What is MonoGame?
By Stephen Armstrong // October 3, 2019
Learn more about MonoGame and why we use it.
There are many different engines and frameworks available for making games – including Unity, Unreal, GameMaker, and much more. So why did we choose MonoGame and what is it?
The Successor to XNA
Before MonoGame there was XNA - a set of tools created by Microsoft that allowed indie developers to create games for the PC and Xbox 360.
After Microsoft discontinued support for XNA in 2013, MonoGame essentially became its open-source successor. The MonoGame Team have worked hard to fully implement all of XNA’s features into MonoGame, while supporting as many platforms as possible.
Not only does this mean that you have access to a tried-and-tested framework, but it also means that you have access to over a decade of tutorials and code examples to aid your programming.
Cross platform
With MonoGame you can make games for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS and Android.
Used in lots of games
MonoGame has been used to make acclaimed titles such as Stardew Valley, Celeste, Axiom Verge, Chasm, and many more games – including our very own Altorius.
No GUI – Just code
MonoGame is incredibly simple to use – it’s just C# code. There’s no GUI or any extraneous windows or layers. A MonoGame project contains only what you code into it. For some this will be a benefit, to others a drawback.
I personally like MonoGame’s simplicity and having full control over a game’s content.
The programming language used by MonoGame, called C#, is also easy to learn.
Learn more
You can learn more about MonoGame at its website: http://www.monogame.net/
