Godot is a 2D and 3D cross-platform compatible game engine released as open source software under the MIT license. It was initially developed for several companies in Latin America before its public release.^[3] The development environment runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD and Haiku (both 32 and 64-bit) and can create games targeting PC, mobile and web platforms.

Overview

Godot aims to offer a fully integrated game development environment. It allows developers to create a game from scratch needing no other tools beyond those used for content creation (art assets, music etc.). The architecture is built around a concept of a tree of nested "scenes". All game resources, from scripts to graphical assets, are saved as part of the computer's file system (rather than in a database). This storage solution is intended to make it easier for game development teams to collaborate on script code using version control.^[4]

The engine supports deployment to multiple platforms, and allows specification of texture compression and resolution settings for each platform. Currently supported platforms include Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD^[5], OpenBSD / DragonFly BSD,^[6] Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10 and HTML5.^[7] There is also work-in-progress support for Windows Runtime.^[8]

Scripting

Godot games are created either in C++, C#, languages with GDNative bindings such as Rust, Nim, D, or by using its own scripting language, GDScript,^[1] a high level, dynamically typed programming language very similar to Python. Contrary to Python, GDScript features strict typing of variables and is optimized for Godot's scene-based architecture. Godot's developers have stated that many alternative third-party scripting languages (namely, Lua, Python and Squirrel) were tested before deciding that using a custom language allowed for superior optimization and editor integration.^[10]

The engine's editor includes a script editor with auto indentation, syntax highlighting and code completion. It also features a debugger with the ability to set breakpoints and program stepping.

Rendering

The graphics engine uses OpenGL ES 3.0 for all supported platforms. The engine supports transparency, normal mapping, specularity, dynamic shadows using shadow maps and full-screen post-processing effects like FXAA, bloom, DOF, HDR, gamma correction and fog. This also supports a simplified shader language that resembles a near subset of GLSL. Shaders can be used for materials and post-processing as well as for 2D rendering. The shaders are divided in vertex and fragment sections. There is also the possibility to create shaders by manipulating nodes in a visual editor.

There is also a separate 2D graphics engine, which can operate independently from the 3D one. Examples of 2D engine features include lights, shadows, shaders, tile sets, parallax scrolling, polygons, animations, physics and particles. It is also possible to mix 2D and 3D using a 'viewport node'.

Other features

Godot contains an animation system with a GUI for editing skeletal animation, blending, animation trees, morphing and realtime cutscenes. Almost any variable defined or created-on-a-game entity can be animated.^[11] The engine uses Bullet for 3D physics simulation.^[12]

Additional features include:

• Level of detail
• Performance analysis graphs
• Light baking
• Multithreading
• Plugins system
• Render targets
• Video playback using the Theora codec
• Audio playback of Ogg Vorbis and WAV codecs
• Particle system
• Texture import/export/compress pipeline
• Navmesh support
• Graphical user interface
• Keyboard, mouse, gamepad and touchscreen support

History

Godot development was started by Juan 'reduz' Linietsky and Ariel 'punto' Manzur in 2007.^[13][14] Linietsky stated in a presentation that the name Godot was chosen due to its relation to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, as it represents the never-ending wish of adding new features in the engine, which would get it closer to an exhaustive product, but never will.^[15] In February 2014, the source code for Godot was released to the public on GitHub under the MIT License.^[16]

On 15 December 2014, Godot reached version 1.0, marking the first stable release and the addition of lightmapping, navmesh support and more shaders.^[17] Version 1.1 replaced it on 21 May 2015, adding improved auto-completion in the code editor, a visual shader editor, a new API to the OS for managing the screens and window, a rewritten 2D engine, new 2D navigation polygon support, a much improved Blender Collada exporter and a new dark theme.^[18] The new 2D engine includes shaders, materials, independent Z ordering per-node, lights, shadows with polygonal occluders, normal mapping, and distance-field font support. Godot joined the Software Freedom Conservancy shortly afterwards, on 4 November 2015.^[19]

Godot 2.0 reached stability on 23 February 2016. New features included better scene instancing and inheritance, a new filesystem browser, multiple scene editing, and an enhanced debugger.^[20][3] This was followed by version 2.1 in August 2016, which introduced an asset database, profiler, and plugin API.^[22]

On 22 June 2016, Godot received a $20,000 Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) “Mission Partners” award to be used to add Web Sockets, WebAssembly and WebGL 2.0 support.^[7]

Version 3.0 was released on 29 January 2018, adding improved 3D rendering, VR compatibility, and C# (via Mono) support.^[12] It also replaced the engine's former built-in 3D physics backend with the Bullet physics engine. Version 3 is also the first version that is stable enough to be accepted into Debian's main repo. It is currently in Sid and testing. So the waiting for Godot is soon over when Buster is released.

Usage

Many games by OKAM Studio have been made using Godot, including Dog Mendonça & Pizza Boy, which uses the Escoria adventure game extension.^[25] Additionally, it has been used in West Virginia's highschool curriculum, due to its ease-of-use for non-programmers and what is described as a "wealth of learning materials that already exist for the software".^[26]

See also

• List of game engines
• Video game development

References