Alternate Game Engine Research

[SAUCE-2]

Need to look at alternate game engines and suggest why we decided to pick Unreal Engine 5 over the rest

Main points as of now:

• One of the Devs already knew of UE4 and how to use it.
• Decided to use UE5 and use the Blueprint mode as it is easy to do and allows all to read the flow of code.
• Relatively short time to make a fleshed out game that’s compatible with mobile. UE5 will allow us to do this in the short time given. (Especially considering we have to learn game dev as we go)
• UE5 is an industry standard tool and widely popular
• UE5 supports education licenses also can use that as some justification

[JayDuuUK]

Factor	Unity	Unreal Engine	Godot	CryEngine	Others (e.g., Cocos3D, Amazon Lumberyard)
Platform Support	Excellent for iOS and Android tablets.	Strong support for iOS and Android but more resource-intensive.	Supports iOS and Android well; less built-in deployment support than Unity.	Supports mobile platforms but less streamlined.	Varies, but generally more niche or specialised.
Performance	Highly optimised for 3D on tablets.	Superior graphics quality but may demand high-end devices.	Good for lightweight 3D; may struggle with complex graphics.	Great for high-quality 3D but requires more powerful hardware.	Performance varies widely; most are less efficient.
Ease of Learning	Medium; requires C#. Large resources and tutorials available.	Steep; uses C++ or Blueprints.	Relatively easy; GDScript is beginner-friendly.	Steep learning curve; designed for advanced 3D development.	Varies significantly; usually more challenging.
Cost	Free tier available; revenue sharing for large earnings.	Free until revenue exceeds a threshold; high royalties.	Open-source and free, no royalties.	Free tier; licensing fees for larger-scale use.	Generally free or open-source but with limited features.
Graphics Capability	Strong 3D capabilities, customisable shaders, and optimisation tools.	Industry-leading 3D graphics but overkill for simpler designs.	Capable 3D graphics, especially for stylised visuals.	High-end 3D quality, designed for realistic environments.	Varies; some engines focus more on simple 3D or lightweight solutions.
Community Support	Large and active; rich asset store for 3D content.	Large but focuses on advanced developers and AAA projects.	Growing but smaller community compared to Unity/Unreal.	Niche community with high-end 3D focus.	Smaller, engine-specific communities.
Educational Features	Many plugins and assets for creating interactive 3D experiences.	Limited prebuilt educational tools.	Highly flexible; requires more setup for educational features.	Few specific educational resources.	Generally limited unless the engine is niche-focused.
Customisation	Highly customisable, excellent for modular 3D game design.	Very customisable, but complexity increases with detail.	Customisable but may lack advanced features of Unity/Unreal.	Extremely customisable, suited for AAA-grade 3D games.	Customisation is usually more limited or complex.

[JayDuuUK]

Consideration process:

Factors:

• Experience using game engine
• Platform support
• 3D graphics capabilities

  Choices:

• Unity
• Unreal
• Godot

  Choice:

• Unreal Engine 5

  Reasoning:

  Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) has the best 3D graphics engine out of the options. The development team has the most experience with Unity and UE5. UE5 and Unity have good Android support. Unity and UE5 are on par, however experience with Unity in past development has led to poorer final products. UE5 will be the final choice, due to developer experience and ease of use.

[SAUCE-2]

SOURCE?!?

[JayDuuUK]

Sources:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5 https://unity.com/products/unity-engine https://godotengine.org/ https://www.incredibuild.com/blog/unity-vs-unreal-what-kind-of-game-dev-are-you https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/setting-up-android-sdk-and-ndk-for-unreal?application_version=4.27 https://gamedevacademy.org/best-game-engines/

[SAUCE-2]

LGTM!