1. Create the project

Gem Garden starts as the official template. In this step you create it, run it, and look at what you will change.

Create it

Shell

microengine new GemGarden --id com.example.gemgarden --title "Gem Garden"
cd GemGarden
microengine run

A window opens with the template’s coin-collecting scene. Close it. The folder holds:

Text

GemGarden/
  GemGarden.csproj      project file and the game's identity
  Program.cs            starts the game on the desktop platforms
  MainGame.cs           the game class
  Scenes/PlayScene.cs   the template's scene (you replace it in step 2)
  Content/hero.png      the template's sprite (you replace it in step 3)
  icon.png              the game's icon

Your first game explains each of these files line by line; read it now if you have not.

The project file

GemGarden.csproj was written by the template with your name, id and title:

GemGarden.csprojXML

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <RootNamespace>GemGarden</RootNamespace>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <!-- The game's identity: every package `microengine package` builds (Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, web) takes
       its name, id, version and icon from here. https://github.com/NastMz/MicroEngine/blob/main/docs/guide/app-identity.md -->
  <PropertyGroup>
    <ApplicationTitle>Gem Garden</ApplicationTitle>
    <ApplicationId>com.example.gemgarden</ApplicationId>
    <Version>0.1.0</Version>
    <Description>A game made with MicroEngine.</Description>
    <MicroEngineIcon>icon.png</MicroEngineIcon>
    <MicroEngineOrientation>landscape</MicroEngineOrientation>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- The engine with the desktop platforms (SDL 3 by default, raylib). A game that ships SDL only can reference
         MicroEngine.Sdl instead. -->
    <PackageReference Include="MicroEngine.Desktop" Version="0.6.0-alpha.1" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- Asset files, copied next to the executable (ContentFolder reads them there). -->
    <None Include="Content/**" CopyToOutputDirectory="PreserveNewest" LinkBase="Content" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Three parts matter for now:

• PackageReference brings the engine: MicroEngine.Desktop includes the core (MicroEngine), the SDL 3 and raylib platforms and the desktop launcher.
• None Include="Content/**" copies every file under Content/ next to the compiled game. That is where the game reads images and sounds at run time.
• The identity group (title, id, version, icon) is used by packaging in step 12. You will not touch it before then.

Program.cs stays exactly as the template wrote it for the whole tutorial:

Program.csC#

using MicroEngine.Desktop;
using GemGarden;

// Runs the game on the desktop platforms: SDL 3 by default; --platform raylib, --list-platforms and the other launcher
// options work from the command line (microengine run -- --list-platforms). Browser, Android and iOS builds call the
// same MainGame.Configure, so whatever it composes reaches every platform.
return DesktopLauncher.Run(MainGame.Configure, args);

Running and debugging

microengine run builds in Debug and starts the game; microengine run -c Release builds an optimised game. Options after -- go to the game itself:

Shell

microengine run -- --scale 2          # window at 2x the virtual size instead of 4x
microengine run -- --list-platforms   # which platforms this machine can run

You can also open GemGarden.csproj in Visual Studio, Rider or VS Code and run or debug it like any console application. Build errors are ordinary C# compiler errors.

Checkpoint

Nothing changed yet: the template runs. In the next step you replace its scene with a title screen and the game’s own scene.