Let’s talk about usual game project and how it looks like nowadays. So what we have? Game development company, that buys third-party game engine and than outsources some (big enough) part of the work to another company. This leads to numerous problems – just think of the game, which concept and scenario was developed by one company, engine – by another and than one more company makes models, level design, animation, etc. So, I want to ask you, do you like the idea of outsourcing game project to a company that has its own self-developed engine?

Quote: Original post by 3D Ace Studio
This leads to numerous problems – just think of the game, which concept and scenario was developed by one company, engine – by another and than one more company makes models, level design, animation, etc.

You haven't talked about problems there, just restated the situation. BTW, it's unusual to outsource basic creative control -- modelers will be working from concept art, for instance, and multiple art iterations will ensure that the content doesn't stray too far from the designer's vision.

Quote: So, I want to ask you, do you like the idea of outsourcing game project to a company that has its own self-developed engine?

I wouldn't care one way or the other given equivalent results, but I would worry that the company's self-developed engine would be of lower quality than commercially available engines. I would also worry that much of my budget would end up subsidizing improvements to the engine.

Quote: Original post by Sneftel
I wouldn't care one way or the other given equivalent results, but I would worry that the company's self-developed engine would be of lower quality than commercially available engines. I would also worry that much of my budget would end up subsidizing improvements to the engine.

As for engine's quality I would say that you can always ask for complete list of features and demos.

But speaking about "subsidizing improvements to the engine" - you're definitely right. I can say from my experience that such things mostly common for chineese outsource companies.

3D Ace wrote:

>do you like the idea of outsourcing game project to a company that has its own self-developed engine?

I assume you're asking because you want to know if you should create your own engine (I assume that your purpose for asking this question is necessary to know, in order to give you the most helpful answer).

I have outsourced dozens and dozens of game projects. Sometimes the developer has used an original engine and sometimes they've used engines created by other companies. I could not give you any statistics either way, and I don't even care either way.

It's all about the company and the game. The engine is a tool in between the two. So this is a three-variable equation.

Company - is it a skilled, adaptable company? Can they easily make necessary adjustments to the engine as required to support a game feature, or find workarounds to make the feature possible? To simplify this equation, let's say that a yes answer means "good company" and a no answer means "bad company."

Game - is it a tricky game? No, let's turn that around. Do the features jibe with the features of the engine and the skills of the company? To simplify the equation, let's say that a yes answer means "easy game" and a no answer means "hard game."

Engine - is the engine fully capable of supporting all the game's features without needing any adjustments? Let's say that a yes answer means "perfect engine" and a no answer means "imperfect engine."

Good company + perfect engine + easy game = good project
Good company + imperfect engine + easy game = invalid equation (game and engine defs mismatch)
Good company + perfect engine + hard game = invalid equation (game and engine defs mismatch)
Good company + imperfect engine + hard game = 2 out of 3 is probably a bad thing
Bad company + perfect engine + easy game = probably a bad project
Bad company + anything = probably a bad project

So the answer to your question is, "it depends. It's a bad question."