anything_about_game: A Deeply Indexed Map of Game Development Resources

What This List Covers That Others Skip

Most awesome lists for game development stop at engines and a few frameworks. anything_about_game goes much further into the production pipeline. The table of contents alone shows sections for texture compression, normal maps, atlas tools, vertex animation, GPU animation, motion matching, and even hair modeling inside the DCC tools area. It also includes reverse engineering categories like AssetBundle extraction and archive formats, which are rare in public lists. The intended reader is not a hobbyist looking for a quick engine pick. It is an engineer or technical artist who already knows the field and wants a directory of specific libraries, papers, and tools for a narrow problem, such as implementing a custom shader variant system or picking a lockstep networking library.

The Taxonomy Is the Feature

The organization is the main contribution. Sections are nested to an unusual depth. For example, under Physics there are separate subsections for Fluid, Water, Glass, Cloth, Position-Based-Dynamics, Softbody, Vehicle, and Sky. Under ComputerGraphics, you get Shader-Compiler, ShaderVariant, TA-Tool, ShaderToy, NPR, NPR-Tricks, SDF, SphericalHarmonicLighting/CubeMap/Probes, Outline, and FootPrint. This granularity means you can jump straight to a niche topic without wading through general entries. The ECS Libraries section is split by language: C/C++, C#, Python, Rust, Lua, TypeScript, plus separate benchmark subsections for ECS and C#. That level of detail is useful for someone comparing implementations across languages. The downside is that the hierarchy is so deep it can feel overwhelming. Some headings, like the one under Modeling that reads "Unity 官方教程及开发者经验分享：", appear to be a fragment or a misplaced note, suggesting the list grew organically rather than by a strict editorial plan.

How It Works: A Static, Hand-Maintained Index

The repository is essentially a markdown file with a table of contents. There is no code, no package, and no runtime. The README is the entire deliverable. Links are grouped under headings, and the structure is meant to be navigated by scrolling or using a markdown reader's outline. The project has no homepage and no releases, based on the repository metadata. The last push was August 31, 2026, which suggests recent activity at the time of writing, but there is no release cadence or changelog. The license is Apache-2.0, which means the list itself can be reused with attribution. Since it is a static document, there is no installation or configuration. You clone it or read it on GitHub. The value comes from the curation effort, not from any software mechanism.

Getting Started: Clone and Browse

There are no commands to run because there is no executable component. To use it, you clone the repository or open it on GitHub. A typical first step would be: git clone https://github.com/killop/anything_about_game.git. Then you open the README and use the table of contents to jump to a section. For a specific need, say finding a C# ECS library, you would navigate to the ECS Libraries section, then the C# subsection. The links are external, so you will leave the repo to read the actual resources. The README also lists two QQ group numbers, one for sharing game development resources and one for general chat. These are community entry points, but they are not documented further in the material. If you prefer to stay in English, be aware that some section headings and comments are in Chinese, such as the concurrency section titled "并发执行和多线程".

What This List Does Not Tell You

The biggest limitation is that entries are bare links with no descriptions. You cannot tell from the list whether a library is maintained, what license it uses, or whether it is production-ready. The README does not include stars, release dates, or any quality signal. That means you have to click through and evaluate each resource yourself. For a list this large, that is a significant time investment. Another limitation is the lack of a search function within the repo. The table of contents helps, but when you are looking for a specific tool like a normal map generator, you may need to scan several subsections. The material also gives no indication of how often links are checked for validity. Dead links are a real risk in any awesome list, and this one, with its enormous breadth, is no exception. Finally, the list is oriented toward Unity and C#. Topics like Unity-ECS, Unity-Shader, and Unity-Tool appear frequently. If you work in Unreal or Godot, you will find fewer relevant entries.

A Real Alternative: The Original Awesome Lists

The closest comparison is the classic awesome list format, such as the original awesome repository or specialized lists like awesome-game-development. Those lists tend to have fewer categories but each entry often comes with a one-line description. That makes them faster to scan. anything_about_game is more like a raw bookmark dump, organized into a deep tree. The difference in approach is that awesome lists are usually curated with a quality bar and a consistent style, while this repo appears to be a personal collection that grew over time. The trade-off is breadth versus usability. anything_about_game may have more niche topics, but the original awesome lists are easier to filter mentally because you get context for each link. If you need a quick recommendation, start with an awesome list. If you need to find a very specific tool that is rarely mentioned elsewhere, this repo is worth a search.

Maintenance and Licensing Considerations

The repository is not archived, and the last push was in August 2026, which is recent. But there are no releases, and there is no stated maintenance policy. The README does not mention contribution guidelines or a roadmap. That means the project depends on the maintainer's continued interest. For a list of this size, keeping links alive is a constant chore, and without automated link checking, broken entries will accumulate. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive, so you can fork the repo and maintain your own version if you want. You could also use it as a starting point for a personal list. However, because there is no structured data, you cannot easily merge it with other lists or programmatically filter it. You are stuck with the markdown format. If you adopt it as a reference, plan to verify each link before relying on it, and consider creating your own annotated version for your team.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt anything_about_game if you are a game developer, technical artist, or engine programmer who wants a broad, categorized map of tools and articles, especially if you are comfortable with Chinese-language resources. Skip it if you need a curated, quality-filtered list with clear descriptions, because this repo is raw and unannotated. Before using it, verify that the linked resources still exist, check the last push date (August 2026) for freshness, and be prepared to spend time navigating the dense hierarchy. Its Apache-2.0 license means you can reuse the list freely, but the real value is in the links, not the repo's own content.

Official sources

1. Issues
2. killop/anything_about_game on GitHub
3. License: Apache-2.0
4. README