Last updated on Feb 5, 2024

You want to create realistic physics in your game design. What’s the best tool for the job?

You want to create realistic physics in your game design. What’s the best tool for the job? Physics is one of the most important aspects of game design, as it affects how objects interact, move, and behave in your virtual world. Whether you are making a racing game, a platformer, a shooter, or a puzzle game, you need a physics engine that can handle the complexity and realism of your game mechanics. But how do you choose the best tool for your game design? In this article, we will explore some of the factors that you should consider when selecting a physics engine, and some of the popular options that are available for different platforms and genres.

1 What is a physics engine?

A physics engine is a software component that simulates the physical laws and phenomena that govern the behavior of objects in a game. It can handle collisions, gravity, friction, forces, torque, momentum, and more. A physics engine can also provide features such as ragdoll physics, destructible environments, fluid dynamics, and particle systems. A physics engine can be integrated into a game engine, which is a software framework that provides the core functionality of a game, such as rendering, audio, input, networking, and scripting. Alternatively, a physics engine can be used as a standalone tool that can be customized and linked to a game engine.

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Syed Bilal Shah

AI-METAVERSE Engineer | AI Enthusiast | P2E Games Expert | Blockchain Game Developer | AR/VR EXPERT | Quantum Computing Enthusiast
When aiming for realistic physics in game design, several top-tier engines stand out, few of them are as: - Unity: Known for its versatility and user-friendly interface, Unity offers a built-in physics engine well-suited for a range of game types, from 2D platformers to complex 3D environments. - Unreal Engine: Famed for its high-fidelity graphics, Unreal Engine provides a powerful physics system, ideal for creating realistic interactions and visual effects in AAA games. - CryEngine: Praised for its state-of-the-art rendering capabilities, CryEngine includes advanced physics tools that are great for creating immersive, realistic environments.
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2 Why do you need a physics engine?

A physics engine can help you create more immersive, realistic, and engaging games. By using a physics engine, you can avoid manually coding the logic and equations for every object and scenario in your game. Instead, you can rely on the physics engine to handle the calculations and interactions for you, based on the parameters and constraints that you define. A physics engine can also help you optimize the performance and stability of your game, by using efficient algorithms and data structures to manage the physics simulation. A physics engine can also enable you to create more dynamic and emergent gameplay, by allowing the players and the environment to influence the physics outcomes.

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Thaswin Meshak

AR/VR Developer | Game Development | Unity | Unreal | C# | C++
It's mainly for productivity. The physics engine is primarily used to simulate realistic physical interactions within a virtual environment. The rules of physics in most games remain the same, and it does provide some parameters to tweak physics values according to our game. Therefore, it's better to automate this process by using physics engines like Unity, Unreal, etc., in order to focus mainly on the gameplay part instead of spending a significant amount of time scripting the physics for each game.
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3 How to choose a physics engine?

When comparing and evaluating physics engines for your game design, there is no definitive answer to which one is the best. However, there are some general factors to consider such as accuracy, performance, flexibility, and compatibility. Accuracy measures how realistic and consistent the simulations are, while performance looks at how fast and efficient the engine is. Flexibility assesses how easy it is to use and customize the engine for your game design. Finally, compatibility looks at how well the engine integrates with your game engine and platform. All of these factors should be taken into account when selecting a physics engine for your game.

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Aryan Saraswat

UI/UX Designer || Game Designer || Obsession for creating immersive experiences
For realistic physics, use a robust physics engine like Unity's built-in physics or open-source options like Bullet or NVIDIA PhysX. Choose based on your game's needs: Unity for versatility and ease, Bullet for open-source flexibility, or PhysX for advanced simulations. Consider your target platform, community support, and documentation. Test each engine with your game mechanics to find the one aligning best with your project's complexity and performance goals.
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4 What are some popular physics engines?

When it comes to game design, there are many physics engines available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Box2D is a popular 2D physics engine suitable for creating games with realistic and fun physics effects, such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, and Limbo. It is written in C++ but has bindings for other languages like Java, Python, and Lua. Bullet is a 3D physics engine designed for high-performance and realistic physics simulation, such as GTA V, Just Cause 2, and Horizon Zero Dawn. PhysX is another 3D physics engine optimized for NVIDIA GPUs and hardware acceleration, such as Assassin’s Creed, Batman Arkham, and Borderlands. All three engines are free and open source, and can be used with various game engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender, and CryEngine.

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5 How to learn and use a physics engine?

The best way to learn and use a physics engine is to practice and experiment with it. You can start by following the tutorials and documentation that are provided by the physics engine developers, and by exploring the examples and demos that are included with the physics engine. You can also look for online courses, books, videos, and blogs that teach you the basics and advanced concepts of game physics and physics engines. You can also join online communities and forums that are dedicated to game design and physics engines, where you can ask questions, share your projects, and get feedback and support from other game developers.

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6 What are the benefits and challenges of using a physics engine?

Using a physics engine can bring many benefits to your game design, such as enhancing realism and immersion, improving gameplay and fun, saving time and effort in development, and boosting performance and stability. However, it can also pose some challenges, like finding the right balance between accuracy and performance, testing and debugging the physics simulation, and learning and mastering the engine. Adjusting the physics parameters and settings to suit your game design and platform, identifying potential errors, and understanding the physics concepts are all necessary for successful implementation.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Liam Daley

Design Lead @ Secret Handshake Interactive | Co-Founder
The most convincing "realistic physics" are often completely fake. In cutscenes and canned animations, physics are typically run through a simulation once and then tweaked by artists for the optimal result. Physics engines can be unpredictable given the tiniest amount of player entropy, and so most games that employ this technology opt for constraints that restrict this kind of unwanted behavior.
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You want to create realistic physics in your game design. What’s the best tool for the job?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 What is a physics engine?

2 Why do you need a physics engine?

3 How to choose a physics engine?

4 What are some popular physics engines?

5 How to learn and use a physics engine?

6 What are the benefits and challenges of using a physics engine?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Game Design

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You want to create realistic physics in your game design. What’s the best tool for the job?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 What is a physics engine?

2 Why do you need a physics engine?

3 How to choose a physics engine?

4 What are some popular physics engines?

5 How to learn and use a physics engine?

6 What are the benefits and challenges of using a physics engine?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Game Design

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

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