Summary of "choosing a game engine is easy, actually"

Video Summary: Choosing a Game Engine is Easy, Actually

The video provides a comprehensive guide on selecting the right game engine based on project needs, ease of use, community support, pricing, and platform compatibility. It emphasizes trying multiple engines to see which one resonates with you and understanding that no single engine is perfect for every project.

Key Points and Tips

General Advice on Choosing a Game Engine

Try out a few engines to find one that fits your style and needs.
Consider:
- Features supported (2D/3D, multiplayer, physics, etc.)
- Pricing models and potential fees
- Programming language and coding requirements
- Size and activity of the community for support and tutorials
Coding skills are important; if you don’t know how to code, consider learning or partnering with someone who does.
Visual scripting (coding without traditional code) is an option, with Unreal Engine’s Blueprint system being the best example.
Most indie developers struggle to finish games, often due to frustration and lack of community support.

Engine Recommendations by Project Type

For 2D Games

Unity: Best overall for 2D with extensive features (tile maps, sprite editors, animation, physics) and a rich asset store.
Godot: Great 2D support, open-source, fast startup, easy-to-learn scripting similar to Python, growing documentation and community.
GameMaker: Compact, quick to learn, great for prototyping 2D games, but limited 3D support and smaller community.

For 3D Games, Open World, MMO, RPG

Unreal Engine 5: Best for 3D and large projects with built-in controllers, visual scripting (Blueprints), source code access, and free assets. Strong optimization tools and industry relevance.
Unity: Good 3D support with multiple rendering pipelines; versatile but slower and sometimes confusing.
Godot: Improving 3D support but still behind Unity and Unreal; physics engine less advanced but improving.

For Multiplayer Games

Unreal Engine: Built-in multiplayer features, benefiting from Fortnite’s development experience.
Unity: New multiplayer package (Netcode) and Unity Gaming Services to help with server hosting and player management.

For Physics-Based Games

Unity: Rich built-in physics for 2D and 3D.
Unreal Engine: Strong 3D physics support.
Godot: Currently less feature-rich physics engine but improving with new packages like Jolt.

For Complex Math, AI, and Handling Many Objects

Unity: Supports DOTS (Data-Oriented Technology Stack), entity component system, and job system for performance.

Engine Specific Pros and Cons

Unreal Engine 5

Pros: AAA-quality graphics, powerful features, great visual scripting, source code access, optimization tools, free under $1M revenue.
Cons: Steep learning curve, requires powerful hardware, large disk space, heavy reliance on Blueprints, slow source code compilation, limited documentation.

Unity

Pros: Most resources and tutorials, flexible, widely used by indie developers, supports many platforms, extensive asset store.
Cons: Confusing pricing (free under $200k revenue, then Pro subscription, plus runtime fees after $1M), recent controversies over pricing policies, slow project loading and compiling, no source code access unless Enterprise, mixed focus on game features.

Godot

Pros: Open source, free, fast, growing community, easy scripting, multiplatform exports.
Cons: Weaker 3D support, mid-tier physics engine, smaller asset store, some missing features like live scene preview (recently improved).

GameMaker

Pros: Easy to learn, fast prototyping, affordable pricing, good for 2D.
Cons: Limited 3D support, smaller community, no built-in UI editor yet, manual coding required for some features, less industry relevance.

Other Engine Options Mentioned

GDevelop: Open-source visual coding engine for 2D games, some pricing for exports.
Construct: Visual scripting for 2D, supports JavaScript, higher price but free trial available.
Baser.IO: Free 2D engine using JavaScript.
Cocos2d-x: Free, open-source 2D engine supporting JavaScript and TypeScript.
Stride: Open-source 2D/3D engine using C#.
Pygame: Python library for 2D games, good for learning basics.
MonoGame: Open-source C# framework, cross-platform, used for games like Celeste.

Final Recommendations

Start small; avoid jumping into multiplayer or open-world projects as your first game.
Choose an engine that fits your game type, pricing comfort, community support, and