Game Engine with Built-in Physics
A game engine with built-in physics is a software framework that includes integrated physics simulation capabilities, allowing developers to create realistic interactions, collisions, and movements in games without needing to implement physics from scratch. These engines typically provide tools for handling rigid body dynamics, collision detection, and sometimes soft body or fluid simulations, streamlining game development by combining rendering, scripting, and physics in one environment. Examples include Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot, which offer physics engines like PhysX, Chaos, or custom implementations.
Developers should use game engines with built-in physics when creating games that require realistic physical interactions, such as platformers, racing games, or simulations, as they save time and reduce complexity compared to coding physics manually. These engines are essential for projects needing consistent and optimized physics performance across different platforms, and they are particularly valuable for indie developers or small teams with limited resources, as they provide pre-tested, reliable physics systems. They also support rapid prototyping and iteration, enabling faster development cycles and easier debugging of physical behaviors.