Pc Games

PC/Console Game Development

> Engine selection and platform-specific principles.

1. Engine Selection

Decision Tree

What are you building?
│
├── 2D Game
│   ├── Open source important? → Godot
│   └── Large team/assets? → Unity
│
├── 3D Game
│   ├── AAA visual quality? → Unreal
│   ├── Cross-platform priority? → Unity
│   └── Indie/open source? → Godot 4
│
└── Specific Needs
    ├── DOTS performance? → Unity
    ├── Nanite/Lumen? → Unreal
    └── Lightweight? → Godot

Comparison

| Factor | Unity 6 | Godot 4 | Unreal 5 |

|--------|---------|---------|----------|

| 2D | Good | Excellent | Limited |

| 3D | Good | Good | Excellent |

| Learning | Medium | Easy | Hard |

| Cost | Revenue share | Free | 5% after $1M |

| Team | Any | Solo-Medium | Medium-Large |

2. Platform Features

Steam Integration

| Feature | Purpose |

|---------|---------|

| Achievements | Player goals |

| Cloud Saves | Cross-device progress |

| Leaderboards | Competition |

| Workshop | User mods |

| Rich Presence | Show in-game status |

Console Requirements

| Platform | Certification |

|----------|--------------|

| PlayStation | TRC compliance |

| Xbox | XR compliance |

| Nintendo | Lotcheck |

3. Controller Support

Input Abstraction

Map ACTIONS, not buttons:
- "confirm" → A (Xbox), Cross (PS), B (Nintendo)
- "cancel" → B (Xbox), Circle (PS), A (Nintendo)

Haptic Feedback

| Intensity | Use |

|-----------|-----|

| Light | UI feedback |

| Medium | Impacts |

| Heavy | Major events |

4. Performance Optimization

Profiling First

| Engine | Tool |

|--------|------|

| Unity | Profiler Window |

| Godot | Debugger → Profiler |

| Unreal | Unreal Insights |

Common Bottlenecks

| Bottleneck | Solution |

|------------|----------|

| Draw calls | Batching, atlases |

| GC spikes | Object pooling |

| Physics | Simpler colliders |

| Shaders | LOD shaders |

5. Engine-Specific Principles

Unity 6

• DOTS for performance-critical systems
• Burst compiler for hot paths
• Addressables for asset streaming

Godot 4

• GDScript for rapid iteration
• C# for complex logic
• Signals for decoupling

Unreal 5

• Blueprint for designers
• C++ for performance
• Nanite for high-poly environments
• Lumen for dynamic lighting

6. Anti-Patterns

| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do |

|----------|-------|

| Choose engine by hype | Choose by project needs |

| Ignore platform guidelines | Study certification requirements |

| Hardcode input buttons | Abstract to actions |

| Skip profiling | Profile early and often |

> Remember: Engine is a tool. Master the principles, then adapt to any engine.