Libraries - Getting Started - Sample applications - Others using zig-gamedev

zig-gamedev project

We build game development ecosystem for Zig programming language, every day since July 2021. Please consider supporting the project. We create:

• Cross-platform and composable libraries
• Cross-platform sample applications
• DirectX 12 sample applications

Vision

• Very modular "toolbox of libraries", user can use only the components she needs
• Just Zig is required to build on Windows, macOS and Linux - no Visual Studio, Build Tools, Windows SDK, gcc, dev packages, system headers/libs, cmake, ninja, etc. is needed
• Building is as easy as zig build
• Libraries are written from scratch in Zig or provide Ziggified bindings for carefully selected C/C++ libraries
• Uses native wgpu implementation (Dawn) or OpenGL for cross-platform graphics and DirectX 12 for low-level graphics on Windows

Getting Started

Download the latest archive or clone/submodule with Git.

Note: If using Git then you will need Git LFS to be installed.

Get Zig

Our main branch is currenly tracking Zig 0.12.0-dev.2063+804cee3b9 as nominated by the Mach engine project to maintain compatibilty for users of both projects.

zigup is recommended for managing compiler versions. Alternatively, you can download and install manually using the links below:

OS/Arch	Download link
Windows x86_64	zig-windows-x86_64-0.12.0-dev.2063+804cee3b9.zip
Linux x86_64	zig-linux-x86_64-0.12.0-dev.2063+804cee3b9.tar.xz
macOS x86_64	zig-macos-x86_64-0.12.0-dev.2063+804cee3b9.tar.xz
macOS aarch64	zig-macos-aarch64-0.12.0-dev.2063+804cee3b9.tar.xz

If you need to use a more recent version of Zig, you can try our unstable branch. But this is not generally recommended.

Build and run the Samples

To get started on Windows/Linux/macOS try out physically based rendering (wgpu) sample:

zig build physically_based_rendering_wgpu-run

To get a list of all available build steps:

zig build -l

Using the Libraries

Copy each library to a subdirectory in your project and add them as local package dependencies. For example:

build.zig.zon

.{
    .name = "MyGame",
    .version = "0.0.0",
    .dependencies = .{
        .zglfw = .{ .path = "libs/zglfw" },
        .system_sdk = .{ .path = "libs/system-sdk" },
    },
    .paths = "",
}

build.zig

pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
   const exe = b.addExecutable(.{ ... });

   const zglfw = b.dependency("zglfw", .{});
   exe.root_module.addImport("zglfw", zglfw.module("root"));
   exe.linkLibrary(zglfw.artifact("glfw"));
}

Refer to each lib's README.md for further usage intructions.

Option to download packages using Zig Package Manager coming soon!

Libraries

Library	Description
zaudio	Cross-platform audio using miniaudio
zbullet	Build package, C API and bindings for Bullet physics
zd3d12	Helper library for DirectX 12
zflecs	Build package and bindings for flecs ECS
zglfw	Build package & bindings for GLFW
zgpu	Small helper library built on top of Dawn native WebGPU implementation
zgui	Build package and bindings for Dear Imgui (includes ImPlot)
zjobs	Generic job queue implementation
zmath	SIMD math library for game developers
zmesh	Loading, generating, processing and optimizing triangle meshes
znoise	Build package & bindings for FastNoiseLite
zopengl	OpenGL loader (supports 4.2 Core Profile and ES 2.0 Profile)
zphysics	Build package, C API and bindings for Jolt Physics
zpix	Support for GPU profiling with PIX for Windows
zpool	Generic pool & handle implementation
zsdl	Bindings for SDL2 and SDL3
zstbi	Image reading, writing and resizing with stb libraries
ztracy	Support for CPU profiling with Tracy
zwin32	Bindings for Win32 API (d3d12, d3d11, xaudio2, directml, wasapi and more)
zxaudio2	Helper library for XAudio2

Sample applications (native wgpu)

Some of the sample applications are listed below. More can be found in samples directory.

1. physically based rendering (wgpu): This sample implements physically-based rendering (PBR) and image-based lighting (IBL) to achive realistic looking rendering results.
   zig build physically_based_rendering_wgpu-run

   

2. audio experiments (wgpu): This sample lets the user experiment with audio and observe data that feeds the hardware.
   zig build audio_experiments_wgpu-run

   

3. bullet physics test (wgpu): This sample application demonstrates how to use full 3D physics engine in your Zig programs.
   zig build bullet_physics_test_wgpu-run

   

4. procedural mesh (wgpu): This sample shows how to efficiently draw several procedurally generated meshes.
   zig build procedural_mesh_wgpu-run

   

5. gui test (wgpu): This sample shows how to use our zgui library.
   zig build gui_test_wgpu-run

   

Sample applications (DirectX 12)

Some of the sample applications are listed below. More can be found in samples directory. They can be built and run on Windows and Linux (Wine + VKD3D-Proton 2.8+):

1. bindless: This sample implements physically based shading and image based lighting to achieve realistic looking rendering results. It uses bindless textures and HLSL 6.6 dynamic resources.
   zig build bindless-run

   

2. rasterization: This sample application shows how GPU rasterizes triangles in slow motion.
   zig build rasterization-run

   

3. simple raytracer: This sample implements basic hybrid renderer. It uses rasterization to resolve primary rays and raytracing (DXR) for shadow rays.
   zig build simple_raytracer-run

   

4. mesh shader test: This sample shows how to use DirectX 12 Mesh Shader.
   zig build mesh_shader_test-run

   

Others using zig-gamedev

• Tides of Revival - First-person, open-world, fantasy RPG being developed in the open
• Simulations - GPU Accelerated agent-based modeling to visualize and simulate complex systems
• krateroid - 3D strategy game
• blokens - Voxel game
• Delve Framework - Simple game framework for making games with Lua
• jok - A minimal 2D/3D game framework for Zig
• Aftersun - Top-down 2D RPG
• Pixi - Pixel art editor made with Zig