Am I the only one around here

by RC , UK, Friday, March 29, 2013, 08:40 (4045 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Am I the only one around here wondering why, with all the other engines that were shown that completely outclass what we've seen of destiny so far, Bungie still insists on going with their own engine and not licensing? Say what you will about Bungie but their engine tech has always been middle of the road compared to other contemporary games.

Engine licences can run hundreds of thousands if not millions of $ and sometimes a percentage of revenue too. So there is certainly a cost implication.

You also have to learn someone else's content creation pipeline that is built to either be generic or for a type of game that yours is not. So there is a re-training implication.

Having an engine already up and running from previous projects, that evolves over the course of the development, gives them a space to prototype in rapidly: something that would be set back by having to learn the ins and outs of a new engine and port over all the content.

In-house engine and tools developers at Bungie can create bespoke solutions based upon existing working practices, culture and demands. They can respond quickly, be there in-person to discuss issues, features, work through problems and help the teams.

Maybe their graphics have never been uber-top-of-the-line, they've always looked great, supported the game's mechanics and feel (rather than being 'another-unreal-engine-game') and most importantly (to me) they've packed them with features that many other games simply don't care about. Re: gametype customisation, replays et al.

Destiny may share a lot of things with other games, but at the same time it's mix of things is a bit different from everything else. Even if they did licence an engine, they'd still have to hammer it into the shape they wanted - which would still involve a lot of work.