Crimson

Crimson is a simple yet powerful 2D game engine designed for learning game development fundamentals. Built with modern C++ and focused on providing an easy-to-understand API, Crimson doesn’t hide the underlying architecture, making it perfect for developers who want to understand how game engines work at a lower level.

Key Features:

Multi-Game Framework: One launcher supporting multiple games with hot-swappable game libraries for rapid development
Modern Graphics & Audio: SDL3-powered rendering and audio mixing with hardware acceleration
Visual Level Design: Integrated LDtk level editor support with automatic collision generation
Component-Based Architecture: Clean ECS (Entity Component System) pattern with reusable components
Universal Platform Support: Native builds for Windows, Linux, macOS, plus WebAssembly for web deployment
Professional Build System: Modern CMake integration with full IDE support and automated workflows

What makes Crimson special is its educational focus combined with professional-grade architecture. The engine provides a complete game development framework while maintaining transparency in its implementation. Each game follows a standardized structure that the engine automatically recognizes, with assets and configurations loaded seamlessly.

Crimson includes everything you need through Git submodules - SDL3, JSON libraries, WxWidgets, and all dependencies are built automatically. No external installations required, just clone and build.

The project demonstrates modern C++ game development practices while remaining approachable for developers at any level who want to understand game engine architecture.