ElGain

ElGain is a lightweight, open-source, and cross-platform game engine designed primarily for creating two-dimensional games. It is written in C++ and is built on top of the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library, which provides support for audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, and graphics hardware acceleration through OpenGL or Direct3D. ElGain aims to simplify game development by offering a modular architecture and a set of high-level abstractions for common game development tasks.

The engine was developed by a small team of developers and first released in 2010. Its design emphasizes ease of use, allowing developers to focus on game logic rather than low-level implementation details. ElGain includes features such as a scene graph system, sprite rendering, particle effects, and support for physics through Box2D. It also provides tools for level editing, asset management, and scripting via Lua.

ElGain is distributed under the MIT License, making it freely available for both personal and commercial projects. The engine’s simplicity and flexibility have made it popular among indie developers, educators, and hobbyists. While it lacks some advanced features found in larger engines like Unity or Unreal, its lightweight nature and ease of integration make it suitable for smaller projects or educational purposes.

The engine’s community remains active, with contributions from developers worldwide. Documentation and tutorials are available online, though the project’s growth has been gradual compared to more mainstream engines. ElGain continues to evolve, with updates focusing on stability, performance improvements, and new features tailored to 2D game development needs.