Torque 2D Development - Expectations

In the first Torque 2D Development Blog, we wanted to drop a bombshell feature on the 2D game engine world. The announcement of real time networking addresses one of the most sought after feature requests for our 2D engine technology.




Before proceeding with more feature revelations, we are going to take this time to talk about Torque 2D expectations while we have your attention. The rumor mill has already started to churn, but now is the best time to address the speculation of how Torque 2D will be developed. First, let's look at the past.

There is not a single doubt that Torque Game Builder has been a success. When it comes to pure 2D development, game engine options are limited. Torque Game Builder has always been at the top due to the number of features and power it has offered. Developers have published games on BigFish, GarageGames, Steam, Xbox 360, the iPhone, and more. The engine has reached the hands of both hobbyists and AAA developers alike. Check out a few recent games with TGB you may have missed:



We're always excited when a well known brand picks up Torque to extend it in new, entrepreneurial ways. That's what happened when BioWare called us up last fall to talk about creating Mass Effect Galaxy for the iPhone. Created on top of TGB and Torque 2D for the iPhone, this game allows players to explore the story of Jacob Taylor, a biotic-powered super-soldier who stumbles across a plot to terrorize the mighty Citadel space station.



Torque Game Builder has been used to make hundreds of casual games, many of which have been published on one of the "Big Online Portals." Probably the biggest fish in the pond is, well, Big Fish. Long-time Torque developer Skunk Studios found success on Big Fish when it's hidden object game Flux Family Secrets hit the #1 spot in April and held it for many weeks. Now Skunk Studios has a contract to make more Flux Family games for the popular on-line portal.



One of the most compelling reasons to use TGB is to push it to multiple platforms. Windows and Mac comes right out of the box, but with pathways to iPhone, Wii, and the Xbox 360, there are lots of ways to get more eyeballs on your game. WhiteBearStudios choose TGB as it's start into Wii game developer, producing Sudoku Ball - Detective. With this game under their belt, they're aiming to produce more Wii titles with Torque and continue making great "jump-in" games with affordable and flexible tech.


During the 2009 Casual Connect, David Fox of iWin.com gave a talk about 3rd party frameworks and game engines developers had at their disposal. He was fair to all the contenders, but ended up giving Torque Game Builder a shining review.


The presentation ultimately came down to using the framework that best fit your project, so he created a list of all the features that would make the perfect engine. Perhaps my favorite slide in his presentation was the "Perfect Engine Matrix," where he listed features of a fictitious engine and compared it to real options.

(slide taken directly from David's presentation)

We were very happy to see how Torque Game Builder stood up:

The Perfect Engine Features vs Torque Game Builder

You are not going to find a single game engine that fulfills that entire list, but it is obvious how close Torque Game Builder gets to the "perfect 2D engine." How many of those Xs would you like to see convert to checks? We are still putting the final touches on our road map, but we are feeling confident about most of those flipping. Real-time networking has already started the process of pushing Torque 2D beyond the already amazing TGB.

Another very important point David made was how well the engine fits your development needs, outside of a feature list. Again, TGB shines in all these areas.

Perfect Engine Dev Factors vs Torque Game Builder

*Low Cost - TGB has always been our most affordable engine for what you get.
*Community Support - Hands down, our community is one of the most solid and helpful when it comes to development. The original Torque 2D itself was spawned by a community member.
*Employee Support - The employee and contractor activity in the Torque 3D forums is way up, and will carry over to Torque 2D.

It pains me to see that the one X on that list is related to documentation, but we already plan to rectify this with Torque 2D. There will be a separate blog about this later, but you can still look at Torque 3D to see what direction this subject will go.

At the end of the talk, David gave us his "2 cents." Torque was his recommended choice for a 3rd party framework to make downloadable games. For web games, Flash is still the king. After all, has Flash ever had serious competition from a 2D game engine that can produce games embedded in a browser? Maybe it's time there is competition.

David was not the only developer with an opinion at Casual Connect. Several Torque veterans visited our booth to show off the games they made with our tech, and see the new Torque 2D demonstration. They even got a preview of the new editor, which is still in a very rough alpha. The responses were unanimous: Torque Game Builder is an amazing 2D game engine, and Torque 2D is on the right path to surpass it.

What's the Point???

This brings us to the core message of this blog: If Torque Game Builder is this widely accepted as one of the best, how do you improve on this? Sure, it would be easy to scan the forums and fix a few bugs here and there. Early on, we decided that was not good enough: for GarageGames or for you.

There is a reason we are switching to the name "Torque 2D." By now, most of you may have noticed we already performed a similar re-branding: Torque 3D. Torque 3D became more than just a TGEA 1.9 or 2.0 release. The engine evolved and has become the flagship engine everyone wanted to see GG produce.

Please, take time to look at the latest versions of TGEA and Torque 3D. Compare the editors, the new features, the documentation, the development transparency, the improvements, etc. Now, I want you to replace TGEA with Torque Game Builder.

We plan on giving TGB the same level of treatment Torque 3D has received in every way possible. Think of the major features missing from TGB, and the longstanding issues you want resolved. Look at every other game engine or framework, find its strongest point, then imagine that in Torque 2D.

Our final goal: Torque 2D will become the end all, be all, 2D game engine solution. For anyone who was concerned, we hope this ends the speculation of what effort will be going into Torque 2D.

Torque 2D development blogs:

• Post #1 - Torque 2D Development - Real-Time Networking
• Post #2 - Expectations
• Post #3 - Coming Soon!