Montfra Game Engine
A downloadable tool
Learn how a game engine works by writing your game like a document
Available on 🪟Windows, 🍎Mac, and 🐧Linux
Generated games can also be exported to 🌐the web
An educational game engine focused on learning, experimentation and creativity.
Available on 🪟Windows, 🍎Mac, and 🐧Linux
Generated games can also be exported to 🌐the web
An educational game engine focused on learning, experimentation and creativity.
Alpha 2 • current release
Educational • learn by experimenting
2D • C++ • OpenGL • Web export
😎 A different way to learn 😎
game development
Instead of starting with complex editors or thousands of lines of code, you begin by writing your game like a game design document, using simple variables inside a text editor.
The engine interprets your text and turns it into a playable game.
Most game engines help you make games,
but very few help you understand how a game engine works.
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📝 Write like a doc
Focus on the idea first. Your text becomes your game.
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⚡ Instant iteration
Change one value, re-run, and learn by experimentation.
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🧠 Real engine learning
Designed to help you understand how an engine works.
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MGE was created to:
- Support your continuous learning journey in game creation
- Understand how a game engine works and how games are built on top of it
- Experiment and learn game design rules
- Discover how to create visuals and music for games
- Prepare you to work with C++, OpenGL, or other engines later
The goal is not to stay on MGE forever, but to leave with real knowledge.
🎉 WHAT'S NEW IN ALPHA 2 🎉
I’m happy to announce a major new update for Montfra Game Engine.
The System Update
Since the first Alpha 1 release, MGE has evolved a lot.
This new version expands the text-based game language, adds web export support, improves the editor, and extends what you can create.
Main highlights:
- Build any 2D game with an expanded text language, now covering far more variables and systems
- HUD, audio, and trigger systems in the text workflow
- web export support
- editor autocompletion and polish
- clearer installation/setup
- many bug fixes and stability improvements
📖 Companion book 📖
A companion book is currently in development to help students master the fundamentals of solo game development with the Montfra Game Engine.
Designed to be both educational and enjoyable, it introduces key concepts through the story of the engine’s creation, making learning more concrete and engaging.
Designed to be both educational and enjoyable, it introduces key concepts through the story of the engine’s creation, making learning more concrete and engaging.
The following topics will be covered:
- Game design
- Music creation
- Rendering basics
- Game engine architecture
- Practical feedback from development experience
And much more to come later this year!
⚙️ HOW DOES IT WORK? ⚙️
The graphical interface of the game engine is a simple text editor. You can write your ideas as simply as you would in your favorite text editor.
The magic comes from variables. A variable is simply a piece of text with the following format: [VAR:VAL], where VAR is the name of the variable and VAL is the value of the variable.
Each variable represents a core game concept:
- 📷 Camera and window settings
- 🧱 Game objects and their properties
- 🖥️ HUD elements
- 🔊 Sounds and audio playback
- ⚡ Trigger-based gameplay events
The goal is to focus on ideas first, not implementation.
Examples:
The current release includes a much broader variable system than Alpha 1, with support for objects, HUD, audio, camera settings, and trigger blocks. The full list and explanations are included in the official manual:
From text to playable game
- The editor parses your document
- The engine interprets each variable with the C++ library
- A playable game is generated instantly
👉 Alternatively, you can use the C++ library directly, without relying on the graphical interface.
This library is composed of three modules: Graphics, Physics, and Audio.
While the graphical interface is built on top of this C++ library, it still exposes only part of what the engine can do. Alpha 2 expands the editor a lot, but the C++ side remains the most complete layer.
This library is composed of three modules: Graphics, Physics, and Audio.
While the graphical interface is built on top of this C++ library, it still exposes only part of what the engine can do. Alpha 2 expands the editor a lot, but the C++ side remains the most complete layer.
🛣️ LEARNING PATH 🛣️
MGE is designed as a progressive learning tool:
- 🟢 Beginner
Use the text-based editor to learn core game concepts - 🟡 Intermediate
Understand how the engine interprets your game design - 🔵 Advanced
Use the C++ library directly and explore the engine internals - 🚀 Next step
Move to another engine or build your own
🕹️ WHAT CAN YOU LEARN 🕹️
WITH MGE?
MGE introduces you to the full solo game creation pipeline, at an educational level:
- 🎮 Game design fundamentals
- 🧩 Engine logic & architecture
- 💻 C++ programming
- 🎨 Visual structure (sprites, shapes, scenes)
- 🔊 Audio & music basics
- 🌐 Web export workflow
- 🧠 Problem solving & systems thinking
🦘 INCLUDED EXAMPLES 🦘
Starter projects and test examples
The current alpha includes several small examples designed to teach one system at a time, including a platformer, Pong like, HUD tests, audio tests, and trigger examples demonstrating:
- camera behaviors and movement
- physics and collisions
- HUD and interface feedback
- audio playback
- level structure and gameplay logic through text variables
🟢 WHO IS THIS FOR? 🟢
✔ Students learning programming
✔ Curious game designers
✔ Indie developers interested in engine internals
✔ Anyone who wants to understand game engines
✔ Curious game designers
✔ Indie developers interested in engine internals
✔ Anyone who wants to understand game engines
🔴 WHO IS THIS NOT FOR? 🔴
✖ People looking for a full commercial engine
✖ Advanced 3D projects
✖ Production-ready pipelines
✖ Advanced 3D projects
✖ Production-ready pipelines
🗓️ 2026 ROADMAP 🗓️
MGE has massive potential. Here’s the current roadmap…
| Version | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha 1 | Graphical editor with core set of variables for simple 2D platformers. + Access to the complete C++ library, consisting of three modules: Graphics, Physics, and Audio. The library comes with a demo and documentation. |
✅ Released |
| Alpha 2 | Expanded variables and systems capable of supporting all types of 2D games. + Updated documentation and more complete learning material. Addition of web export, audio and HUD support and autocompletion on the editor. |
✅ Current version |
| Next update | Book Release. Learn how game engine work with MGE |
🔜 Planned |
And many more 3D surprises to come 🙈
🚀 FINAL WORD 🚀
MGE is an experiment, a learning tool, and a long-term project.
If you are curious about how games really work, you are in the right place.
❤️ Thank you for being part of the journey.
We are actively looking for feedback to guide future development.
👉 What should be the priority?
- 🎵 Audio & music tools?
- 🎨 Visual features?
- ⚙️ Technical features?
- 📘 Game design systems?
- 🏪Are you interested in a Steam release featuring a simplified, one-click automatic installation?
Leave a comment and help shape MGE.
💬 Discord community
Join the server to discuss the game, report bugs, and follow updates.
MGE – Montfra Game Engine • Alpha 2 • Built for learning
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- 🛠️ Alpha #2 — System update14 days ago
- 🛠️ Alpha #1 — Montfra Game Engine92 days ago
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