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Why Easel?

Easel is a 2D game programming language that lets you code multiplayer like singleplayer. Whether you are a first-time coder or an experienced developer, you'll love making games with Easel!

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Try our Quickstart tutorial to see what Easel is capable of for yourself.

This page will cover some of the key features that make Easel unique:

  • Online multiplayer is effortless because Easel lets you code as if all players are in one shared game world. Easel takes care of all the hard stuff for you.
  • Easel's hierarchical behaviors model is designed for humans, not just for the computer, which means less time fighting with your code and more time making your game fun.
  • Easel is the perfect choice for beginner coders because they can get started immediately using the web-based development environment. Additionally, every game on the Easel platform is remixable, which means if you see anything you like in another Easel game, you can look behind the curtain and learn how it works.
  • A complete toolbox with built-in graphics, audio, physics, user interfaces, persistence and more, so you have everything you need to make a game. You can even deploy your game instantly to the web with a click of a button.

In a nutshell, Easel is powerful enough to be interesting, but simple enough to be accessible.

Effortless multiplayer​

Shared world​

Games are even more fun when you can play them with other people. Unfortunately, multiplayer is possibly the most difficult part of game development, often requiring years of experience. You have to deal with issues like synchronization, authority, prediction and networking. That's a lot to learn with when you just want to make a game!

Easel lets you code multiplayer like singleplayer. Code as if all players are in one shared game world, and Easel takes care of all the hard stuff, completely automatically. You can focus on making your game fun!

Mistakes are impossible​

The difficulty with multiplayer is you cannot miss anything. If even one part of your game is not multiplayer-safe, then your entire game desynchronizes. It is easy to get wrong.

Unlike other game engines, in Easel, you cannot get multiplayer wrong because the multiplayer is built into the programming language itself. Every single line of code you write in Easel is imbued with multiplayer, completely automatically. That is why we say that everyone can make a multiplayer game in Easel, even if it is your first day of coding.

Rollback netcode​

The speed of light is not as fast as we would like it to be.

When you play a multiplayer game, your computer has to send and receive messages from other players. This takes time, and the further away the other player is, the longer it takes. Players feel this as lag, which makes the game feel unresponsive and frustrating.

Easel uses an advanced technique called rollback netcode to erase lag and make multiplayer games feel smooth and responsive, even when players are from different corners of the Earth. You don't need to do anything special to use rollback netcode in Easel, it just works.

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Implementing rollback netcode for a concurrent programming language like Easel is notoriously difficult, because you need to roll back all the concurrent threads correctly. We are not sure whether it has ever been done before! But we have done all the hard work so that you don't have to.

Easel makes multiplayer so effortless that anyone can make multiplayer games, regardless of their experience level!

Coding for humans​

Most game engines require you to organize your code in the way the computer executes it. Normally, this requires inverting your code into a state machine to match their frame-by-frame update loop model.

In Easel, instead of splitting code into frame updates, you split your code into hierarchical behaviors, which better matches how a human might think of an ever-changing dynamic game world.

Behaviors​

Imagine a spellcasting game where a wizard can launch a fireball every few seconds. This is how you could code it in Easel:

on ButtonDown(KeySpacebar) {
  Spawn projectile { Fireball }
  await Tick(3s)
}

This behavior waits for the Spacebar to be pressed, then it spawns a fireball, and then it waits for 3 seconds before repeating the process. Unlike some game engines, in Easel a behavior can simply await for something to happen, even if the waiting crosses multiple frames. This allows you to express your step-by-step sequence of actions in a straightforward manner. The logic always flows top-to-bottom and does not jump around like in a frame-by-frame state machine.

Behaviors are a simple but powerful building block that lets you express your game logic in a way that is easy to understand. An Easel game may consist of hundreds of behaviors, all executing concurrently.

Hierarchical​

Some game engines also have an await feature but people often avoid using it! Why?

When you have hundreds of free-running threads of logic, you must make sure to stop them at the right time. If left to run amok, they can cause all sorts of bugs and errors. Think of a fireball's animation continuing to run when the fireball has already hit something and disappeared. This could crash your game!

Easel solves all of these problems in a simple way. Take a look at the example below:

Spawn fireball {
  // ...
  on Paint { // Fireball animation
    Spark(...)
  }
  on AfterCollide { // Despawn fireball upon collision
    Expire
  }
}

In the example above, we spawn a fireball entity with a couple of behaviors (on Paint and on AfterCollide). When an entity dies, all of its behaviors die with it. Easel does this automatically. You don't need to worry about stopping the behaviors manually like in some game engines.

Most importantly, the hierarchical layout of the code implies that the behaviors belong to the fireball, without you needing to explicitly say so. The structure of the code implicitly stops you from making mistakes!

In Easel, it is impossible to create a behavior that outlives its parent. This avoids the most common type of bug that can occur in game engines that use await. Easel makes this powerful programming construct safe, allowing you to use it freely everywhere without worrying about bugs.

Dynamics​

Some game engines also have behaviors, but they are fixed. To modify behaviors or turn them on or off, they require you to invert your logic into a state machine which can be difficult to follow.

In Easel, behaviors can be added, removed or replaced at any time. For example, this is how you could add a thrust behavior to a ship, but only while the Spacebar is pressed:

Spawn ship {
  // ...
  on ButtonDown(KeySpacebar) {
    behavior<thrust> on BeforePhysics {
      ApplyImpulse(0.75 * Direction(Heading))
    }
  }
  on ButtonUp(KeySpacebar) {
      delete behavior<thrust>
  }
}

The flow of logic can be read top-to-bottom and is straightforward, rather than needing to jump around like you would with a state machine. People talk about Easel's way of programming as being direct, immediate and here-and-now instead of the indirect style of programming that is required by other game engines.

Easel's hierarchical behaviors allow you to organize your code for humans, not just for the computer. This makes Easel a great tool for first-time and experienced coders alike.

Beginner-friendly​

We believe beginners will find Easel a much more engaging way to learn to code because everything you make can be played with other people. Make a game, play it with your friends, and they will say "This is cool! But it would be cooler if it could do X!". Then you can go back to your game, make the change, and play it again with your friends. Other people can make the process much more fun and engaging.

In addition, Easel's programming language is designed for humans, not just for the computer, and so it is much easier to play around with, especially for beginners.

Web-based​

The first hurdle to learning to code is often the installation process. Other programming languages require you to download and install a text editor, the programming language's runtime, and so on. This can be a huge obstacle for beginners. Because Easel is a web-based game engine and development environment, you can start making games immediately without installing anything. You can even use Easel on a Chromebook, which is perfect for schools.

If you are experienced with coding, you can still use your own text editor if you prefer!

Remixing​

Every Easel game can be remixed with a click of a button, which is a great way to learn to code. Instead of being overwhelmed by the blank page of a text editor, you can start with a game that you already know and love. You can then change the game in small ways, and see the results immediately. As you get more confident, you can make bigger changes, and eventually you can make your own games from scratch. There is no need to learn everything at once.

A complete toolbox​

Batteries included​

Easel has all the features you need to make a 2D game: graphics, audio, physics, user interfaces, persistence and more. You can make a complete game without needing to learn any other tools.

Instant deployment​

Once you have made your game, the next challenge is sharing it with others. For a multiplayer game, this would normally involve wrangling with servers and deployment pipelines, but with Easel, publishing is as simple as clicking a button. One click and your game is live on the web for anyone to play. You can then share the link with your friends, and they can play your game instantly. You can even update your game on the fly. Easel takes care of everything for you.

Summary​

Easel's way of making games is unique. It is powerful enough to be interesting, but simple enough to be accessible. It tames the most difficult parts of coding games, and gives you simple, logical building blocks that let you get straight to the fun part. Even if you've never coded before, you can make games with Easel. Easel is both a great way to learn to code, and a powerful tool for experienced developers.

If you want to learn more, try out the Quickstart tutorial.