https://github.com/awemorris/playfieldengine
Playfield Engine is a framework to build your own custom 2D game engine that works everywhere — tiny, playful, and portable across desktops, mobile, web, and even consoles!
https://github.com/awemorris/playfieldengine
android cross-platform-game game-engine-development game-script ios linux macos wasm windows
Last synced: 16 days ago
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Playfield Engine is a framework to build your own custom 2D game engine that works everywhere — tiny, playful, and portable across desktops, mobile, web, and even consoles!
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/awemorris/playfieldengine
- Owner: awemorris
- License: zlib
- Created: 2025-07-18T06:23:09.000Z (11 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-15T08:43:05.000Z (17 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-15T08:47:42.735Z (17 days ago)
- Topics: android, cross-platform-game, game-engine-development, game-script, ios, linux, macos, wasm, windows
- Language: C
- Homepage: https://noctvm.io/
- Size: 29.4 MB
- Stars: 15
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
- Notice: NOTICE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
Playfield Engine
================
[](LICENSE)
`Playfield Engine` is a 2D game scripting runtime that works
everywhere. With scripts written in `Ray`, it can render graphics and
play sounds seamlessly across platforms.
`libplayfield` is designed to be a foundation framework of other 2D
game engines that are dedicated to game genres. It is already used by
the `Suika3` project that is dedicated to Visual Novels.
[Getting Started](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/gettingstarted.md)
|
[Official Website](https://noctvm.io/playfield/)
|
[Japanese Website](https://noctvm.io/playfield-ja/)
---
## Feature Highlights
Built completely from scratch, Playfield Engine features:
- **Comfortable Scripting:**
- Powered by `Ray`, a C/JS-like scripting language designed in-house.
- Native performance with a built-in JIT compiler.
- Write a script and run it instantly — **Jot and Run, Boom!**
- **Portable Rendering & Audio:**
- Powered by StratoHAL, a portable game library also designed in-house.
- Runs virtually everywhere: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook, WebAssembly, iOS, Android, and even consoles.
- Deploy to platforms you don't even own — **Go Far, Stay Close!**
- **Minimal Runtime:**
- The runtime is only ~1.4 MB on Windows.
- Perfect for mobile apps — **Little Core, Big Hits!**
- **Game Engine Framework:**
- Designed to be a foundation of other dedicated 2D game engines, such as `Suika3`.
---
## Why Playfield Engine?
_"If a game engine could run anywhere, how would the world change?"_
Playfield Engine was born from this single question.
Creativity shouldn't depend on the power of your computer, where you
live, or what tools you have. Playfield Engine was created with the
belief that every creator deserves space to explore, no matter their
surroundings.
It runs smoothly even on older or low-spec machines — if you have a
computer, there's a place for you to create. It's a helpful companion
for creators everywhere — especially in places with fewer resources.
If you have something to make, Playfield Engine will be here to walk
with you.
Whether you're using a Raspberry Pi in a classroom, or using a
UN-issued Chromebook in a temporary shelter, Playfield Engine offers
gentle tools to help bring your ideas to life — in a way that feels
simple, thoughtful, and your own.
The goal is simple:
**To make game development accessible, thoughtful, and within reach
for everyone.**
**Dreams fuel it — and they're the only requirement.**
---
## Live Web Demo
These are the sample games that work on Web browsers.
[](https://noctvm.io/g/4)
[](https://noctvm.io/g/2)
[](https://noctvm.io/g/3)
[](https://noctvm.io/g/1)
---
## Gallery
Playfield Engine running on Windows 11:
Playfield Engine running on macOS:
Playfield Engine running on Linux:
Playfield Engine running on iOS:
Playfield Engine running on Android:
Playfield Engine running on HarmonyOS NEXT:
Playfield Engine running on Windows XP — because why not:
Playfield Engine running on Windows 2000:
Playfield Engine running on NetBSD — Of course it runs!:
Playfield Engine running on Solaris 11:
Playfield Engine running on Haiku OS: — "Be" Portable!
Playfield Engine running on NP21/W PC-9801 emulator:
---
## Status
**Stable,** 1.0.x was released!
Currently we have many `C APIs` for use with derrived engines, while
maintaining a small set of `Ray` wrapper APIs.
**The current version work on:**
| Type | OS | Status | Confirm Date | Confirmed On |
|------------|-----------------|--------------|--------------|-------------------------------------|
| Desktop | Windows | ✅ Works | 1 Mar 2026 | Windows 11 x64 |
| | macOS | ✅ Works | 1 Mar 2026 | macOS 26 Arm64 |
| | Linux | ✅ Works | 1 Mar 2026 | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x86_64 |
| Mobile | iOS | ✅ Works | 1 Mar 2026 | iPhone iOS 26 |
| | Android | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | Android 16 |
| | HarmonyOS NEXT | ✅ Initial | 9 Mar 2026 | DevEco Studio 6 |
| BSD | FreeBSD | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | FreeBSD 14.3 amd64 |
| | NetBSD | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | NetBSD 10.1 amd64 |
| | OpenBSD | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | OpenBSD 7.7 amd64 |
| UNIX | Solaris 11 | ✅ Works | 16 Mar 2026 | Solaris 11.4 SunCC |
| DOS | NEC PC-9801 | ✅ Works | 10 May 2026 | DOS4GW, 16-colors, no sound, JIT |
| Others | WebAssembly | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | Chrome |
| | Chromebook | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | Chrome [Here](https://noctvm.io/w/) |
| | Unity | ✅ Works | 22 Sep 2025 | Unity 6.2 Windows 11 x86_64 |
---
## Example
Here's a simple example that displays an image following the mouse
cursor.
This shows the basic lifecycle:
- `setup` (window config),
- `start` (asset loading),
- `update` (per-frame logic and texture loading), and
- `render` (per-frame rendering).
```
// Called when the window is created.
func setup() {
// Return the window configuration.
return {
width: 1280,
height: 720,
title: "My First Game"
};
}
// Called once when the game starts.
func start() {
// Create a white 100x100 texture.
tex = Engine.createColorTexture({
width: 100,
height: 100,
r: 255, g: 255, b: 255, a: 255
});
}
// Called every frame before rendering.
func update() {
posX = Engine.mousePosX;
posY = Engine.mousePosY;
}
// Called every frame to render graphics.
func render() {
Engine.draw({ texture: tex, x: posX, y: posY });
}
```
---
## Quick Start
Precompiled binaries are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chromebook!
### 1. Download the latest binary:
- Download the "full" zip file at the top of this page.
- Extract the downloaded file.
### 2. Run a game script
- For Windows:
- Double-click the `playfield.exe` file.
- The game will be started.
- For macOS:
- Open the `misc` folder.
- Open the `macos` folder.
- Open the `Playfield.dmg` file.
- Copy the application inside the dmg file alongside the `main.pf` file.
- Double-click the copied application file.
- The game will be started.
- For Linux:
- Open the `misc` folder.
- Open the `linux` folder.
- Copy the `PlayfieldEngine-x86_64.AppImage` file alongside the `main.pf` file.
- Double-click the copied AppImage file.
- The game will be started.
- For Chromebook:
- Open [this URL](https://noctvm.io/w/) on the browser.
- Press the `Open Folder` button.
- Select the folder where the `main.pf` file exists.
- The game will be started.
### 3. Edit a game script
- With Playfield Editor (Currently Windows only):
- Double-click the `playfield-editor.exe` file to run the editor.
- Open the `main.pf` file from the editor.
- Edit the file.
- Press Ctrl+R to run the game. (Press R key while holding Ctrl key down)
- With your favorite editor:
- Prior to editing, copy the engine alongside the `main.pf` file.
- Open your favorite editor and load the `main.pf` file.
- Edit the file and save it.
- Run the engine.
### 4. Explore more features
- [Getting Started](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/gettingstarted.md)
- [Ray Syntax](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/syntax.md)
- [Ray API](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/api.md)
- [How To Build Playfield Engine](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/build.md)
---
## Technical Overview
Playfield Engine is not merely a wrapper around SDL combined with a
scripting language. It features its own rendering and audio backends,
and its own scripting language, positioning it as a fully independent
game engine.
### Core Architecture
```
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| User Ray Scripts |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Playfield Ray API |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Playfield C API |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------+
| StratoHAL (Rendering/Audio) | NoctLang VM (JIT) |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------+
```
* **Scripting**:
Integrates [NoctLang](https://github.com/awemorris/NoctLang), a
tiny yet mighty language designed for game scripting.
* **Rendering**:
Supports native DirectX 9/11/12, Metal, OpenGL, OpenGL ES, and WebGL for wide compatibility.
* **Audio**:
Provides lightweight audio support through native DirectSound or XAudio2 (Windows),
Audio Unit (macOS/iOS), ALSA (Linux), OSS (BSD), and other APIs.
### StratoHAL
StratoHAL originated as the codebase of a 2D game engine developed
since 2001, and has been open-sourced with a proven record of
exceptional stability. Evolving over a quarter century from the
Windows 9x era, StratoHAL has grown to support macOS, Linux, iOS,
Android, WebAssembly, and Unity. It has been running reliably on
smartphones for more than a decade. While SDL3 already exists as a
popular open-source alternative, StratoHAL covers the same major
platforms as SDL3 — and uniquely provides console support through
Unity without relying on any NDA-restricted code.
### Platform Support
|Platform Type |OS / Platform |Notes |
|---------------|--------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Desktop |Windows |DirectX 12/11/9, DirectSound, XAudio2 |
| |macOS |Metal, Audio Unit |
| |ChromeOS |OpenGL, ALSA |
| |Linux |OpenGL, ALSA |
| |*BSD |OpenGL, OSS (/dev/dsp) |
| |Qt |Qt OpenGL |
|Mobile |iOS |Metal, Audio Unit |
| |Android |OpenGL, OpenSL ES, NDK |
| |HarmonyOS NEXT |OpenGL, OpenSL ES |
|Web |WebAssembly |WebGL, OpenAL, via Emscripten |
|Console |Unity |Unity Plugin |
| |Xbox Series X\|S |Xbox GDK Native (DirectX 12 + XAudio2) |
### Console Unity Plugin Notice
Playfield Engine provides Unity Plugin binaries for platforms
including Windows 64-bit and game consoles. These binaries are built
entirely with the open-source version of LLVM/Clang toolchain (no
proprietary SDKs).
For Xbox series, you can use the native Microsoft GDK port, not via Unity.
### NoctLang
```
Ray = NoctLang + Playfield API
```
**NoctLang** is a lightweight scripting language designed specifically
for Playfield Engine. With a game-oriented syntax, it emphasizes
clarity, instant startup, and tight integration with the engine.
The built-in JIT compiler supports a wide range of CPU architectures,
including both 32-bit and 64-bit of: **Intel, Arm, RISC-V, PowerPC, MIPS.**
For platforms where JIT is restricted (such as mobile or consoles),
NoctLang can fall back to interpreter mode, and AOT (ahead-of-time)
compilation using a C source backend — ensuring full compatibility
even in tightly controlled environments.
### Script Execution Mode
|Platform |Mode |
|---------------|-------------------|
|Windows x86 |JIT |
|Windows x64 |JIT |
|Windows arm64 |JIT |
|macOS x86_64 |JIT |
|macOS arm64 |JIT |
|Linux x86 |JIT |
|Linux x86_64 |JIT |
|Linux armv7 |JIT |
|Linux arm64 |JIT |
|FreeBSD x86_64 |JIT |
|iOS |Interpreter or AOT |
|Android |Interpreter or AOT |
|HarmonyOS |Interpreter or AOT |
|WebAssembly |Interpreter or AOT |
|Unity Plugin |Interpreter or AOT |
### Runtime Footprint
|Platform |Binary Size |Memory Usage (GC) |
|---------------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|All targets |~2 MB |Allocates 256 MB at startup for GC; does not exceed that limit |
The garbage collector allocates 256 MB at startup because currently 256 MB is the maximum heap size.
### Garbage Collection
Playfield Engine implements a high-performance garbage collector
similar to the HotSpot VM in Java, so you generally don’t need to
worry much about delays caused by garbage collection.
* The garbage collector uses a generational GC, managing objects in young and old generations.
* Young-generation GC runs extremely fast using a copying algorithm (semi-space copy GC).
* Old-generation GC uses a mark-and-sweep algorithm and performs compaction when necessary (mark-sweep-compact GC).
---
## Tests
Playfield Engine is tested on the following environments in the
development.
| Type | OS | Version | Architecture |
|------------|-----------------|---------|-----------------|
| Desktop | Windows | 11 | x64 |
| | | 11 | arm64 |
| | macOS | 15 | arm64 |
| | | 12 | x86_64 |
| | Ubuntu | 24.04 | x86_64 |
| | | | arm64 |
| | Kubuntu | 25.04 | x86_64 |
| Browser | Chrome | 139 | WebAssembly |
| | Safari | 18.6 | WebAssembly |
| Smartphone | iOS | 18 | Simulator |
| | Android | 16 | Simulator |
| | HarmonyOS NEXT | 20 | Simulator |
| Console | Unity | 6.2 | Windows x64 |
---
## CMake Presets
Playfield Engine ships with CMake presets covering various platforms
and build configurations.
| Preset | Platform | Compiler | Directory | Target | Type |
|--------------------------------|------------------|------------|----------------------------------------|------------------|----------------|
| windows-vs2022-x86-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-x86-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-x86-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-x86-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-x64-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-x64-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-x64-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-x64-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-arm64-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-arm64-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-arm64-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-arm64-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-gdk-desktop | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-gdk-desktop | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2022-gdk-xbox-xs | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2022-gdk-xbox-xs | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-x86-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-x86-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-x86-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-x86-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-x64-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-x64-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-x64-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-x64-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-arm64-debug | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-arm64-debug | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-arm64-release | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-arm64-release | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-gdk-desktop | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-gdk-desktop | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-vs2026-gdk-xbox-xs | Windows | MSVC | out/build/windows-vs2026-gdk-xbox-xs | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-mingw-x86 | Windows | MinGW | build-mingw-x86 | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-mingw-x86_64 | Windows | MinGW | build-mingw-x86_64 | playfield.exe | Executable |
| windows-mingw-arm64 | Windows | MinGW-LLVM | build-mingw-arm64 | playfield.exe | Executable |
| macos | macOS | Clang | build-macos | Playfield.app | App Bundle |
| linux-x11 | Linux | GCC | build-linux | playfield | Executable |
| linux-wayland | Linux | GCC | build-linux | playfield | Executable |
| linux-gdm | Linux | GCC | build-linux | playfield | Executable |
| linux-gdm-rot90 | Linux | GCC | build-linux | playfield | Executable |
| freebsd | FreeBSD | Clang | build-freebsd | playfield | Executable |
| netbsd | NetBSD | GCC | build-netbsd | playfield | Executable |
| openbsd | OpenBSD | Clang | build-openbsd | playfield | Executable |
| solaris11 | Solaris 11 | SunCC | build-solaris11 | playfield | Executable |
| wasm | WebAssembly | Emscripten | build-wasm | index.html | HTML + Wasm |
| wasm-local | Chromebook | Emscripten | build-wasm-local | index.html | HTML + Wasm |
| ios-device | iOS Device | Clang | build-ios-device | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| ios-simulator | iOS Simulator | Clang | build-ios-simulator | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| android-x86 | Android x86 | Clang | build-android-x86 | libplayfield.so | Shared Library |
| android-x86_64 | Android x86_64 | Clang | build-android-x86_64 | libplayfield.so | Shared Library |
| android-armv7 | Android armv7 | Clang | build-android-armv7 | libplayfield.so | Shared Library |
| android-arm64 | Android arm64 | Clang | build-android-arm64 | libplayfield.so | Shared Library |
| openharmony-arm64 | HarmonyOS arm64 | Clang | build-openharmony-arm64 | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| openharmony-armv7 | HarmonyOS armv7 | Clang | build-openharmony-armv7 | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| openharmony-x86_64 | HarmonyOS x86_64 | Clang | build-openharmony-x86_64 | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| unity-win64 | Unity Plugin | Clang-CL | build-unity-win64 | libplayfield.dll | DLL Plugin |
| unity-switch | Unity Plugin | Clang | build-unity-switch | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| unity-ps5 | Unity Plugin | Clang | build-unity-ps5 | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| unity-xbox | Unity Plugin | Clang | build-unity-xbox | libplayfield.a | Static Library |
| pc98 | DOS4GW | OpenWatcom | build-pc98 | playfield.exe | Executable |
---
## Samples
Samples are added timely.
| Name | Directory | Description |
|----------------|-----------------------|----------------------------------|
| bouncer | samples/bouncer | A block bounce demo. |
| rush | samples/rush | A jumping game demo. |
| heartbeatclock | samples/hearbeatclock | A clock. |
| shoot | samples/shoot | A mini shooting. |
---
## AI Support
To generate game templates with an AI, please let it load the following references:
- [Ray Syntax](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/syntax.md)
- [Ray API](docs/mkdocs-en/docs/api.md)
AI can then create runnable Playfield Engine games directly.
**Note:** In ChatGPT, you need to click the **"+"** button and enable
**"Web Search"** so that it can read the above references.
---
## Localization / Internationalization
Playfield Engine supports the following locales for the UI messages.
| Language | Locale Code | Translation Type | Scope of Translation |
|------------------------|-------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------|
| English | `en-US` | Original | UI / Docs / Samples |
| Spanish | `es-ES` | Machine Translation | UI |
| French | `fr-FR` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Italian | `it-IT` | Machine Translation | UI |
| German | `de-DE` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Greek | `el-GR` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Russian | `ru-RU` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Simplified Chinese | `zh-CN` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Traditional Chinese | `zh-TW` | Machine Translation | UI |
| Japanese | `ja-JP` | Professional Translation | UI / Docs |
**How to switch languages**
Playfield Engine uses the system locale.
To switch languages, set your system locale.
**Contributing Translations**
Translation files are located under the three `i18n/` directories. (main, HAL and NoctLang)
To propose a new translation or update an existing one, please open an Issue or submit a Pull Request.
---
## Third-party Libraries
Playfield Engine uses the following libraries.
The source code tarballs for the libraries are included in this repository.
- zlib
- libpng
- libogg
- libvorbis
- JPEG9
- libwebp
- brotli
- bzip2
- FreeType2
---
## Compatibility List
Development of this project spans many years, so this list includes
older operating systems. Some of them are no longer supported in the
current codebase, they worked in earlier versions but were removed
together with the software renderer.
**Windows:**
The official recommended binary is the 64-bit version.
| OS | Version | Patch | CPU | Runtimes | 64-bit Binary | Direct3D |
|---------|-----------------------------|-------|--------|-------------------------------------------------|---------------|----------|
| Windows | 11 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 |
| Windows | 11 | | arm64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 |
| Windows | 10 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 |
| Windows | 10 | | arm64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 |
| Windows | 8.1 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 |
| Windows | 8 | | x64 | Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 | ✅ | 11.0 |
| Windows | 7 | | x64 | UCRT Update (KB2999226) | ✅ | 11.0 |
| | | | | Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 | | |
| Windows | 7 | SP1 | x64 | Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 | ✅ | 11.0 |
| Windows | Vista | | x64 | (No UCRT) | ❌ | - |
| Windows | Vista | SP1 | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 |
| | | | | Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 | | |
| Windows | Vista | SP2 | x64 | Platform Update for Windows Vista | ✅ | 11.0 |
| | | | | Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 | | |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | | x64 | (No UCRT) | ❌ | - |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | SP1 | x64 | (No UCRT) | ❌ | - |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | SP2 | x64 | (No UCRT) | ❌ | - |
There is a 32-bit version for backward compatibility.
Note that the 32-bit version cannot handle multi-byte file names.
| OS | Version | Patch | CPU | Runtimes | 32-bit Binary | Direct3D | Special |
|---------|-----------------------------|-------|--------|----------------------------------------|---------------|----------|-------------|
| Windows | 11 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 | |
| Windows | 11 | | arm64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 | |
| Windows | 10 | | x86 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 | |
| Windows | 10 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 | |
| Windows | 10 | | arm64 | (None required) | ✅ | 12.0 | |
| Windows | 8.1 | | x86 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 8.1 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 8 | | x86 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 8 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 7 | | x86 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 7 | | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 7 | SP1 | x86 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | 7 | SP1 | x64 | (None required) | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | SP1 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | SP1 | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | SP2 | x86 | DirectX 11 Platform Update | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | Vista | SP2 | x64 | DirectX 11 Platform Update | ✅ | 11.0 | |
| Windows | XP | | x86 | DirectX 9.0b Runtime | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP | SP1 | x86 | DirectX 9.0b Runtime | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP | SP2 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP | SP3 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | SP1 | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | XP Professional x64 Edition | SP2 | x64 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | 2000 | | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (Dec 2006) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | 2000 | SP1 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (Dec 2006) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | 2000 | SP2 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (Dec 2006) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | 2000 | SP3 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (Dec 2006) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | 2000 | SP4 | x86 | DirectX End-User Runtimes (Dec 2006) | ✅ | 9.0 | |
| Windows | Me | | x86 | - | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | 98 | | x86 | - | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | 98 | SE | x86 | - | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | 95 | | x86 | - | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | 95 | OSR2 | x86 | - | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | NT 4.0 | | x86 | | Not Checked | - | soft render |
| Windows | NT 3.51 | | x86 | | ❌ | - | Insufficient Win32 APIs |
Actually, Playfield Engine implements its own software rendering
engine, so Direct3D is not required for Windows platforms. (However,
it is slow.)
**macOS:**
| OS | Version | Mac CPU | Status |
|------------------------|---------|----------------------|------------------------------|
| macOS Tahoe | 26.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Sequoia | 15.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Sonoma | 14.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Ventura | 13.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Monterey | 12.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Big Sur | 11.0 | arm64 / x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Catalina | 10.15 | x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Mojave | 10.14 | x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS High Sierra | 10.13 | x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| macOS Sierra | 10.12 | x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| OS X El Capitan | 10.11 | x86_64 | ✅ OK |
| OS X Yosemite | 10.10 | x86_64 | ❌ No Metal |
| OS X Mavericks | 10.9 | x86_64 | ❌ No Metal |
| OS X Mountain Lion | 10.8 | x86_64 | ❌ No Metal |
| Mac OS X Lion | 10.7 | x86_64 | ❌ No Metal |
| Mac OS X Snow Leopard | 10.6 | i386 / x86_64 | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Leopard | 10.5 | ppc / ppc64 / i386 | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Tiger | 10.4 | ppc / ppc64 / i386 | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Panther | 10.3 | ppc | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Jaguar | 10.2 | ppc | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Puma | 10.1 | ppc | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
| Mac OS X Cheetah | 10.0 | ppc | ❌ No Metal, No AVFoundation |
**Linux:**
| Distribution | Version | CPU | Status | Graphics |
|-------------------|-----------------------|-----------------|--------|-------------------------------|
| Raspberry Pi OS | Debian 13 | arm64, armv7 | ✅ | X11, OpenGL ES |
| Ubuntu | 24.04 / 22.04 / 20.04 | x86_64, arm64 | ✅ | X11, OpenGL 3 |
| Kubuntu | 25.04 | x86_64, arm64 | ✅ | Wayland + OpenGL 3 |
| Linux Mint | 22.3 | x86_64 | ✅ | X11 + OpenGL 3 |
| Fedora | 43 | x86_64 | ✅ | X11 + OpenGL 3 |
| Odroid | | arm64 | ✅ | GBM + DRM + EGL + OpenGL ES 2 |
**iOS:**
| OS | Status |
|--------|----------|
| iOS 26 | ✅ |
| iOS 18 | ✅ |
| iOS 17 | ✅ |
| iOS 16 | ✅ |
| iOS 15 | ✅ |
| iOS 14 | ✅ |
| iOS 13 | ✅ |
| iOS 12 | ✅ |
| iOS 11 | ✅ |
| iOS 10 | ? |
| iOS 9 | ? |
| iOS 8 | ? |
| iOS 7 | No Metal |
**Android:**
| OS | Status | Special |
|-------------|--------|------------------------------|
| Android 16 | ✅ | |
| Android 15 | ✅ | |
| Android 14 | ✅ | |
| Android 13 | ✅ | |
| Android 12 | ✅ | |
| Android 11 | ✅ | |
| Android 10 | ✅ | |
| Android 9 | ✅ | |
| Android 8 | ✅ | |
| Android 7 | ✅ | Change the build properties. |
| Android 6 | ✅ | Change the build properties. |
| Android 5 | ✅ | Change the build properties. |
| Android 4.4 | ✅ | Change the build properties. |
**OpenHarmony / HarmonyOS NEXT:**
| OS | Status |
|------------|--------|
| API 20 | ✅ |
| API 12 | ✅ |
---
## NoctVM Ecosystem
Playfield Engine is a part of the [NoctVM](https://noctvm.io/) ecosystem:
- **NoctLang** — portable scripting language (used in this project)
- **Playfield Engine** — go-anywhere 2D game engine (this project)
- **Suika3** — Commercial visual novel engine (uses this project)
- NoctUI — a declarative UI library (not used in this project)
Together, they form the foundation of the Noct ecosystem.
NoctLang itself is just the core language engine with no complex runtime.
Playfield Engine is one of the runtimes that embeds and extends the NoctLang core.
---
## License
```
Playfield Engine
© 2025 2026 Awe Morris
```
Playfield is available as free/libre software under the permissive
**zlib License**. You're free to use, modify, and share it — even in
commercial projects.
---
## Contact
Email: Awe Morris
Project Page: https://noctvm.io/playfield/
---
## Join Us
Playfield Engine is still in its early stages. We're building the game
engine with care, hoping it will inspire and empower creators around
the world.
If you're interested in contributing — whether it's code,
documentation, testing, or ideas — we'd be happy to have you with us.
Every small step helps shape what Playfield Engine can become. You're
welcome to join us on this journey.
[Join us on Discord](https://discord.gg/ybHWSqDVEX)