Open Source Game Engine Remakes

Reinventing the Classics

Article from Issue 303/2026
Author(s):

Rather than emulating the old hardware to play games, engine remakes allow you to combine the original assets with modern conveniences.

As computers became more powerful during the 1990s, game developers began to separate the game code from the assets of the game. In other words, a computer program (or "engine") would be its own entity, separate from the game content. Often this meant that the games could be ported to other platforms and the engines themselves could be reused in other games.

One problem with older games is that they can become difficult to run on modern hardware and recent operating systems. All of the games covered here can be run via emulators that simulate the vintage hardware that the games were designed to run on. This is the best way to accurately recreate the original look and feel that older games would have had when released. However, game engine remakes offer a chance to experience those releases with enhancements such as better graphics and improved control systems. If an engine remake can attract a community, it can even be used as a springboard to create new content.

ScummVM

Graphical point-and-click adventure games are a perfect example of a type of game designed around complete separation between game content and engine. These games revolve around locations, event-driven stories, and object-driven puzzles, and they use dialogue trees for character interactions. The locations are presented as two-dimensional bitmaps and the characters are animated sprites.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subscriptions
Digital Subscriptions

Related content

  • ScummVM

    The SCUMM engine is the basis of almost all the classic

    adventure games by Lukasfilm Games/LukasArts.

    Now fans can launch these game on Linux thanks to

    ScummVM.

    more »
  • Bringing Back the '90s

    People born in the late '80s and early '90s often have a sizeable collection of old video games gathering dust at home. Systems capable of executing these are, however, becoming scarce. This article explores the options for archiving old PC games and running them on modern systems.

    more »
  • FOSSPicks

    Graham had an interesting moral dilemma this month: whether to include an open source Wordle clone or not. Read on to see his decision.

    more »
  • Setting Up a Quake Server

    You don’t have to be an expert to set up your own Quake 3 game server.

    more »
  • Indie Game Studio

    Open source software can provide every tool you need to create an independent game.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Mobile Programming Security Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source