Infernux: A Python-Native Game Engine with JIT-Accelerated Scripting

Abstract

This report describes Infernux, an open-source game engine that pairs a C++17/Vulkan real-time core with a Python production layer connected through a single pybind11 boundary. To close the throughput gap between Python scripting and native-code engines, Infernux combines two established techniques - batch-oriented data transfer and JIT compilation - into a cohesive engine-level integration: (i) a batch data bridge that transfers per-frame state into contiguous NumPy arrays in one boundary crossing, and (ii) an optional JIT path via Numba that compiles annotated update functions to LLVM machine code with automatic loop parallelization. We compare against Unity 6 as a reference on three workloads; readers should note differences in shading complexity, draw-call batching, and editor tooling maturity between the two engines. Infernux is MIT-licensed and available at https://chenlizheme.github.io/Infernux/.