engine-patterns
Installation
SKILL.md
Cross-Engine Design Patterns
A reference for implementing common game patterns across different engines. Use this when deciding on architecture or translating patterns between engines.
Entity-Component-System (ECS)
How game objects are structured varies by engine:
| Engine | Model | Entity | Component | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity | Component-Based | GameObject | MonoBehaviour | Manager scripts or DOTS Systems |
| Unreal | Actor-Component | AActor | UActorComponent | Tick functions or Subsystems |
| Godot | Node Tree | Node | Child Nodes | _process/_physics_process |
| Three.js | Scene Graph | Object3D | userData / custom classes | Game loop update functions |
| Orleans | Virtual Actor | Grain | Grain State / Interfaces | Grain methods + Timers |
When to use full ECS: Performance-critical systems with thousands of entities (Unity DOTS, custom ECS). For most gameplay, the engine's native component model is sufficient.