I'm developing a PHP based game, Milkacrea. Currently, I'm using MyBB as the game forums. Beta stage will be ending tomorrow. I'm planning to add in more features before next release. I'm not sure if I shall code my own forums or should I continue to use MyBB. Using self-coded forums will enable to easily integrate it with my game. Using MyBB is more stable - it is develop by a well-reputed team.
I would do whatever saves you the most time and gives the best experience to your users. Most likely that would be using Mybb and developing some plugins to customise your forum with. Users are often familiar with Mybb which is a plus too. 🙂
If you can code, which I presume from your post, then you should know how easy it is to integrate MyBB with other scripts. As well, if you can code a game in PHP, you surely can write any mod needed to make "the magic happen".
I actually have found phpBB to be easier to integrate. I integrated an online store (here) with a phpBB forum (here). It realizes if a member is logged in or not. It also can allow members to pay for items with either cash (PayPal) or with forum currency.
Pretty easy actually and, like I said, if you can code PHP then you should be able to easily integrate your game with your forum.
