Odin Game Development

Odin-specific game architecture. The odin-design skill handles language correctness; this skill handles how to structure games idiomatically in Odin. When both fire, this skill takes precedence on game architecture; odin-design takes precedence on language syntax.

Philosophy: No-Engine Game Development

Odin + a library (Raylib, Sokol) is a complete game dev stack. You do not need an engine.

• Start simple, add complexity only when needed. Begin with a struct and a [dynamic] array. Upgrade to a handle map when pointer stability matters. Reach for #soa only after profiling.
• Don't build a general-purpose engine — make a game. Resist the urge to design a reusable framework. Solve the problem in front of you.
• Avoid premature ECS. Start with plain structs + typed arrays. ECS is a solution to a specific cache-miss problem at scale, not a default architecture.
• Leverage Odin's built-in features. Array programming for math, #soa for hot data, context.temp_allocator for frame scratch, bit_set for flags.
• Odin's zero-value initialization is a feature. Design structs so the zero value is valid (or at least safe). Fewer nil checks, simpler initialization.

Allocator Strategy for Games