Web Dev used Zig to Make Pirate Puzzle Game

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Web Dev used Zig to Make Pirate Puzzle Game

The devlog discusses a game developed by @chapliboy using a custom engine built with Zig. He prefers this approach over Unity, citing benefits like tailored tools, total control over systems, and the enjoyment of coding. The game is a cozy puzzle strategy with unique mechanics, focusing on personalized development experiences.

Game Development

August 7, 2026

2–3 minutes

cozy game, custom engine, Game Development, game engine, puzzle game, web development, zig

This is the only devlog of a published game build with Zig as a custom engine.

Game is made by @chapliboy (AKA Smarth from Bangalore India). Looking at the game its a cosy puzzle strategy game with ships and features strategy features. He disucsses why he did not like going with Unity mainly too much of an engine and features.

What I like about his explanition is he draws uplong Web Development Frameworks and Libaraies and he sees it the same way with Game Development. Games are just software it takes a bunch of input from the user and outputs to the screen.

Game Trailer

Key Reasons for a Custom Engine:

Programmer Preference:

The creator enjoys writing code more than reading documentation, making engine development a fun and personal process (0:24-0:47).

Avoiding Defaults:

Large engines often push developers toward specific game types (like shooters or platformers). A custom engine allows for unique, niche gameplay mechanics (0:47-2:00).

Tailored Tooling:

The game’s editor was built specifically for the needs of the game, avoiding the clutter and complexity of general-purpose engines (2:00-2:47).

Total System Control:

The creator maintains high control over the simulation engine, which is decoupled from graphics and sound, allowing for specialized features like a level solver (2:47-4:17).

Selective Architecture:

By building a custom engine, the creator can choose which libraries to use (e.g., raylib) for specific tasks while writing the rest from scratch (4:17-5:10).

Ownership and Longevity:

Custom code isn’t subject to the licensing changes, deprecations, or sudden shutdowns of third-party engine providers (5:10-6:18).

Motivation:

Simply put, the creator found engine development to be a fun and educational challenge that kept them motivated to finish the game (6:18-6:36).

Should you Build your own game engine?

Maybe sometimes Unity and Unreal are not so clear, to help you build the system or game you want. Unity is quite general purpose but you can get stuck if certain features are not there and need a plugin. You can extend the engine only scripting tools or plugins.

for unreal it’s massive even though there is a lot of help you have to do things the unreal way or it might not work.

Making your own engine forces you to learn the underlying architecture such as different libraries for graphics.

Zig is one of the solutions I am researching at the moment after I finish up with my Unreal Game. There is some of the concepts that overlap Web Dev so that is the architecture he was following.