ENIGMA, the Extensible Non-Interpreted Game Maker Augmentation, is a game engine that was founded in 2007 as an open-source alternative to the popular RAD software, GameMaker. ENIGMA is both high and low level, as it offers both its own scripting language and a drag & drop interface. Originally, ENIGMA adopted GameMaker's scripting language, GML, which bears similar syntax to C++ or JavaScript. Over time, this evolved into EDL, ENIGMA's own extended scripting language. EDL has a lax syntax, allowing users to get to work quickly without much effort. This code is translated into valid C++ and shipped to an appropriate compiler.

ENIGMA aims to be user-friendly for beginners and powerful for professionals. ENIGMA offers an IDE named LateralGM, where users are able to create and edit code resources such as objects, scripts, timelines, and shaders, and content resources such as images, maps (levels or rooms), and paths.

ENIGMA is written in C++ and supports Linux, Windows and Mac OS X in addition to work-in-progress Android and HTML5 ports. ENIGMA's IDE, Lateral GM, is written in Java.


We are applying to participate in Google Summer of Code 2014 in an effort to improve the user experience and extend our features, but also to aid in reducing the barriers to entry of the field of game design.

This is our first time applying to Google Summer of Code.

ENIGMA uses the GPL 3 license, with plans for a clause that states that users are allowed to create commercial applications using ENIGMA.

Our ideas list is available here: http://enigma-dev.org/docs/Wiki/Student_Tasks

We do not have a mailing list; instead we utilize GitHub and our own forum software, where we frequently discuss issues, proposals and announce new features.

Our IRC channel is #enigma on Freenode, <irc://irc.freenode.net/#enigma>.

The backup organization administrator will be Robert B. Colton, as he is currently the most frequent maintainer of ENIGMA, so he knows the inner workings of everything. He is also the current maintainer of LateralGM.

For our mentors, we have selected our most active contributors. We have made sure to choose mentors that are active on our IRC channel, so that students are able to ask questions without worry. In addition, we have mentors that are knowledgeable between all different types of areas. We have divided these into three soft groups: graphics, compiler and functionality.

We hope that students do not disappear, and if they do, we hope that they give us a warning before doing so. Should a student disappear, we will first attempt to contact the student using alternative modes of contact. If they do not respond within a few weeks, we will make their work publicly available, in case other contributors decide to pick up their work.

If any of our mentors disappear, we will attempt to contact them. If a student is ever without a mentor at any time, he or she is able to post questions on the forum until the mentor returns. If the mentor has been away for a few weeks, we will assign him or her a new mentor.

While our community is small, it is quite friendly, and developers are easy to contact. Some members and past contributors have even sponsored game design competitions to encourage participation from all parties, users and contributors alike.