Lunacraft is a lightweight, open source game engine for building 2D and 3D games. It uses Lua scripting and offers cross-platform support, flexible entity-component architecture, live coding capabilities, and a visual editor.
A cross-platform game engine for building 2D & 3D games with Lua scripting, entity-component architecture, and live coding capabilities.
What is Lunacraft?
Lunacraft is an open source, cross-platform game engine designed for building 2D and 3D video games. It is written in C++ and uses the lightweight Lua scripting language to implement game logic and behaviors.
Key features of Lunacraft include:
Lightweight and modular architecture based on the entity-component model
Live coding/script reloading capabilities for rapid iteration
Out-of-the-box support for 2D and 3D gameplay with essential components like physics, audio, rendering
Visual Scene Editor for visually constructing scenes
Cross-platform export to Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Lua-based API for implementing game code ranging from simple scripts to complex systems
C++ plugin architecture for extending engine functionality
With its approachable API and live coding features, Lunacraft simplifies game development allowing developers to focus on the creative aspects. Its modular entity-component architecture also makes it scalable for building everything from simple 2D games to complex 3D worlds.
Lunacraft Features
Features
Lightweight and optimized for 2D and 3D game development
Uses Lua scripting language
Cross-platform support for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android
Entity-component architecture
Live coding capabilities
Visual editor for building levels and games
Modding and plugin support
Open source and free
Pricing
Open Source
Free
Pros
Lightweight and fast
Easy to learn Lua scripting
Cross-platform support
Flexible and extensible architecture
Rapid iteration with live coding
Visual editor simplifies development
Active community support
Cons
Limited documentation
Steep learning curve for complete beginners
Not as full-featured as some commercial game engines
Limited built-in editor features compared to other options
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