I want to differentiate between "game engine" and "framework" here, even knowing the distinction is subjective. To me a game engine includes UI elements that p

I want to differentiate between "game engine" and "framework" here, even knowing the distinction is subjective. To me a game engine includes UI elements that package the entire process of game development into a coherent application. Sprite editors, code editors, asset management, physics, all in a neat package. Bonus points I guess for coming up with a quirky bespoke internal scripting language that only gets used with that engine. You can wind up with a utility library that makes writing games easier but to me that still isn't a "game engine" per se. And I think that's the really difficult part. Everyone probably just uses DearImGUI anyway but that's still an entire layer of abstraction and difficulty on top of writing the game utility code itself, and it encompasses things most developers won't find fun or interesting or even may not know how to do. How do you support multiple platforms? How do you deal with data files? How do you import and export a project? Handle input? Sound? You got a triangle on screen? Great! Now you have to implement the rest of the universe - textures, lighting, UV mapping, shaders, models, skeletons, rigging, animations. Now do physics. Every single aspect of engine design is an entire discipline unto itself. Of course it also matters how specifically tailored and non-general you want to make an engine. Engines exist just for making RPGs or visual novels. But even then, to me, it isn't an "engine" unless it's packaged into a GUI with coherent design principles.