// the find
17cupsofcoffee/tetra
🎮 A simple 2D game framework written in Rust
Tetra is a 2D game framework for Rust built on SDL2 + OpenGL 3.2, targeting the XNA/MonoGame crowd who want a familiar game loop and explicit control without a full engine. It's been in passive maintenance since January 2022 — the author said so publicly and recommends macroquad or GGEZ instead. Pick this if you're studying a well-structured Rust game framework, not if you're starting a new project.
Deterministic fixed timestep baked in by default (Fix Your Timestep pattern) — most frameworks make you wire this yourself. Draw call batching is on by default, so you won't accidentally tank performance with naive sprite rendering. The example set is genuinely broad: ECS integration, instancing, stencil, shaders, nineslice, interpolation — rare for a 1k-star project. API ergonomics are clean; the State trait and ContextBuilder pattern make the entry point obvious.
Officially in passive maintenance — the author pointed people to alternatives in 2022 and no new features are coming. SDL2 as a dependency is still a native-library install requirement, which is a real friction point on Windows and CI. No WASM/web target, which is table stakes for indie Rust game dev in 2025. Text rendering is bitmap-font only via bmfont format; no TTF-at-runtime without baking first, which limits dynamic UI.