C++ Template for 2D/3D Games

A modern, cross-platform C++ game development template with everything you need to get started — just write code and run it. It uses Raylib for game development and ImGui for creating graphical user interfaces.

Requirements

You'll need the following tools or IDEs that contains them like Microsoft Visual Studio or Xcode:

• C++20 – The template is designed with C++20 features in mind for modern syntax and better optimizations, though older versions may still work — just try changing the CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD value in the CMakeLists.txt.
• CMake (version 3.30+) – Required for cross-platform builds. You can lower the required version in CMakeLists.txt if needed, but 3.30+ is recommended.

Included Dependencies

This template comes with the following third-party libraries already included to streamline game development:

• Raylib (v5.5) – A simple and easy-to-use library for graphics, audio, and input handling.
• Dear ImGui (v1.91.9b) – A bloat-free, immediate mode GUI library.
• rlImGui (main branch, commit from Mar 17, 2025) – Acts as a bridge between Raylib and Dear ImGui, enabling the integration of ImGui-based GUIs in Raylib projects.

Project Structure

.
├── assets/             # Game assets like sprites, fonts, sounds, etc.
├── build/              # Build directory (generated during the build process)
├── include/            # Header files (.h)
├── scripts/            # Setup and helper scripts for building/running
├── src/                # Source files (.cpp)
├── third_party/        # Included third-party libraries (Raylib, ImGui)
├── CMakeLists.txt      # Root CMake configuration file
└── README.md           # Project overview and usage instructions

Getting Started

Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 is recommended for Windows, and Xcode is recommended for macOS. If neither of these is available, see below for instructions on building with CMake only.

1. Download the repository:

Clone the repository to your desired location or download it as a .zip file:

git clone https://github.com/CL0001/cpp-rlimgui-template.git

2. Customize the project name and description:

Open the CMakeLists.txt file in the root of the project and edit the project name and description:

project("YourProjectName" VERSION 0.1.0 DESCRIPTION "Your Project Description" LANGUAGES CXX)

Replace:

• YourProjectName with your desired project name. Avoid spaces and special symbols, using only alphanumeric characters, hyphens, or underscores.
• Your Project Description with a brief description of your project. Spaces and special symbols are allowed here.

Generate Visual Studio or Xcode Solution

Run the appropriate setup script for your platform, located in the scripts directory. Make sure the script has execution permission (especially for Unix-like systems).

Running the script will create a build directory in the root of the project (where CMakeLists.txt is located), containing the generated solution files.

If you want to add new source or header files, you must first create them manually (e.g., via File Explorer) in the appropriate directories (src/ for source files and include/ for headers). Then you need to re-run the setup script (which reconfigures the solution) to include the new files in the build. After that, reload the solution in your IDE to see the updates.

⚠️ Warning: If the configuration fails or you're seeing strange build issues, delete the build/ directory entirely and run the appropriate setup script again from scratch.

Configure and Build with CMake (Any editor or IDE)

Configuration:

Configure the project and generate build files. Run this once after cloning the repository, or when CMakeLists.txt has been changed. In the latter cases, remove the build directory and run this again:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..

⚠️ Warning: If the configuration fails or you're seeing strange build issues, delete the build/ directory entirely and run the commands again from scratch.

Build:

After the initial configuration, run the following to build the project:

cmake --build . && ./build/Debug/YourProjectName.exe

Note: Make sure to replace YourProjectName.exe with your actual executable name if you've customized it.

Template Output

After successfully building and running the template sample, you should see a window like this:

Using Assets

All your game assets — including textures, fonts, audio files, and shaders — should be placed in the assets/ directory (which can be further divided into subdirectories) at the root of the project.

The template automatically provides the path to this directory using a compile-time definition called ASSETS_PATH, which is set in CMakeLists.txt:

target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC ASSETS_PATH="${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/assets/")

In your C++ code, you can use this macro to load assets in a platform-independent way:

std::string fullPath = std::string(ASSETS_PATH) + "images/player.png";
Texture2D playerTexture = LoadTexture(fullPath.c_str());

Creating a Release Build

When the game development is finished, run the build_release.bat script on Windows or build_release.sh on Unix-based systems, both located in the scripts/ directory. This will generate a game_pkg/ folder containing the final game .exe file along with the necessary assets/. The release build has the console window disabled and requires the assets/ folder to be located in the same directory as the executable.