GAM3
Note: This page serves as a brief overview of our engine as we gear up for licensing to other developers in 2025.
Overview
GAM3 (pronounced 'game three') is Tinydark's proprietary web-based game engine. Started January 2013, it has since grown into one of the most powerful web-based engines in the world. Originally, it drew inspiration from Failbetter's StoryNexus engine, but shifted toward more persistent, multiplayer gameplay in 2019. Over ten-thousand hours of developer effort have been poured into GAM3, and there's more to come.
GAM3 is a no-code solution for building and operating web-based games, removing the dependence on knowing a programming language in order to create a game. Whether it's managing content or designing complex mechanics, GAM3 handles everything from concept to completion. With GAM3, developers are able to focus on game design instead of writing code.
Features
Features abound in GAM3, and one day there will be a dedicated product site for the engine, but for now just check out this "crash course" that Vael recorded for another developer.
Licensing
Starting in January 2025, we'll be accepting developers to license GAM3. In this preliminary phase, the engine has only sparse documentation, though the interface is largely self-documenting. The monthly rates for hosting the engine are also halved to $50/mo and $40/mo, down from their normal $100/80/mo — and all new licensees will be locked in at that rate.
Tinydark offers managed hosting for GAM3 instances, and we provide a subdomain while the game is in pre-launch status. Games with lighter resource demands are eligible for reduced hosting rates. For teams that need more control, we provide full access to the GAM3 codebase for self-hosting. Developers are free to fork the code under a flexible license, which we will tailor based on their needs. Self-hosting is intended for teams and is available for a one-time payment, ranging from the low four figures to the mid five figures.
| Hosting | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard Hosting | $50/mo |
| Singleplayer Hosting | $40/mo |
| Self-hosted | One-time payment (contact us) |
Technology
GAM3 deploys on the LAMP stack: Linux, Apache, MySQL 8, and PHP 8. The front-end is built entirely in Svelte, using PHP as an API backend.
PHP: Built on CakePHP 2, then modernized for PHP 8.2, then the internals were modified for performance in Tinydark games.
Svelte: Svelte 4 with SCSS support. The upgrade to Svelte 5 will be made in 2025.
MySQL: Tried and true, running on v8.0.36.
While you'll never have to write code, you will need to write basic programming logic. Here are the minimum knowledge requirements to use GAM3 effectively.
Contact Us
For inquiries, please email vael@tinydark.com or message VaelVictus on Discord.