games engine?

[tali122]

computer games are described as having a "great engine"- usually IIRC from Quake or Doom - so what is an game engine?- as it sounds physical and i have never heard this term applied to any other type of prog/software

thx

[kempie]

The "game engine" can be thought of as the core modules of code which govern how basic processes of the game are controlled and the means of displaying graphics on screen (rendering). These processes can be largely left unaltered (but tweaked where necessary) when used for another game.

The things that would be changed, such as scenery, character models and graphics, sounds etc. are known as "assets".

Using this method Quake assets can be altered, giving us Soldier of Fortune, without the need to start from scratch.

[kempie]

A better explanation can be found here.