Building a game engine from scratch is a massive undertaking, but it’s one of the most rewarding challenges a developer can face. I’ve recently decided to take on this journey by building the ZlormaEngine, a 2D engine written entirely in #Rust.

My goal was to create a lightweight, high-performance engine capable of handling hundreds of entities on screen without frame drops. To test its capabilities, I developed a Twin-Stick Shooter called VectHorde: Swarm Survival.

Why Rust for a Game Engine?

**Memory Safety**: Rust’s borrow checker helps prevent common memory-related bugs, which is crucial when managing large numbers of game entities.

**Performance**: The control over memory layout and zero-cost abstractions allows for the kind of arcade fluidity I wanted to achieve.

Challenges & Takeaways

**Entity Management**: Handling the swarm survival mechanic required efficient data structures to ensure the game remains stable even when the screen is crowded.

**The "Game Feel"**: Beyond the technical performance, fine-tuning the inputs and the "Terminal Nexus" upgrade system was key to making the game fun to play.

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Check out the project**

I’ve just released the demo for VectHorde on itch.io. If you're interested in game dev, Rust, or just want to challenge your reflexes, feel free to give it a try!

👉 https://zlormack-studio.itch.io/vecthorde-swarm-survival

I’m currently gathering feedback to decide how to approach the full version of the game. If you have any insights on engine architecture or game design, I'd love to discuss them in the comments!

rust, #gamedev, #programming #showdev

Happy coding!
Zlormack
Building the ZlormaEngine in Rust.
Follow my journey on Itch.io