This Developer Writes a Custom Engine For a Horror FPS Game

In this day and age, when the same handful of game engines is utilized by what seems to be every single indie developer on this planet, it's always refreshing to see creators opting for their own custom-made solutions tailored precisely to fulfill their needs. One great example that recently caught my attention is a work-in-progress program called Hell Engine, being developed by a talented Programmer and Musician Chris Burrows, also known as tokyospliff.

Written in OpenGL and C++, the latest version of Hell Engine initially began as a CPU raycaster, aiming to explore the potential of voxel-based global illumination. According to the developer, the idea didn't work out in the end, so the setup was modified and turned into Hell2024, the newest iteration of Hell Engine Chris writes for his upcoming survival horror FPS game with roguelike elements.

As shown in the developer's streams and demos, the engine already handles basic FPS mechanics pretty well and can render impressive 3D scenes with accurate lighting and shadows. Chris' latest demo, attached above, highlights recent improvements to the software's lighting capabilities. Now, each light source only updates its Shadow Map if one or more axis-aligned bounding boxes move within its sphere of influence that frame.

And here are some of the earlier demos shared by the author:

Besides highlighting the progress with demo showcases, the creator regularly conducts lengthy streams, offering a unique look at the development process behind Hell Engine. Attached below are some of Chris' most recent streams, you can check out more by visiting the developer's YouTube channel:

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