An early-stage interactive application and rendering engine for Windows, developed as an educational tool for game engine design.
Hazel is an early-stage interactive application and rendering engine for Windows, designed to create games and real-time applications. It serves as both a practical engine and an educational tool, with development documented through video tutorials to teach game engine architecture and implementation.
Aspiring game engine developers, students, and hobbyists interested in learning low-level engine design, rendering techniques, and C++ game development through hands-on, video-guided projects.
Developers choose Hazel for its unique combination of a functional engine foundation and comprehensive educational content, offering transparent, step-by-step insights into professional engine development that are rarely available in open-source projects.
Hazel Engine
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Development is fully documented on YouTube with real-time code implementation and explanations, providing a unique, hands-on learning resource for engine architecture at thecherno.com/engine.
Roadmap includes fast 2D rendering for UI and sprites, plus physically-based 3D rendering with native API support like Vulkan and DirectX, aiming for professional-grade graphics.
Includes Hazelnut, a dedicated editor for designing and testing game scenes, which is part of the workflow to enable full game creation and testing within the engine.
Code is integrated from a private advanced repository (Hazel-dev) on-camera, offering rare insights into professional engine development and iterative design decisions.
README admits 'currently not much is implemented,' with core features like AI, audio, and cross-platform support only planned, making it unreliable for production use.
Focused on Windows with Visual Studio, requiring Vulkan SDK installation and batch scripts (Setup.bat, Win-GenProjects.bat), which can be error-prone and cumbersome for newcomers.
Development is deliberately slowed by the educational focus, as everything must be taught on-camera, and advanced features are gated behind a Patreon paywall in the private Hazel-dev repo.