Build (game engine)

The Build Engine is a <a href="/facts/First-person_shooter_engine/v8ol2Gaf">first-person shooter engine</a> created by <a href="/facts/Ken_Silverman/WMlmVatx">Ken Silverman</a>, author of <a href="/facts/Ken%27s_Labyrinth/HfTUx7oR">Ken's Labyrinth</a>, for <a href="/facts/3D_Realms/QAgsGXx5">3D Realms</a>. Like the <a href="/facts/Doom_engine/DUIUWqbn">Doom engine</a>, the Build Engine represents its world on a <a href="/facts/2D_computer_graphics/j6dBxDpX">two-dimensional</a> grid using closed 2D shapes called sectors, and uses simple flat objects called <a href="/facts/Sprite_(computer_graphics)/qLHf8V8e">sprites</a> to populate the world geometry with objects.
The Build Engine is generally considered to be a <a href="/facts/2.5D/yYrVGBAY">2.5D</a> engine, as the basic world geometry is two-dimensional with an added height component, allowing each sector to have a different ceiling height and floor height. Some floors can be lower and some can be higher; the same is true with ceilings (in relation to each other). Floors and ceilings can hinge along one of the sector's walls, resulting in a slope. With this information, the Build Engine renders the world in a way that looks <a href="/facts/3-D_computer_graphics/zlWW6eaF">three-dimensional</a>, unlike modern game engines that create actual 3D environments.
Though the Build Engine achieved most of its fame from powering the <a href="/facts/1996_in_video_gaming/Udr1XB1m">1996</a> <a href="/facts/First-person_shooter/LQQX6yAw">first-person shooter</a> <a href="/facts/Duke_Nukem_3D/Mg07JSKN">Duke Nukem 3D</a>, it was also used for many other games.

Build (game engine) open-in-new

Build (game engine)