Engine selection

Engine selection

Pick tools that match delivery target, interaction model, and team constraints. Engines serve the game type — not the reverse.

---

Fit questions (ask first)

1. Platform: Web, mobile, PC, console, VR?
2. Primary loop: Action/physics, turn-based, narrative branch, management/UI, hybrid?
3. Presentation: Full-screen canvas, DOM/UI chrome, or both?
4. Toolchain: No-build / ESM OK, or bundler + editor OK?
5. Authoring: Code-only, or designers need Twine/Ink/Godot/Unity editors?

---

Architecture patterns

Pattern	When	Notes
Full engine shell	Game is the canvas/scene	Phaser, Godot, Unity, Kaplay as app root
Renderer + custom logic	You want draw power, own gameplay	PixiJS, Three.js + your systems
Hybrid shell + guest	Dense UI/text + occasional skill-checks	DOM/app shell; mount canvas engines in modals/viewports only
Narrative runtime	Branching prose is the product	Ink, Twine; host chrome separately
Content-as-data	Levels/events authored as packs	JSON/YAML + thin loader; engine optional

---

Web — decision tree

What type of game?
│
├── Mostly DOM / panels / forms / text UI
│   ├── + small arcade/spatial challenges
│   │     └── Hybrid: custom shell + guest
│   │         Raw Canvas/WebGL → Kaplay → Phaser → PixiJS
│   └── + branching story
│         └── Ink (inkjs) or Twine export → host in DOM
│
├── Full-screen 2D game
│   ├── Full gameplay features (scenes, physics, input)
│   │     └── Phaser 4  (or Kaplay if you want lighter/faster prototype)
│   └── Mostly rendering / custom systems
│         └── PixiJS 8  (or Raw Canvas/WebGL if tiny scope)
│
└── Full-screen 3D game
    ├── Full engine / physics / XR
    │     └── Babylon.js
    └── Rendering-focused / lighter
          └── Three.js

---

Quick comparison (web & common exports)

Tool	Type	Best for	Watch-outs
Raw Canvas / WebGL	2D/low-level	Tiny games, learning, no framework tax	You own everything
Kaplay (ex-Kaboom)	2D toolkit	Fast prototypes, jam games	Less “full product” structure than Phaser
Phaser 4	2D engine	Complete 2D features	Heavier; often bundled
PixiJS 8	2D renderer	Performance, custom game code	Not a full gameplay framework alone
Three.js	3D renderer	Visuals, lightweight 3D	You add gameplay systems
Babylon.js	3D engine	Fuller 3D + XR	Heavier than Three for simple scenes
Ink + inkjs	Narrative	Complex branching prose	Weak for real-time multi-entity sims
Twine / Twison / TweeJS	Narrative	Educator-friendly branches	Export/host glue; not a physics engine
Godot 4	Full engine	2D/3D indie, open source	Web export iteration cost
Unity	Full engine	Large teams, multi-platform	Heavy for simple web UI games

Editor-first web shells (Construct, GDevelop) fit visual prototyping; weaker when you need versioned code-first content pipelines.

---

Non-web defaults (see also platform skills)

Target	Lean toward
PC indie / open source	Godot 4
PC large team / multi-platform	Unity
Mobile	See game-development/mobile-games (touch, stores, battery)
VR/AR	See game-development/vr-ar (+ Babylon/Three on web)

---

Anti-patterns

Don't	Do
Choose Unity/Godot for a form-heavy browser tool	Prefer DOM/hybrid
Force Ink to run real-time concurrent simulations	Use narrative tools for branches; custom/sim code for clocks & entities
Use Phaser as “the whole app” when the surrounding UI is HTML	Prefer a hybrid guest viewport
Optimize for WebGPU on day one	Ship WebGL; add WebGPU + fallback when needed

When to Use

Use when choosing or comparing game engines/frameworks before implementation, especially for hybrid DOM+canvas or narrative-first products.

Limitations

• Does not replace platform skills (game-development/web-games, game-development/pc-games, …).
• Final choice still depends on team skill and shipping constraints.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.