I''m trying to create a 2D tile-based game. I haven''t figured out exactly what the game will be but I want to keep the engine as data-driven and open-ended as possible so that I can implement changes easily. I''ve been trying to figure with much fustration how to design such an engine. Are there any such game architectures out there which I can model my own after? By data-driven, I mean the engine should be able to allow changes to behavior by simply modifying game data w/o having to write extra code. I know I need to establish some kind of game protocol which form the basic building blocks but I can''t decide what these should be for say, a side-scroller or a top-down 2D game.

quote:By data-driven, I mean the engine should be able to allow changes to behavior by simply modifying game data w/o having to write extra code. I know I need to establish some kind of game protocol which form the basic building blocks but I can''t decide what these should be for say, a side-scroller or a top-down 2D game.

It would be easy enough to allow for different sized sprites and movement and whatnot, but to make it fully customizable you will need scripting.

quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster

By data-driven, I mean the engine should be able to allow changes to behavior by simply modifying game data w/o having to write extra code. I know I need to establish some kind of game protocol which form the basic building blocks but I can''t decide what these should be for say, a side-scroller or a top-down 2D game.

It would be easy enough to allow for different sized sprites and movement and whatnot, but to make it fully customizable you will need scripting.

I was really thinking more along the lines of code organisation and structure. IOW, what is the best way to structure your classes and what are the common properties of this genre of games (besides the obvious use of tiles/maps, ie).