Defold

Free game engine

Defold

Original author(s)| Christian Murray, Ragnar Svensson
Developer(s)| Defold Foundation
Stable release|

1.9.4[1] / 21 October 2024; 34 days ago (21 October 2024)

Repository| https://github.com/defold/defold
Written in| Lua, C++
Middleware| Box2D
Operating system| Windows, macOS, Linux
Platform| Windows
Linux
macOS
HTML5
iOS
Android
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Size| 300 MB (Editor) 976 kB (Build)
Available in| English
Type| Game engine
License| Defold License (Source Available)[2][3]
Website| defold.com

Defold is a cross-platform, free, and source-available game engine developed by King, and later the Defold Foundation.[4][5][3][6] It is used to create mostly two-dimensional (2D) games,[7] but is fully capable of three-dimensional (3D) as well.[8][9]

Defold is a downloadable desktop app, and ships with its own embedded IDE. Defold targets desktop, mobile, web, and console platforms. The development model of the maintainers (Source-available) keeps the engine free to use, because it is maintained by its community.[4][8][10] Defold has over 30,000 users, and has been used to publish over 100 games.[11] Exported games with Defold typically use less than 100kB RAM[12] and very small bundle sizes, less than 2 MB,[13] due to the Engine's modularization and efficient core.[11][14]

## Features

[edit]

Defold uses Lua for scripting,[12] but also allows native extensions, written in C, C++, and target-specific native languages. Defold projects are organized as collections, which consist of a hierarchy of game objects containing in-game entities. Scripting between game objects is handled using the message-passing paradigm, which allows scripts to intercommunicate in call-response and event-based models.[15] Defold's IDE natively supports in-editor Git tracking.[16][17]

### Supported platforms

[edit]

The Defold editor can be run on three platforms and natively supports targeting eight platforms.[4] Defold supports exports for:

* Windows (32-bit and 64-bit)[4]
* macOS (x86_64 and Apple Silicon)[4]
* Linux[4]
* HTML (HTML5 and WebAssembly)[4][8][6]
* Android (32-bit and 64-bit)[4]
* iOS[4]
* Nintendo Switch (requires approval from Nintendo)[18]
* PlayStation 4 (requires approval from Sony)
* PlayStation 5 (requires approval from Sony)[19]

The editor is currently supported on:

* Windows (Vista or newer; 64-bit)[4]
* macOS (11 Big Sur or newer)[4]
* Ubuntu (18.04 or newer; 64-bit)[4]

### Scripting and editor

[edit]

Users communicate with the engine via a Lua API.[15] LuaJIT is used on all platforms except HTML and just-in-time compilation is enabled on permitted platforms. Users can extend the engine using C, C++, Java, Objective-C, and JavaScript for platform-specific or more performant code. In addition, the community maintains TypeScript[20] and Haxe[21] bindings. Scripts are platform-agnostic.

The editor includes a visual scene editor, debugger, asset management, tilemap editor, and all templates required for bundling the game.[15] Newer versions support hot-reloading, to make changes to assets and scripts without rebuilding the project.

### Rendering

[edit]

The render pipeline can be customized via a render script API, which can be translated into OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan,[22] or Metal (via MoltenVK) depending on the user's needs. Shaders can be written in GLSL for various post-processing effects.[15]

### Engine extensions

[edit]

Defold has support for extensions, which are plugins that extend the engine, where users can integrate auxiliary solutions into their projects. There are libraries for simplifying game systems, interacting with hardware, and integration with third-party software. Both the Defold Foundation and the community host their extensions on the Defold Asset Portal.[23]

## History

[edit]

Defold was created in 2008[24][25] by Christian Murray and Ragnar Svensson[4][26] as a side-project while they were working at Avalanche Studios, and later as a full time business before being acquired by King in 2014.[4] Defold was developed and used internally at King for a few years before the decision was made to make Defold available to developers outside of King.[8][27] The announcement and release of Defold as a free to use game engine was made at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March 2016.[28] Some mobile developers expressed concern about King's long term intentions for the engine, as well as the lack of a clear business goal.[29] Development has continued with bi-weekly[12] incremental releases of the engine and editor, with a major milestone being the release of the new editor in 2017.[14] Defold was nominated for best engine in the 2018 Develop Awards, the 2018 and 2019 Mobile Games Awards.[30][31][32]

In 2020, the Defold Foundation was established to oversee the development and stewardship of the engine, ensuring its independence from any single entity.[4] In the process, the source code for the engine was made public.[33] King released the source on GitHub as open source game engine, but community of developers questioned the choice of license, as it was initially unclear. Many assumed it was released under an Apache 2.0 \- popular open source license. However, King had used a custom license that prevented commercialization of the Defold editor, so that Defold would always remain free for developers to use, calling into question whether it could be considered open source as defined by the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative.[10][5][34] Shortly after, Defold added support for Nintendo Switch target platform exports.[35]

## Licensing

[edit]

Defold is released under the "Defold License", derived from the Apache License, Version 2.0. The engine is "source available" and developers can access the engine's source code on GitHub.[3] The "Defold License" license permits any use of the code except for the sale of the Defold engine itself, but games made can be distributed freely, without royalties or restrictions.[34][9]

## Funding

[edit]

The Defold Foundation is funded entirely by community donations and corporate partnerships.[3][36] The Defold engine is maintained by both the Defold foundation and open source developers.[37][38][39]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Release 1.9.4". 21 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
2. ^ "The Defold License". Defold.com.
3. ^ a b c d Kerr, Chris (2020-05-19). "King has opened up and relinquished control of the Defold game engine". Game Developer. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kamen, Matt (2016-03-22). "Candy Crush studio King releases Defold game development engine for free". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
5. ^ a b Cowley, Ric (2020-05-19). "King is making its Defold game engine open source". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
6. ^ a b "Defold: A Grant for the Web Awardee". Grantfortheweb.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
7. ^ Kerr, Chris (2016-03-23). "King's Defold game engine is now available for free". Game Developer. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
8. ^ a b c d "Here's why King gave away its 2D mobile game engine Defold". VentureBeat. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
9. ^ a b Orremark, Kim (2017-08-29). "Vi kollar in spelmotorn Defold". Gamereactor Sverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
10. ^ a b Hunter, Tatum (2020-10-27). "Is It Time to Leave Open Source Behind?". Builtin.com. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
11. ^ a b "『キャンディークラッシュ』のKingが提供する2D開発特化ゲームエンジン"Defold"とは？ | ファミ通App【スマホゲーム情報サイト】". ファミ通App (in Japanese). 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
12. ^ a b c 株式会社インプレス (2017-04-14). "【特別企画】Kingがゲームエンジン「DEFOLD」を無償公開するワケ 2Dにフォーカスしたゲームエンジンを開発者向けにブリーフィング". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
13. ^ Aueki, Aetas (2016-03-17). "［GDC 2016］「キャンディークラッシュ」のKingが公開した完全無料のゲームエンジン「Defold」とは？". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
14. ^ a b Pearson, Dan (2016-06-10). "The King Maker". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
15. ^ a b c d Hillyard, David (2020-06-11). Documenting Defold Programming Projects. CRAIGNDAVE Limited. pp. 10–12. ISBN 979-8649775151.[self-published source]
16. ^ "King releases Defold game engine for free". MCV. 2016-03-22. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
17. ^ Ксения (2016-03-23). "King бесплатно выпускает игровой движок Defold". AppTractor.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
18. ^ Михайлова, Вероника (2020-06-24). "Игровой движок Defold получил поддержку Nintendo Switch". App2top.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
19. ^ Ritzl, Björn (2024-02-29). "Defold adds support for PlayStation®5". Defold.com. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
20. ^ "TypeScript support library for Defold". GitHub.
21. ^ "Haxe support library for the Defold game engine". GitHub.
22. ^ Isaac (2020-05-22). "Defold: motor gráfico multiplataforma torna-se open source". Linux Adictos (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.[unreliable source?]
23. ^ "Defold Asset portal". Defold.com.
24. ^ 周思冲 (2016-06-13). "国王守护者Defold：从无人问津到King御用引擎 - 触乐". Chuapp.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
25. ^ Weber, Rachel (2016-03-23). "King makes Defold game engine free". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
26. ^ Riis, Jacob (2016-05-09). "The Story of Defold". Nordic Game Community. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
27. ^ Suckley, Matt (2016-09-19). "Why King is entering the game engine space with Defold and how it will help other devs launch their games". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
28. ^ "GDC - King presents Defold". GDCVault.
29. ^ Suckley, Matt (2016-09-27). "What do mobile developers think of King's game engine Defold?". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
30. ^ "Announcing the Develop Awards 2018 nominations shortlist". MCV. 2018-05-21. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
31. ^ Chapple, Craig (2018-11-23). "Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2019 finalists revealed". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
32. ^ Chapple, Craig (2017-11-29). "Mobile Games Awards 2018: The finalists revealed". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
33. ^ Batchelor, James (2020-05-19). "King makes Defold engine open source". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
34. ^ a b Fyler, Tony (2022-08-04). "Is Open Source Dying Out?". TechHQ. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
35. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh (2020-06-25). "The Defold Foundation adds Nintendo Switch support to Defold engine". Pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
36. ^ "EGDF: UNITY'S INSTALL FEES ARE A SIGN OF LOOMING GAME ENGINE MARKET FAILURE". EGDF - European Games Developer Federation. 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
37. ^ Alim (2020-05-26). "Heroic Labs partners with the Defold Foundation to further open-source game development". HeroicLabs.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
38. ^ Ritzl, Björn (2020-08-11). "Melsoft Games partners with the Defold Foundation". Defold.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
39. ^ Ritzl, Björn (2021-02-16). "The Defold Foundation partners with Rive Inc". Defold.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* "Defold GitHub repository". on GitHub. 10 April 2022.

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