Ant is a game engine written in Lua and developed as open-source software.
The engine addresses the need for a Lua-based game development platform by providing a modular architecture where functionality is organized into packages with interdependencies. The runtime supports multiple platforms, and the engine includes a built-in package manager, editor, and associated tools for asset processing such as shader compilation, texture conversion, and glTF to OZZ animation conversion. Development occurs in Lua with C/C++ support code, and the project supplies a luamake build tool for compilation across Windows, macOS, and Linux environments.
Developers considering adoption should be aware that the project is in an early stage with code made public but no formal release yet. Documentation and examples are being developed incrementally on the project's wiki. The modular package structure suits projects where selective feature inclusion is valuable, and the Lua foundation appeals to developers preferring scripting-based game logic. Windows compilation requires Visual Studio 22.17.5 or later due to C11 Atomics support requirements, while macOS and Linux builds need Xcode or equivalent tooling with Ninja. The project explicitly directs questions to its Discussions section rather than Issues, which are reserved for bug tracking.
Development activity shows ongoing infrastructure work with attention to build system requirements and platform-specific compilation constraints. The project maintains organized separation between engine core code, functional packages, platform-specific runtime implementations, and tooling. Documentation is acknowledged as incomplete and under active expansion, indicating the maintainers are working toward a more complete public resource.
