A game framework is a collection of libraries and tools that simplify some aspects of game development, but leave more room for customization and flexibility. It does not offer a complete solution for creating games, but rather a foundation that you can build upon.
This post summarizes some popular game frameworks, categorised by its programming language.
Do not confuse a game framework with a game engine. You can read more about game engines on this post.
List of Game Development Frameworks
Game development frameworks should not be confused with game development libraries.
There are different game development libraries depending on the programming language:
- Python
- Java
- HTML5
- C++
Python Game Frameworks
Some Python game frameworks are Pygame and Pyglet.
Pygame
Pygame is a Python module for game development.
It is open source.
It supports most PC operating systems, like Windows, macOS, and limited support for Android OS.
It is a Python implementation of the SDL library which is written in C. As SDL is already progressed with multiple functions, pygame has provided easy access to these functions.
Its first version was released on 2000.
To read more about pygame, you may check this post.
Pyglet
Pyglet is a Python module for game development.
It has 3D support.
Java Game Frameworks
Some Java game frameworks are libGDX, LWJGL and jMonkeyEngine.
You can read more about Java game frameworks on this post.
HTML5 Game Frameworks
A HTML5 Game Framework is Phaser.
Phaser
Phaser is a desktop and Mobile HTML5 game framework.
C++ Game Frameworks
A C++ game framework is Cocos2D.
Cocos2D
Cocos2D supports C++, C#, Lua and JavaScript as binding languages.
It is free and open source (FOSS) under a MIT license.
You might also be interested in…
- Java Libraries for Video Games
- Introduction to Pygame
- Game Development Engines
- Cross-platform Programming Toolkits
- Cross-platform Application Frameworks
- Multimedia Libraries
- Graphical Libraries
External References
- OpenWebinar; “Cursos de videojuegos“; OpenWebinar
- Python Pool; “Differences between Pyglet and Pygame in Python“; Python Pool
- LinkedIn; “How do you learn and master a new game engine or a game framework quickly and efficiently?“; LinkedIn