Problem Statement

Asset loading in EngineSquared requires developers to always load files directly from disk. There is no mechanism to embed assets into the executable for production builds, nor a unified API that transparently handles both embedded and disk-based loading. Developers must change their asset-loading code depending on the deployment target.

Proposed Solution

Implement a unified asset loading system that:

• Transparently loads assets whether they are embedded in the binary or present on the filesystem.
• Provides a build-time switch (flag or config) to toggle between production mode (embedded assets) and development mode (direct disk access).
• Requires no code changes when switching between modes.

Example API:

engine.loadAsset("textures/player.png"); // Loads embedded or disk asset based on mode

Alternative Solutions

• Use a virtual filesystem library (e.g., PhysFS) to abstract asset sources — proven approach but adds a dependency.
• Only support embedded assets via a resource-compiler step — simpler but removes the fast-iteration development mode.

Use Cases

• Use case 1: In production, all assets are bundled into the executable for a single-file distribution.
• Use case 2: During development, assets are read directly from disk so artists can edit them without a rebuild.

Impact

• New asset loading API — potentially breaking if the current direct file loading API is replaced.
• May require a resource-compiler step integrated into the xmake build.
• Performance benefit in production (no filesystem overhead for asset lookups).

Implementation Details (optional)

• Define an IAssetSource interface with Embedded and DiskFile implementations.
• Add a build-time ASSET_EMBED flag in xmake.lua to switch modes.
• Use xxd or a similar tool to generate C++ byte arrays from assets at build time for the embedded mode.
• Update documentation with usage and build instructions for both modes.

Additional Context

N/A

Related Issues

• [FEATURE] Add WASM support to enable web content creation #448