Defold: cross-platform game engine

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Positioning and Use Cases

  • Defold is perceived as mature and long-lived, originating at a large mobile game studio and now under a foundation.
  • It’s seen as best suited for 2D/mobile/web games and small indies, with emphasis on small binary size and stable physics.
  • 3D is supported but described as limited and less feature-rich than Unity/Unreal/Godot; it’s not intended as a general 3D powerhouse.
  • Console support exists (PS4/5, Switch), with console branches available free to approved developers, though SDK NDAs constrain openness.
  • VR/visionOS support status is unclear based on linked forum discussion.

Scripting Language Choices (Lua, Teal, C#)

  • Lua scripting is a central feature; some view Lua as “a minefield” for large projects (lack of static checks, ad‑hoc module/class patterns, 1‑based indexing), others argue it scales fine if used competently and is one of the best embeddable languages.
  • Examples from other projects show both bad and good scripting layer experiences; people stress that engine APIs, not Lua itself, are often the problem.
  • Typed options (Teal, TypeScript→Lua, Lua language server) are mentioned as ways to regain safety; Teal and Luau are noted but not widely used outside niches.
  • Experimental C# support via Native AOT exists but is not yet a hot-reload scripting experience.

Licensing Model and “Source-Available” Debate

  • The license is Apache 2.0–based with a key addition: you may not sell or otherwise commercialize Defold or derivatives “as a Game Engine Product.”
  • Many praise this as a fair, clearly labeled source-available model that protects the engine from paid forks while allowing commercial games and proprietary engine changes.
  • Supporters see it as an “equitable” answer to hyperscalers monetizing open projects (citing database and search ecosystems) and like that extensions can be commercial.
  • Critics note it is not OSI-compliant, worry about broad “game engine product” and “commercialise” definitions (e.g., paid map editors, mod tools, Patreon-funded tools), and suggest the text may need clarification.
  • There is debate over whether GPL would be better or worse for engines; some argue GPL hampers proprietary platform ports and top-tier game “arms race” needs.

Comparison to Other Engines

  • Repeated comparisons to Godot: Godot seen as more advanced in 3D, with larger community/docs, but heavier, less stable at times, and with console exports mostly via paid third parties.
  • Defold is framed as leaner, more stable for 2D, and with strong built-in multiplatform exports.
  • Other references include Love2D, MonoGame, Axmol, RPG Maker-like tools on top of engines, and debates around paid console-port providers for Godot.

Business Model and Governance

  • Defold is developed by a small team (mostly full time), funded by corporate partners, studios, publishers, sponsors, and some donations.
  • Most work is described as “general development” that also aligns with partner needs.
  • The foundation explicitly states goals: keep Defold free to use, keep source available, and prevent third-party commercialization of the engine.
  • Some argue that allowing only one entity to monetize engine-level offerings risks a single point of failure if monetization fails; others see it as a reasonable trade‑off.

Tooling, Code Style, and Platforms

  • The editor is implemented in Clojure on top of Java/JavaFX, which some find appealing and unusual.
  • Engine code style is intentionally “C-like C++” (avoiding many modern features, exceptions, RTTI), which aligns with common industry practice for performance and control.
  • Linux support is present; one comment dives into expected static linking and ABI concerns.
  • Questions are raised about FreeBSD support (especially given its use in console OSes) but not answered in the thread.

AI-Assisted Development & Interactive Workflows

  • Several commenters feel engines are lagging behind modern AI coding tools (Cursor, Junie, Copilot) and predict a “Cursor for games” could disrupt the market.
  • Godot’s human-readable scene format is highlighted as beneficial for AI agents editing projects versus Unity’s more opaque formats.
  • There’s interest in driving Defold (or similar engines) headless/CLI-only for AI-generated code; technically possible via JSON/protobuf assets and CLI builds, but described as awkward.
  • Separate discussion touches on interactive programming (Lisp/Fennel+Lua) for game-like tools; Love2D currently fits this better than Defold in at least one user’s experience.