Helgason labels most 2D engines as primitive

The 2D game engines currently available to developers are primitive, says Unity CEO David Helgason.

Speaking to Developin an interview on the company’s latest announcements, including new 2D tools, Helgason said there weren’t any 2D engines that offered smooth workflows for developers.

He added that he felt Unity’s new tools would be better on launch day than what other middleware firms are already providing in the space, and the company would continue to work on the tools over the next 12 months.

Helgason admitted that Unity’s own offerings in the past had not been ideal for developers looking to create complex 2D games, with a number of “fundamental silliness’s” meaning users were often fighting the engine to make their titles.

“We also looked at other 2D engines, and I usually try not to say anything about others, but when we looked at what other 2D engines are doing, it’s all kind of primitive,” he said.

“There weren’t really any workflows that we fell in love with and thought that game developers were well served with. Either the low-level source code bases that they have to hack or the really contrived tools really weren’t designed for it in the first place.

“I think even the stuff we’re launching on day one is going to be ahead of what anyone else is giving.”

Helgason went on to explain how Unity was focused on stripping down Unity so developers didn’t have to ship the entire 3D engine when making a pure 2D game. He also added that most of its 2D services would be free, as it was simple technology.

You can read the full interview with David Helgason, in which he also discusses Unity’s new publishing program and cloud services, here.