The Retro Engine is a

multiplatform In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software ...

developed by Australian programmer Christian Whitehead, best known for its use in

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

's ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'' series.

Overview

Unlike most modern game engines, the Retro Engine is primarily tailored for creating two-dimensional games like those released for 32-bit or below-era consoles, such as the Sega Saturn,

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

or the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

. For this reason, the engine focuses more on

raster graphics upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...

and palette manipulation, although it does feature support for widescreen graphics and online functionality.

History

Australian programmer Christian Whitehead created the Retro Engine for use with a 2007 fangame entitled ''Retro Sonic'', which is based upon the original ''Sonic'' games released for the

. The game became notable after its release for its accuracy to the games, despite not being a

ROM hack ROM hacking is the process of modifying a ROM image or ROM file of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, and/or other elements. This is usually done by technically inclined video game fans to improve an old game ...

or modification to an existing ''Sonic'' game. ''Retro Sonic'' later merged with two other ''Sonic'' fangames, ''Sonic XG'' and ''Sonic Nexus'', to form ''Retro Sonic Nexus''. In 2009,

asked fans for ideas on a game to port to iOS. As a response, Whitehead produced a proof-of-concept video showing Sega's 1993 Sega CD game ''

Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other ''Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...

'' running on an iPhone. Sega later officially released the port in 2011 for various platforms, such as the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

, iOS and Android. Whitehead, along with fellow ''Sonic'' scene member Simon "Stealth" Thomley, were later commissioned to create

remakes A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of ''

'' and '' Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' using the engine, released for mobile platforms in 2013. In 2014, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the release of ''

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retrie ...

'', Whitehead and Thomley produced a proof-of-concept showing the game using the engine on an iPhone. Despite fan support, Sega did not approve of the project. Thomley speculated that this was due to legal problems regarding the music. In 2015, Whitehead, Thomley's studio Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games collaborated on an original ''Sonic'' game using the Retro Engine titled '' Sonic Mania'', which released August 2017, with DLC titled ''Sonic Mania Plus'' being released in July 2018. In 2019, Whitehead, in collaboration with other members behind ''Sonic Mania'', founded a new video game studio name
''Evening Star''
In reference to the studio name, the Retro Engine initially had been renamed the Star Engine. In October 2021, Evening Star announced development was underway for a game using the Star Engine. In conjunction with this, it was announced that the Star Engine had been turned into a separate engine with a focus on 3D rendering, with the Retro Engine remaining as their 2D game engine. In January 2021, an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...

decompilation of the Retro Engine versions of ''Sonic CD'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', and ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' were released, allowing the latter two games to be run natively on PC platforms. The Retro Engine was also used for the compilation ''

Sonic Origins is a 2022 '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game compilation by Sega. It features remasters of the first four platform games in the ''Sonic'' series originally released for the Sega Genesis and the Sega CD; '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991), ''Sonic ...

'' in 2022, which includes remakes of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'', ''Sonic CD'', and ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles''.

Games

Reception

Reviewers praised the Retro Engine for its performance, which has been called superior to simply emulating the original games. TouchArcade has referred to the remasters of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' as "spectacular". Whitehead has named games such as '' Ristar'', ''

Knuckles' Chaotix ''Knuckles' Chaotix'' is a 1995 platform game developed by Sega for the 32X. A Spin-off (media), spin-off from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, it features Knuckles the Echidna and four other characters known as the Chaotix, who must prevent ...

'', and '' Dynamite Headdy'', as well as non-Sega games like the ''

Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early systems to modern consoles, ...

'' series, as others that would be possible to port to the engine.

References

External links

* {{Video game engines 2008 software Proprietary software Video game engines