[BoorishBears]

Interesting take, but I have never not wanted to try out a game engine until I saw this article's screenshots.

Like, since I was a literal child in middle school I've always loved tinkering on new projects in an unknown game engine: I remember writing code in the most truly random environments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenix_Project) because I was more enamored with tinkering on demos in different game engines than actually writing games because I wanted to learn how to make my own game engine like a "real" game developer.

_

But that first screenshot in the article felt off, and then the second felt even worse, and I went to the actual site to make sure it wasn't just the screenshots and if anything the screenshots were nicer (brighter, better organized) than the actual site!

I think it's because I associate a game engine with an upbeat optimism, and selling the idea that you too can make cool shit!... and even the tiny ones have this homely feeling of I made cool shit! and I'm sharing it!

Meanwhile going with brutalism as your core theme feels like it's takes a shit on the idea that anything could actually be cool. It doesn't feel warm or invigorating in any way shape or form.

I didn't even realize I could have such a strong reaction to a game engine landing page, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

(Also I totally acknowledge I might just not be the target market for this, positioning is half the battle of marketing, so maybe the real lesson is knowing your market well)

[fu7kt]

Well, there's always Unreal, Godot, and Unity. Ambient is something very different and takes advantage of WebGPU and WebASM to deliver a networked 3D gaming experience in the browser. IMO this is a fantastic example of what our whole internet is only just now capable of in a nice little package. Sure both Unreal and Unity will export to web, but there's a whole lot in between loading one of those up and shipping it.

You should try out the Ambient quickstart. You won't regret it.

[jauntywundrkind]

One of the other important things is not too out-shadow people's own creativity.

If you start with high-content flashy demos that paint a certain picture, people aren't going to activate their own thinking-muscles & dream up their own uses. Having lo-fi roughed out assets is less intimidating and more open ended for the target audience.

Ambient does a much better job imo targeting people who would use it & be excited, by turning off & turning away the those who just want to be razzle dazzled by flashy demoes. That shit is actively harmful to have as your audience.

[dopidopHN]

Interesting take on the take ! May I ask how old you are ? Those screenshot are not fancy indeed, I do recognize that. But middle school me would have been really excited if a website told him that he was about to program something like that.

I do find the grey theme sad and kinda kitch, too. But not the underlying promesses.

[BoorishBears]

29, and I would think if anything my tolerance for drab grey industrial park motif went slightly up over time, not down.

Overall it doesn't inspire "I'm about to program that" for me. I think it's not unlike old Teenage Engineering, which felt whimsical and light hearted in a way that attracted you to play even if you'd never touched a synth before... vs new Teenage Engineering, which is $1,600 flat-pak desks that you're not sure you're allowed to sit at even though you've touched a million desks before

[nomdep]

The worst part is, they could look modern simply changing some colors. If the characters were bright red, it would look like the very-modern game “SuperHot”

(https://store.steampowered.com/app/322500/SUPERHOT/)

[raincole]

No. Sorry but no.

The main reason the screenshot in this article looks so amateurish is not grey or red. It's the whole layout around it, and the UI of "35.3°C" temporature meter.