March 2, 2026
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Making Video Games in 2025 (without an engine)
Celeste dev shuns big engines; fans split: DIY freedom vs Unity safety
TLDR: A veteran indie dev says big engines like Unity aren’t needed for many games, preferring modern C# and small frameworks for control and less bloat. Comments split: DIY freedom versus pragmatic platform support, with extra cheers for the rare “no AI” post—important as devs weigh control against reach.
A 20-year indie veteran—yes, the team behind the hit platformer Celeste—dropped a spicy confession: they build games in 2025 without giant engines like Unity or Unreal. Instead, they use modern C#, hot reload, and lightweight frameworks (think FNA, Love2D, SDL) to dodge bloated features and avoid surprise policy changes that can break your game and your heart.
Cue the comment section fireworks. One camp cheers the DIY energy, calling big engines “training wheels you never take off.” Another camp fires back that engines exist for a reason: shipping to every console and phone is hard, and Unity’s cross‑platform support is the safety net. Some even joked they’d use Unity to build a not‑a‑game app because it’s so reliable. Meanwhile, a crowd wipes its brow in relief: no AI hype! “Refreshing,” they say. And the meta‑drama? Veterans dropped a link to past debates, while the Celeste reveal added star power—suddenly everyone listened a little harder.
Humor flew: “Ship to your toaster” versus “write your own engine, earn your wizard hat.” The strongest opinions clash between control and craft versus coverage and stability. The takeaway: you don’t have to use a mega‑engine—but if you want mass platforms, brace for the “Unity or bust” chorus.
Key Points
- •The author prefers building games without large commercial engines, relying on custom tools tailored to their projects.
- •They argue big engines add unnecessary overhead and often require reimplementing default features to achieve desired quality.
- •Vendor decisions and required updates can break projects, creating long-term dependency risks the author seeks to avoid.
- •Lightweight frameworks like FNA, Love2D, and SDL make engine-free development feasible for indie games in 2025.
- •The author’s workflow centers on modern C# with .NET hot reload and dotnet watch; they note performance-oriented language improvements.