SDL VS olcPixelGameEngine

Compare SDL vs olcPixelGameEngine and see what are their differences.

SDL

Simple Directmedia Layer (by libsdl-org)

olcPixelGameEngine

The official distribution of olcPixelGameEngine, a tool used in javidx9's YouTube videos and projects (by OneLoneCoder)
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SDL olcPixelGameEngine
193 43
8,007 3,709
4.8% -
10.0 4.2
about 23 hours ago 16 days ago
C C++
zlib License GNU General Public License v3.0 or later
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.

SDL

Posts with mentions or reviews of SDL. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2024-03-24.

olcPixelGameEngine

Posts with mentions or reviews of olcPixelGameEngine. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-03-10.
  • Best C++ Game Framework
    4 projects | /r/gameenginedevs | 10 Mar 2023
    If you want something simple (single file to drop in a project) with a nice easy C++ API for 2D graphics there is OneLoneCoder's Pixel Game Engine.
  • I'm struggling
    2 projects | /r/cpp_questions | 12 Dec 2022
    And if you want to try making a small game with rudamentary graphics, but not go full OpenGL/DirectX, take a look at OLC pixel game engine. It's a one header graphics library that will allow you to draw simple shapes, text, etc. perfect for prototyping or making very simple games. Eventually you'll want to try making Pong to take your training to the next level, so this will be perfect for that.
  • Easiest way to do 2d graphics
    2 projects | /r/cpp | 1 Dec 2022
    For a beginner I’d recommend the One Lone Coder Pixel Game Engine olcPixelGameEngine It is a single header library, works in Windows, Mac and Linux. The author also has some great game programming videos on his YouTube channel OLC YouTube
  • C++ 2D Game Development 9 - Networking
    2 projects | /r/NetSkelter | 24 Nov 2022
    The source code is public and under the license of the olcPixelGameEngine found at: https://github.com/OneLoneCoder/olcPixelGameEngine
  • LumoclastFW 10 - Networking System
    2 projects | /r/Lumoclast | 8 Nov 2022
  • How can I make graphics games using cpp?
    4 projects | /r/cpp_questions | 3 Oct 2022
    All you need is here. Just put the .h file in your project and you're done.
    4 projects | /r/cpp_questions | 3 Oct 2022
    But if you just want to create Tetris or Soduko I would actually recommend OLC pixel game engine. It's the absolute simplest graphics library you could possibly imagine. Just include one file and you're good to go, it takes less than 10 minutes to get something up on the screen. You can't create anything complex with it of course, but you just need to draw simple shapes and text on the screen so it's perfect for that.
  • I have a decade+ old pc x32. And these are my options to work for the next weeks. I chose SFML.
    2 projects | /r/gamedev | 16 Aug 2022
  • Looking for a 2d graphics framework for my needs
    5 projects | /r/gamedev | 7 Jul 2022
    SFML isn't bad. But I had a lot of issues with it. If you want a super lightweight engine with basically only a minimal amount of functions and can get stuff drawn on the screen fast then I'd say Pixel Game Engine. Just a single .h file and you are good to go. There are extensions for it for more functions like game pad support. C++ only and it doesn't hold your hand or get in the way. https://github.com/OneLoneCoder/olcPixelGameEngine
  • C++ for graphic programming
    4 projects | /r/cpp | 5 Jun 2022

What are some alternatives?

When comparing SDL and olcPixelGameEngine you can also consider the following projects:

GLFW - A multi-platform library for OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan, window and input

raylib - A simple and easy-to-use library to enjoy videogames programming

Godot - Godot Engine – Multi-platform 2D and 3D game engine

DS4Windows - Like those other ds4tools, but sexier

DualSenseSupport - Preliminar DualSense

learn-wgpu - Guide for using gfx-rs's wgpu library.

DS4Windows - Like those other ds4tools, but sexier

steam-for-linux - Issue tracking for the Steam for Linux beta client

vulkan-guide - Introductory guide to vulkan.

zig - General-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software.

imgui - Dear ImGui: Bloat-free Graphical User interface for C++ with minimal dependencies