The term motor can be used as a noun or as an adjective . In the first case, the concept refers to the machine that, using an energy source, can generate movement .
Engines are responsible for producing mechanical energy from fossil fuels, electricity or other resources. In this way, they allow work to be carried out.
Cars, for example, use an internal combustion engine . In this context, the engine uses a fuel (which can be gasoline or gasoline ; diesel , diesel or diesel ; or compressed natural gas ) that produces chemical energy , which is transformed into mechanical energy to activate all the gear necessary for the vehicle moves.
In external combustion engines , as the name suggests, the combustion process takes place outside the machine. The usual thing is that water is heated to obtain steam . Throughout history , many ships and trains used this type of engine.
It is important to note that the engines can use non-renewable energy (which comes from exhaustible sources) or renewable energy (which is inexhaustible since it is regenerated). While oil is not renewable, the wind that makes it possible to obtain wind energy is.
On the other hand, motor or motor are adjectives that qualify that which displaces or mobilizes: "Pain can be a driving force to act in search of changes," "Love is the most important motor feeling that human beings have."
In the field of computing, a group of algorithms or routines that allow the creation of a video game, from its design to its own operation, is called a video game or game engine. It is a very complex concept, which is subdivided into several parts and components, such as a graphics engine, a physics engine, animation systems, artificial intelligence, sound and memory management, among others.
In simpler words, a video game engine is a series of tools that allow us to make a video game. Developers began using this term publicly in the early 1990s, particularly to refer to three-dimensional games, a group in which the DOOM series, first published in 1993, stands out. However, the engines They had already existed for a long time; For example, in 1986 the Incentive Software company had created one that it called Freescape .
There is great confusion about the exact definition of this concept, even within the professional field of video games . This is largely due to the speed with which programming-related technologies have evolved in recent years: while in the early 90s consumers marveled at the presence of some three-dimensional object that rotated on the screen, in 2020 The level of graphic fidelity of video games imitates reality to a surprising level.
One of the concepts that is often confused with engine is development kit , which is also known simply as SDK . It is an engine plus a series of complementary tools that may be necessary for the design of a video game. In some cases, the names of well-known products are used interchangeably, fueling confusion.
For example, one of the most used engines in the world is called Unreal Engine ; However, the company that distributes it, Epic , also offers the UDK , a kit that includes the engine and other applications. In a conversation between programmers, one can say that "you are using the Unreal engine" even though you actually have the UDK.