[meheleventyone]

You can definitely stand up the basics of a 2D game engine really quickly… if you’ve done it before. If you haven’t it’s an unexplored problem and is significantly more challenging.

But it doesn’t end there because once you’re done standing up the engine you need to improve and maintain it. Then port it to different platforms, you did remember to abstract things nicely when you stood it up right?

And that’s without mentioning all the extra time you’ll be putting into higher level systems like localisation and UI. And the combo of those two is fearsome!

Plus you have to make a game.

Or you can use Unity or another off-the-shelf engine and ignore most of these issues.

Which isn’t to say you can’t make an engine but if you are running a business you need a compelling reason why that becomes an advantage. I doubt Hollow Knight would have found it’s success as easily if they had to worry about all of that.