ECSx - an Entity-Component-System framework for Elixir

ECSx

ECSx is a framework for using Entity Component System architecture to build real-time games and simulations. It is currently 100% Elixir, using :ets for managing Components, and GenServer for managing Systems under-the-hood.

Features

• Generators handle all boilerplate creation
• Type-checking for all component data
• Strict serializability of data operations
• Persistence with file system or Ecto (via ecsx_persistence_ecto)
• Integration with Phoenix LiveDashboard (via ecsx_live_dashboard)

How to Get Started

All you need to a functional game up and running:

• Install :ecsx into an existing Elixir app
• Run mix ecsx setup
• Run mix ecsx.gen.component to define the various attributes which game entities may have
• Run mix ecsx.gen.system to define the logical systems which update the game state over time
• Write system logic using pure Elixir and a simple ECSx interface; e.g. HitPoints.get(entity)
• Develop your frontend using any technology you like (including LiveView)

To get you started quickly, there is a tutorial which walks you through each of the above steps, to create a game with a LiveView frontend, where you move around a battleship which automatically attacks any pirate ships which get within range

Resources

• DockYard blog post explaining ECS architecture and why it’s useful for Elixir gamedev
• ElixirConf 2023 talk with more examples and live ECSx demo
• Elixir Newbie podcast #34 where I discuss the history and key features of the project
• DockYard Elixir Roundtable podcast #21 the first public announcement of ECSx (starts at 28:00)
• Github repo
• Official documentation
• “Ship game” tutorial app repo