Game Modules

Game Modules

SparkEngine contains 11 in-tree game-module directories with differing prototype maturity. They are source showcases and test fixtures, not released games. Only the blocked and uncertified SparkGameFPS single-player slice is inside stable-v1; the other modules and multiplayer breadth are outside it. Dynamic modules implement Spark::IModule and build as shared libraries where their targets are enabled.

Building your own: see Creating a Game Module for the step-by-step integration tutorial. This page catalogs what already exists.

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The catalog

Module	LOC	Genre / focus	Key engine subsystems wired
SparkGame	~870	Base / showcase — a bit of everything	All core subsystems
SparkGameFPS	~22.7K	First-person shooter	Weapons, player controller, death->respawn->score loop, quicksave profile, AI (LAN path experimental)
SparkGameMMO	~10.0K	Massively multiplayer online	AreaServer, WorldServer, persistence, dialogue
SparkGameMMOFPS	—	MMOFPS / Terrafront	Combined-arms MMOFPS systems
SparkGameRPG	~5.1K	RPG mechanics	Save, animation, AI, cinematic, quest, dialogue
SparkGameARPG	~3.3K	Diablo-style action RPG	Combat, loot, abilities, dungeon generation
SparkGameOpenWorld	~4.9K	Large-world exploration	Seamless streaming, origin rebasing, weather
SparkGamePlatformer	~4.1K	3D platformer	Player controller, destruction, audio, save
SparkGameRTS	~5.0K	Real-time strategy	Unit roster, selection and move/stop/hold commands, buildings, economy, fog; no acting AI opponent and no damage resolution yet
SparkGameRacing	~3.8K	Vehicle racing	Kinematic showcase vehicles (no Jolt), WASD input, waypoint AI, camera, audio, cinematic
SparkGameVisualScript	~370	Script-only module	Visual scripting graphs, zero C++ game logic

The root build enumerates 11 module targets when BUILD_GAME_MODULES is enabled (ON by default); this target inventory is not a claim that every module is playable or release-ready.

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SparkGame

Purpose: baseline module with a GameplayShowcase scene that walks new contributors through every subsystem at least once. It follows the same CMake module pattern as the other in-tree targets; it is not a prerequisite target for them.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGame/Source/
• Primary headers: Core/SparkGame.h, Core/GameplayShowcase.h

SparkGameFPS

Purpose: first-person shooter implementation showcase and the blocked stable-v1 vertical-slice candidate. It is not yet a certified or released product.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameFPS/Source/
• Notable: Game/Player.h (~800 LOC), Game/Game.h (~660 LOC), weapon system, the completed death -> respawn -> score loop (Game/GameMechanicsRespawn.cpp), real quicksave/quickload of the local profile, one runtime-discovered asset root. The in-game console overlay was removed (commands register into the engine SimpleConsole). The LAN/multiplayer path (Game/MultiplayerSystem.cpp) is experimental and outside stable-v1 (MOD-315); it is not part of the single-player slice claim.
• Wires: Input, Camera, Physics, Networking, Audio, AI.

SparkGameMMO

Purpose: MMO networking showcase built on the HeroEngine-inspired architecture.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameMMO/Source/
• Wires: Area Server Architecture, Dedicated Server, Persistence System, weather, abilities, dialogue.

SparkGameMMOFPS

Purpose: Terrafront MMOFPS source module. It is an in-tree development artifact, not a stable-v1 certified or released game.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameMMOFPS/
• Reference: GameModules/SparkGameMMOFPS/README.md

SparkGameRPG

Purpose: classic RPG mechanics — quests, dialogue, party members, save/load.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameRPG/Source/
• Wires: Save System, Animation, AI, Cinematic Sequencer, Dialogue System, Gameplay Systems (quests, abilities, conditions).

SparkGameARPG

Purpose: Diablo-style click-to-move action RPG.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameARPG/Source/
• Notable: Combat/ARPGCombatSystem.h, Dungeon/ARPGDungeonSystem.h, Hero/ARPGHeroSystem.h, Loot/ARPGLootSystem.h.
• Wires: Loot and Crafting, ability system, procedural dungeon generation.

SparkGameOpenWorld

Purpose: large-world exploration — kilometer-scale terrain with streaming.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameOpenWorld/Source/
• Wires: Large World Support (origin rebasing + seamless streaming), Day/Night Cycle and Weather, Terrain and Procedural Generation, HLOD and World Partition.
• Playable loop: entering a point of interest records discovery; fast-travel POIs unlock immediately, and teleports/travel synchronize the active biome used by wildlife and dynamic events.

SparkGamePlatformer

Purpose: 3D platformer — movement feel, jump mechanics, collectibles.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGamePlatformer/Source/
• Wires: Audio, Event System, Save System, Destruction System.

SparkGameRTS

Purpose: real-time strategy — unit selection, pathing, resource economy.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameRTS/Source/
• Wires: AI (flocking + director), Event System, Audio, weather, Destruction System.
• Playable loop: selection is backed by the live unit roster, while move/stop/hold commands and queued waypoints drive unit state and straight-line map-space movement (no NavMesh path query). Not yet: there is no AI director -- the Swarm faction is flagged AI but no controller issues it commands; attack commands set state but apply no damage, so no unit dies and a match cannot end; the RTS Battlefield ImGui panel is compiled out because ENABLE_EDITOR is never a compile definition; simulation runs in OnUpdate with variable dt (OnFixedUpdate is empty).

SparkGameRacing

Purpose: systems-first circuit racing with one player car and five waypoint-following AI opponents. Vehicles are kinematic showcase vehicles (hand-rolled speed/heading integration, radius-check checkpoints) -- Jolt vehicle physics is not used; the camera system's output is internal and is not pushed to the renderer; the ImGui HUD/minimap is compiled out (ENABLE_EDITOR is never defined). WASD/nitro/drift input is real.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameRacing/Source/
• Wires: Physics (vehicle subsystem), Camera System (chase/cockpit), Audio, Cinematic Sequencer.

SparkGameVisualScript

Purpose: demonstrates the "zero C++" game module — all gameplay authored through Visual Scripting graphs that compile to AngelScript at runtime.

• Source: GameModules/SparkGameVisualScript/Source/
• Smallest module at ~370 LOC because the C++ side only loads graph assets; logic lives in .sgraph files.

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Lifecycle — how the engine loads them

1. At runtime, the host resolves a game-module candidate through -game, a manifest, or discovery; CMake-built targets are candidates, not a bulk-load list.
2. ModuleManager reads a candidate's IModule::GetModuleInfo() while loading it and permits only one Game-kind primary module.
3. The selected primary game module receives OnLoad(context) and OnUpdate(dt) in the engine lifecycle.
4. Its OnUnload() runs on engine shutdown or when Hot Reload rebuilds the DLL.

See Creating a Game Module for the full IModule contract.

Related

• Creating a Game Module — build your own from the EmptyProject template.
• Build System and CMake Modules — how game-module CMake targets are discovered.
• Making Your First Game — step-by-step single-player tutorial.
• Making Your First Multiplayer Game — multiplayer walkthrough that uses SparkGameFPS.