I plan to build a very basic 2D game in html5: it's purely a kind of monopoly, a rectangle map divided in 2D equal square tiles. A player can click on a tile to see the message behind a tile. Once open, other players can't open it anymore.

So there are no teams, no physics, no complexe player moves just the need to be massively multiplayer and cross platform (it needs to be playable on computer but also mobile so touch is needed for example).

I have read this nice comparison between game engines http://buildnewgames.com/game-engine-comparison/ but I wonder: do I really need a game engine or can i make without a game engine, just using javascript and all the necessary technologies(canvas, node, socket.io...) ? In what does it make my work easier/faster ?

thanks for your help, Mathieu

You're basically going to make an engine if you're not going to use a pre-built one, regardless of simplicity. Using a pre-built one might save you some time, but that time is taken back by figuring out how the engine works and how you can apply it to your game concept.

For something so simple, though, you might just be better off writing your own code from scratch, IMO. It shouldn't be exceedingly difficult.

Thanks Darkhaven for your answer,

the only "useful" thing i saw in thes egalme engiens in the prcise case of the game i want to make is the: built-in feature for cross compatilibity (with mobiles and all) .

Mathieu

the only "useful" thing i saw in thes egalme engiens in the prcise case of the game i want to make is the: built-in feature for cross compatilibity (with mobiles and all) .

Mathieu

Using a full featured game engine for something as simple might be overkill, I suggest you to use a cross platform media library such as the sfml or sdl, that is not a game engine but it provides a cross platform access to low level stuff (drawing an image, playing a sound,...)

What language do you plan to use? For a simple game like that I would go with python and pyglet

HTML5 and JavaScript (?) are the target languages here, it appears. For such an application, HTML5 and JS should be more than enough.

I've read the post a little too quickly... I agree with darkhaven3, html5 + javascipt should be more than enough

Game engines aren't some magical thing they're just basically giant libraries of code that are useful for the development of a game, of course some go farther than others using specialized content and editors and providing you with all the development tools, so some are more like game suites than just "engines." But what it comes down to really is, would you benefit from having all that code available to access?

If the game is small, that isn't always a simple decision, engines take time to set up, learn, and you may have to code a lot yourself anyway, it's just a question of whether you need to put together a ride on mower to mow your lawn or is using a cheap push one good enough.