Why You Should(n't) Build Your Own Game Engine

Developing a modern game engine from the ground up has become an increasingly rare opportunity, and with good reason. It is a costly commitment and coupled with the existing technologies readily available at reasonable pricing models, it is a hard sell for any startup to take on such a burden. This paper focuses on a few key issues when developing such a technology base to serve as both a guide and a warning. Rather than discussing the implementation details and features of the engine, the paper will delve into the importance of efficient workflows; the challenges of outsourcing, and finally the lessons learned from building the technology and a game that runs on it.