Creating games with weird engines | NZGDC 2025

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The talk provides valuable practical insights from real-world experience, covering a wide range of topics from player expectations to publisher negotiations. The argumentation is logical and well-structured, with each point supported by examples from the speaker’s journey. The speaker acknowledges limitations and offers balanced perspectives, making the advice credible. However, some claims are anecdotal and may not generalize to all situations.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The talk is based on the speaker’s personal experience, which is a valid source for this type of practical advice. He references specific games and tools (e.g., Slay the Spire, Minecraft, LibGDX) but does not provide formal citations. The title accurately reflects the content. The speaker’s background and the detailed case study add to the credibility. No comments were provided for analysis.

The title accurately reflects the content, which focuses on the challenges and benefits of using non-mainstream game engines.

8/10

The talk is based on the speaker's direct experience developing a commercial game with LibGDX, providing practical insights and acknowledging limitations. Claims are generally supported by examples and reasoning, though some assertions (e.g., modding difficulty in Unity/Unreal) are anecdotal.

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

• 02:00Introduction: Speaker's background and game 'Adaptory'.
• 05:00Definition of 'weird engine' and examples of base-building games using them.
• 10:00First area: Players - they don't care about the engine, but genre expectations matter.
• 15:00Second area: Cost - open-source engines are free but you must fill gaps in support and maintenance.
• 20:00Third area: Control - open-source gives you control but forking is expensive.
• 25:00Fourth area: Pre-production - asset stores and conventions are missing in smaller engines.
• 30:00Fifth area: Publishers - they focus on risk minimization, portability is key.
• 35:00Sixth area: Funding - articulate engine choice to investors and grants.
• 40:00Seventh area: Production - avoid engine development trap, keep budget under 5%.
• 45:00Eighth area: Testing - CI/CD, community testers, and crash reporting are essential.

• LibGDX — The game engine used for Adaptory, mentioned as an open-source Java library.
• Slay the Spire — A successful game made with LibGDX, used as an example of portability and success.
• Minecraft — Java Edition modding example, showing Java's modding potential.
• Factorio — A base-building game made in C++, cited as an example of a 'weird' engine.
• Dwarf Fortress — Another base-building game made in C++, cited as an example.

• LibGDX — The engine's official site confirms its features and cross-platform support.
• Slay the Spire — Wikipedia confirms the game was made with LibGDX and its success.