Bundles is they tend to be all new content, except the plugins. This bundle is organized into the following tiers:1$ TierFunk Music Pack Vol. 2Action Flick Music Pack Vol. 2Classical Music Pack Vol. 3Sci-Fi Horror Sound FX Pack Vol. 2Player Status Vol. 2Destruction Sound FX Pack Vol. 2Mid TierKeys Music Pack Vol. 4Electricity Sound FX PackElectronic Music Pack Vol. 7Superheroes Sound FX PackSci-Fi Horror Music Pack Vol. 2Ethereal Music Pack Vol. 3Childrens Music Music Pack Vol. 2Robotic Beings Sound FX PackJapanese Music Pack Vol. 4Heavy Electronic Music Pack Vol. 3Synth Fantasy Music Pack Vol. 320$ TierCombos, Crits, & Fails Sound FX Pack Vol. 2Casual Music Pack Vol. 5Chiptune Music Pack Vol. 5Dark Fantasy Music Pack Vol. 2Orchestral Ambient Music Pack Vol. 3Ambient Music Pack Vol. 8UI & Menus Sound FX Pack Vol. 4Mixtape Music Pack Vol. 1Environmental Ambiences Sound FX Pack Vol. 4Medieval Fantasy Sound FX Pack Vol. 4Body Horror Sound FX Pack Vol. 2Fearsome Creatures Sound FX Pack Vol. 2Hannah Weeks Voice Over PackBryce Garland Voice Over PackUnity Music PluginUnreal Music PluginGodot Music PluginUsing our links helps support GFS (thanks so much if you do!) and if you have an issue with opening the link, try opening it in a new tab and it should work just fine. You can learn moreabout the Infinite Echoes Ultimate Ovani Game Sound and Music Humble Bundle in thevideobelow.

Scrap Raylib Powered Visual Programming Language / News / February 1, 2025 / No Code, Programming LanguageThere is a new Visual Programming language available, Scrap. It is a free and open source (GPL v3 licensed) project that is heavily inspired by the Scratch programming language, which was made using the excellent C/C++ Raylib game framework. The big difference between Scrap and Scratch is a focus on advanced users and performance.Key differences of Scrap from Scratch include:Faster runtime (Still not faster than Turbowarp because Scrap is interpretedfor now)The addition of separate else if, else blocks (C-end blocks as i call them), which eliminates a lot of nested checks with if-else blocks (i.e. more flexible variant of if-else block in Snap!)Variables can have a lifetime, which avoids variable name conflicts and allows to make temporary variablesCustom blocks can return values and can be used as an argument for other blockVarious string manipulation blocks and bitwise operator blocksData type conversion functionsMore strict checks for [[] = []] and [[] != []] blocks. Now they are case sensitive and will check data type for equalityLists are now a data type instead of a different type of variable, this allows nesting lists inside a list (although its not very convenient as of right now)The code runs in a separate thread. This solves some performance issues compared to ScratchModularized interface. Most of the interface can be rearranged or moved to another tabScrap is available on Windows and Linux.Key LinksScrap GitHubScrap DownloadsRaylib FrameworkYou can learn more about Scrap in the video below.

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Fab February 2025 Free Asset Giveaway / News / January 28, 2025 / Assets, Free, UnrealEvery other Tuesday we get anUnreal EngineFab marketplace giveaway and this Tuesday is no exception. You can get three free game development assets during the next two weeks, all of the assets work in Unreal natively (there are no Unity specific assets this week). If you are using a different game engine or tool we have guides below that instruct you on how to export from Unreal Engine to other engines such as Godot, Blender or Unity for example.This Months free assets include:You can see all of these assets in action in thevideobelow.If you are interested in getting these assets into other game engines, check out our various guides available here:

There is a new Humble Bundle of interest to game developers, The Complete Godot 2025 Course bundle by Zenva. This bundle contains a collection of up to 24 courses for Godot Engine 4.x at both beginner and intermediate levels. The vast majority of training materials in this bundle have not been featured in previous Humbles. The bundle is composed of the following courses:1$ TierIntro to Godot 4 Game DevelopmentGodot 4 Mini-ProjectsMedian TierMobile Game Development with GodotBuild a Walking Simulator with Godot 425$ TierIntermediate Godot Essential Programming PatternsThe Comprehensive Godot Multiplayer CourseConstruct a Multiplayer Lobby in GodotCreate a Horror Game in Godot 4Discover Procedural Generation in Godot 44X Strategy Game in Godot & C# Unit 1 Hex-Based Map4X Strategy Game in Godot & C# Unit 2 City Spawning4X Strategy Game in Godot & C# Unit 3 UnitsDevelop a Complete Roguelike Game in GodotGit and GitHub for Godot Version Control EssentialsMake Custom Plugins for Godot from ScratchCreate 3D Spatial Shaders with Godot 4Build a Complete Hypercasual Game with GodotComplete Godot Project In-Game ShopBuild a Tower Defense Game in Godot 4Develop a Bullet Hell in Godot 4Build a Complete, Fully-Fledged 2D Game with GodotBuild a Complete Puzzle Game with Godot and C#Make a Metroidvania in Godot 4Make an AI State Machine in Godot 4Outside of the $1 tier, none of the courses have been featured in previous Humble Bundles. The courses are redeemed using a single key on the Zenva website. Using our links helps support GFS (thanks so much if you do!) and if you have an issue with opening the link, try opening it in a new tab and it should work just fine. You can learn more The Complete Godot 2025 Course bundle by Zenva about in the video below.

The Elite Creators Superbundle on Humble Bundle is a collection of 4000+ high quality Unreal Engine assets from Meshingun Studio, SCANS Factory, Dekogon and Prophaus. The assets are redeemed on the Fab marketplace and are for Unreal Engine, although they can be exported to other tools and game engines using the guides available below. The bundle is organized into the following tiers:1$ TierFood ScansRestaurant VOL.1 Food Prep (Nanite and Low Poly)Stone Sculptures VOL.2 Statues and Benches (Nanite + Low Poly)Stone Sculptures VOL.l Modular Urns & Stand (Nanite + Low Poly)Foliage VOL.5 Euonymus Bushes (Nanite and Low Poly)Foliage VOL.6 Broom Bushes (Nanite and Low Poly)[SCANS] Urban Props Vol. 1Median TierParadise Motel Modular PackFeudal Japan Interior Props Vol1[SCANS] Gate BackyardTown Buildings VOL.1 BoathouseVictorian VOL.1 Furniture (Nanite and Low Poly)Gothic Cemetery PackMedieval Props Pack[SCANS] Urban Props Vol. 230$ TierPharaohs Legacy: Egyptian Temple MegapackGothic Interior MegapackMedieval Fantasy Ruins Dark Forest Environment[SCANS] Cemetery Forgotten ChurchyardAncient Mountain Temple (Nanite)Medieval VOL.1 Kitchen (Low Poly)Anemoia ManorResidential Houses Modular PackFeudal Japan Exterior Props Vol1Bones VOL.1 Animal Bones 1 (Nanite + Low Poly)Medieval VOL 9 Castle FurnitureIf you wish to convert the assets from one game engine to another, consider the following guides.You can learn more about Elite Creators Superbundle on Humble Bundle in thevideobelow. Using links on this page helps support GFS (and thanks so much if you do!). If you have any trouble opening the links simply paste it into a new tab and it should work just fine.

Godot Script IDE Add-On / News / January 23, 2025 / Add-On, GodotToday we are looking at a free and open-source add-on for the Godot game engine called Script-IDE. In a nutshell this plugin makes the GDScript coding experience in the Godot editor a much more pleasant experience by adding several editing experiences you except to find in a tool like Visual Studio Code or JetBrains IDEs.Features of Script IDE include:Scripts are now shown as Tabs inside a TabContainerThe Outline got an overhaul and shows more than just the methods of the script. It includes the following members with a unique icon:Classes (Red Square)Constants (Red Circle)Signals (Yellow)Export variables (Orange)(Static) Variables (Red)Engine callback functions (Blue)(Static) Functions (Green)All the different members of the script can be hidden or made visible again by the outline filter. This allows fine control what should be visible (e.g. only signals, (Godot) functions, )ARight Clickenables only the clicked filter, anotherRight Clickwill enable all filters againThe Outline can be opened in a Popup with a defined shortcut for quick navigation between methodsYou can navigate through the Outline with theArrowkeys (orPage up/Page down) and scroll to the selected item by pressingENTERScripts can be opened in a Popup with a defined shortcut or when clicking the three dots on the top right of the TabContainer for quick navigation between scriptsThe currently edited script is automatically selected in the Filesystem DockFiles can be quickly searched by the Quick Search Popup withShift+ShiftThe plugin is written with performance in mind, everything is very fast and works without any lags or stutteringKey LinksScript IDE GitHub PageScript-IDE in the Godot Asset LibraryYou can learn more about Script IDE for Godot and see it in action in the video below.

GameFromScratch.comUnity Quick Start Bundle $300 in Assets for $1There is a new bundle over on the Unity asset store The Unity Quick Start Bundle. This bundle contains $300 worth of Unity assets for just a single $1. The bundle ends on Monday, January 27th! Contents of the bundle include: 2D Pixel Unit Maker SPUM Cartoon GUI []The post Unity Quick Start Bundle $300 in Assets for $1 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

SDL 3 Released / News / January 22, 2025 / SDL, or the Simple DirectMedia Layer is one of the most important open-source game development frameworks and they just released SDL 3. Well technically its SDL 3.2.0, but it is the first production ready version of the SDL 3 branch. Key features of SDL 3 include:Extremely good documentation: Weve spent a ton of effort writing and revising the API reference.Example programsto get you started,running in your web browser!More consistent API naming conventions. Everything is named consistently across the API now, instead of different subsystems taking different approaches. Also, weve tended toward more descriptive names for things in SDL3.Main Callbacks: optionally run your program from callbacks instead of main().GPU API: access to modern 3D rendering and GPU compute in a cross-platform way.Dialog API: access to system file dialogs (file and folder selection UI for opening/saving).Filesystem API: simple directory management and globbing, access to topic-specific user folders.Storage API: Abstract interface to platform-specific storage.Camera API: access to webcams.Pen API: access to pens (like Wacom tablets and Apple Pencil, etc).Logical audio devices: different parts of an app can get their own unique audio device to use.Audio streams: handle buffering, converting, resampling, mixing, channel mapping, pitch, and gain. Bind to an audio device and go!Default audio devices: SDL3 will automatically manage migrating to new physical hardware as devices are plugged in, ripped out, or changed.Properties API: fast, flexible dictionaries of name/value pairs.Process API: Spawn child processes and communicate with them in various ways.Colorspace support: Surfaces and the renderer, etc, can manage multiple colorspaces.The Clipboard APIcan support any data type(SDL2 only handled text), and apps can provide data in multiple formats upon request ina provided callback.Better keyboard input, for all your keypress needs.Customizable virtual keyboardson iOS and Android.High DPI support is dramatically improved over SDL2.App metadata APIfor letting SDL report things about your app correctly (like in the About dialog on macOS, etc).and much, much more.If you are migrating from SDL 2 be sure to check out the migration guide linked below. Key LinksSDL 3.2.0 Release DetailsSDL HomepageSDL 3 Language BindingsSDL 3 Migration GuideSteam Games using SDLYou can learn more about the Simple DirectMedia Layer game development framework as well as the SDL 3 (technically 3.2.0) release in the video below.

There is a new Humble Bundle of interest to game developers, specifically game artists, the Complete Concept Art Training Bundle by Learned Squared. The bundle actually contains courses on a variety of subjects beyond concept art including world building, character and outfit design, hard surface modelling and more. The bundle is organized into the following tiers:5$ TierArmada Concept ArtQuick Concepts in Unreal20$ TierGrounded Costume DesignDynamic Concept Art I3D Sequence IllustrationConcept ArchitectureCinematic Concept DesignConcepting in ZBrushIntro to Environment PaintingUI and Data Design for Film30$ TierConcept Art for Video Games3D Character ArtEnvironment Concept ArtConcept Art in Unreal Engine 5Dynamic Concept Art IIHard Surface DesignEnvironment DesignVisual StorytellingDesigning Better CharactersVehicle Concept Art2D Sequence IllustrationConcept Art HacksProduction Concept ArtWorld BuildingIntro to 3D Concept DesignFuturistic Character DesignNarrative Concept ArtYou can learn more about the Complete Concept Art Training Bundle by Learned Squared bundle in the video below. Using links on this page helps support GFS (and thanks so much if you do!) and if you have a trouble with opening the link, simply paste it into a new tab and it should work just fine.

The nearly open-source free Defold game engine just released Defold 1.9.7 and the highlight feature of this release is C# support! This isnt replacing Lua as the primary scripting language, in fact its not a scripting language at all, instead enabling you to easily make game extensions using the C# programming language with Defold. This language support joins other programming languages including Zig and C++. There was hesitation to add C# support to Defold, explained below:Q: I am concerned that adding C# support will have a negative impact on Defold. Should I be worried?Defold is NOT moving away from Lua as a the primary scripting language. C# support will be added as a new language for extensions. It will not impact the engine unless you choose to use C# extensions in your project.C# support will come at a price (executable size, runtime performance etc), but thats for the individual developer/studio to decide upon.As for C# itself, its a relatively minor change, since the extension system already support many languages (C/C++/Java/Objective-C/Zig). The SDKs will be kept in sync by generating the C# bindings. This will keep the bindings up-to-date with minimal effort.The Defold Foundation has previously been against adding C# support in Defold, but has changed opinion for a number of reasons:Studios and developer continue to request C# support.C# support has been scoped down to extensions only (i.e. low effort).The core engine will not be impacted.The C# APIs can be kept in in sync with minimal effort if they are generated.C# support will be based on DotNet 9 with NativeAOT, thus generating static libraries that the existing build pipeline can link against (just like any other Defold extension).Key LinksDefold 1.9.7 BetaDefold C# Support AnnouncementDefold GitHubDefold HomepageDefold Languages SampleYou can learn more about the Defold game engine, the 1.9.7 release and the new addition of C# support in the video below.

Godot 4.4 Beta Released / News / January 17, 2025 / Godot, ReleaseFollowing 7 different Dev releases [ our coverage of Godot 4.4 Dev1 and Dev2, Dev3, Dev4 and Dev5 as well as Dev6 and the addition of Jolt Physics in Dev7 ] Godot 4.4 Beta 1 is here. This release adds a few more new features on top of the previously feature packed Dev releases and represents the last major additions to the 4.4 branch, everything else from this point to release candidate should only be small fixes and improvements.Highlights of the Godot 4.4 Beta release include:Typed Dictionary support in GDScriptMetal rendering support and Metal upscaling on Apple devicesNew embeddable Game window for runtime interaction with your gameJolt Physics engine integrationREPL evaluation in debuggerPhysics based snapping for 3D object placement in the worldInteractive camera previewFavoriting of properties in the inspectorThere are of course several hundred other fixes and improvements in the Godot 4.4 Beta release.Key LinksGodot 4.4 Beta Release AnnouncementGodot 4.4 Beta Interactive ChangelogGDQuest Demo GitHubYou can learn more about the Godot 4.4 Beta release and see several of my favorite new features in action in the video below.

Every other Tuesday we get anUnreal EngineFab marketplace giveaway and this Tuesday is no exception. You can get three free game development assets during the next two weeks, all of the assets work in Unreal natively (there are no Unity specific assets this week). If you are using a different game engine or tool we have guides below that instruct you on how to export from Unreal Engine to other engines such as Godot, Blender or Unity for example.This Months free assets include:Vista Modern House EnvironmentParry Attack SystemModular Bakery ShopYou can see all of these assets in action in thevideobelow. If you are interested in getting these assets into other game engines, check out our various guides available here:

There is a new Humble Bundle of interest to game developers, the Make Your Own Games in Unreal Engine 5 with GameDevTV bundle. This is a collection of courses teaching Unreal Engine 5 development, both using Blueprints and C++.The bundle consists of the following tiers:1$ TierUnreal 5: Master Enhanced Input with C++ & Blueprints CourseUnreal Engine Cinematic Creator CourseMedian TierUnreal Engine 5 Environment Design CourseC++ Fundamentals Course\25$ TierUnreal 5.0 C++ Developer CourseUnreal Engine 5: Build a Complete Survival Game with Blueprint CourseUnreal Engine 5 C++: Make Your Own Action Combat Game CourseUnreal Engine 2D: Make Your Own Epic 2D Games Using C++ CourseUnreal Engine 5 Blueprints First Person Shooter (FPS) CourseUnreal Engine Blueprint Game Developer CourseUnreal Engine 5 C++ Multiplayer: Make Your Own Co-Op GameUnreal Engine 5: Action Adventure Game Development CourseUnreal Material PackFPS Music Asset PackYou can learn more about the Make Your Own Games in Unreal Engine 5 with GameDevTV bundle in the video below. Links on this page pay GFS a commission if used (and thanks so much if you do!). If you have issues opening the link it is probably conflicting with uBlock and pasting it into a new tab should fix it. Humble are aware of this issue and are working on a fix.

GameFromScratch.comPython Game Engines in 2025Today we have compiled a list of the best Python game engines, frameworks and language bindings for game development in 2025. This is the first in a series of posts exploring the game engine options available for the most popular programming languages. We will eventually have similar guides for C#, []The post Python Game Engines in 2025 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

LVR 3D Lua Game Development Framework / News / January 9, 2025 / Today we are checking out LVR, a free and open source 3D Lua game and VR development framework heavily inspired by LVE. LVE is a popular 2D game development framework, recently made famous for powering the smash indie hit Belatro. LVR takes the ease of use of LVE and brings it to the world of 3D games and VR applications. In fact it might be the single easiest to use code-based framework for creating 3D games.Features of LOVR include:Cross-Platform Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.Cross-Device Supports Vive/Index, Oculus Rift/Quest, Windows MR, and has a VR simulator.Beginner-friendly Simple VR scenes can be created in just a few lines of Lua.Fast Writen in C11 and scripted with LuaJIT, includes optimized single-pass stereo rendering.Asset Import Supports 3D models (glTF, OBJ), skeletal animation, HDR textures, cubemaps, fonts, etc.Spatialized Audio Audio is automatically spatialized using HRTFs.Vector Library Efficient first-class support for 3D vectors, quaternions, and matrices.3D Rigid Body Physics Including 4 collider shapes, triangle mesh colliders, and 4 joint types.Compute Shaders For high performance GPU tasks, like particles.Key LinksLOVR HomepageLOVR GitHubLOVE HomepageYou can learn more about the free and open source Lua powered LVR framework in the video below.