Project Structure

Learn how to organize your Brine2D project for clean, maintainable, and scalable game development.

Overview

A well-organized project structure:

• Makes code easy to find and navigate
• Separates concerns (scenes, systems, entities)
• Scales from prototypes to full games
• Simplifies team collaboration

---

Basic Structure

Minimal Project

For prototypes and learning:

MyGame/
├── MyGame.csproj
├── Program.cs
├── GameScene.cs
└── assets/
    ├── images/
    ├── audio/
    └── fonts/

When to use: - Quick prototypes - Tutorial projects - Single-scene games - Learning Brine2D

Program.cs:

using Brine2D.Hosting;

var builder = GameApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Configure(options =>
{
    options.Window.Title = "My Game";
    options.Window.Width = 800;
    options.Window.Height = 600;
});

builder.AddScene<GameScene>();

await using var game = builder.Build();
await game.RunAsync<GameScene>();

---

Standard Project

For most games:

MyGame/
├── MyGame.csproj
├── Program.cs
├── Scenes/
│   ├── MenuScene.cs
│   ├── GameScene.cs
│   └── PauseScene.cs
├── Behaviors/
│   ├── PlayerMovementBehavior.cs
│   └── EnemyAIBehavior.cs
├── Systems/
│   ├── MovementSystem.cs
│   └── CombatSystem.cs
└── assets/
    ├── images/
    │   ├── player/
    │   ├── enemies/
    │   └── ui/
    ├── audio/
    │   ├── effects/
    │   └── music/
    └── fonts/

When to use: - Most 2D games - Multi-scene projects - Medium-sized teams

---

Large Project

For complex games with many features:

MyGame/
├── MyGame.csproj
├── Program.cs
├── Scenes/
│   ├── Menu/
│   │   ├── MainMenuScene.cs
│   │   ├── OptionsScene.cs
│   │   └── CreditsScene.cs
│   └── Gameplay/
│       ├── Level1Scene.cs
│       └── BossScene.cs
├── Entities/
│   ├── Characters/
│   │   ├── Player.cs
│   │   └── Enemy.cs
│   └── Items/
│       ├── Weapon.cs
│       └── Collectible.cs
├── Behaviors/
│   ├── PlayerMovementBehavior.cs
│   └── EnemyAIBehavior.cs
├── Components/
│   ├── HealthComponent.cs
│   └── InventoryComponent.cs
├── Systems/
│   ├── Gameplay/
│   │   ├── MovementSystem.cs
│   │   └── CombatSystem.cs
│   └── Rendering/
│       └── AnimationSystem.cs
├── Services/
│   ├── GameStateManager.cs
│   └── SaveManager.cs
├── Manifests/
│   ├── LevelAssets.cs
│   └── MenuAssets.cs
└── assets/
    ├── images/
    ├── audio/
    └── fonts/

---

Namespace Conventions

Match folders to namespaces:

// File: Scenes/GameScene.cs
namespace MyGame.Scenes;

public class GameScene : Scene { }

// File: Behaviors/PlayerMovementBehavior.cs
namespace MyGame.Behaviors;

public class PlayerMovementBehavior : Behavior { }

---

Asset Organization

Recommended Layout

assets/
├── images/
│   ├── player.png
│   ├── enemy.png
│   └── tileset.png
├── audio/
│   ├── jump.wav
│   ├── hurt.wav
│   └── music/
│       └── theme.ogg
└── fonts/
    ├── ui.ttf
    └── mono.ttf

Referencing Assets

// Use forward slashes (cross-platform)
var texture = await _assets.GetOrLoadTextureAsync("assets/images/player.png");
var sound = await _assets.GetOrLoadSoundAsync("assets/audio/jump.wav");
var font = await _assets.GetOrLoadFontAsync("assets/fonts/ui.ttf", size: 16);

Copy Assets to Output

Add to your .csproj:

<ItemGroup>
  <None Update="assets\**\*">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </None>
</ItemGroup>

---

Troubleshooting

Problem: Namespace not found

Symptom:

error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'GameScene' could not be found

Solution:

1. Check namespace matches folder:

   // File: Scenes/GameScene.cs
   namespace MyGame.Scenes; // Must match

2. Add using statement:

   using MyGame.Scenes;

---

Problem: Assets not found

Symptom:

FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'assets/player.png'

Solution:

1. Copy assets to output:

   <ItemGroup>
     <None Update="assets\**\*">
       <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
     </None>
   </ItemGroup>

2. Use correct path separator:

   // :white_check_mark: Works on all platforms
   "assets/images/player.png"
   
   // :x: Windows only
   "assets\\images\\player.png"

---

Summary

Project Size	Folders	When to Use
Minimal	1-2 files + assets	Prototypes, learning
Standard	Scenes, Behaviors, Systems	Most games
Large	Nested folders	Complex games

Key principles:

Principle	Description
Match folders to namespaces	Scenes/GameScene.cs -> MyGame.Scenes
Group by purpose	Scenes, Behaviors, Systems, Assets
Start small, grow	Add folders as needed
Consistent naming	*Scene.cs, *System.cs, *Component.cs, *Behavior.cs

---

Next Steps

• Configuration - Configure your game
• First Game - Build a complete game
• Scenes - Understand scene architecture

---

Quick Reference

# Standard project structure
MyGame/
├── MyGame.csproj           # Project configuration
├── Program.cs              # Entry point
├── Scenes/                 # Game scenes
│   ├── MenuScene.cs
│   └── GameScene.cs
├── Behaviors/              # Behaviors
│   ├── PlayerMovementBehavior.cs
│   └── EnemyAIBehavior.cs
├── Systems/                # ECS systems
│   └── HealthSystem.cs
└── assets/                 # Game assets
    ├── images/
    ├── audio/
    └── fonts/

// Namespace pattern
// File: Scenes/Gameplay/Level1Scene.cs
namespace MyGame.Scenes.Gameplay;

public class Level1Scene : Scene
{
    // Implementation
}

<!-- Copy assets to output -->
<ItemGroup>
  <None Update="assets\**\*">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </None>
</ItemGroup>

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Ready to configure your game? Check out Configuration!