3D Game Engines provide game designers with the framework to create games. The core functions of 3D game engines are the following :
- rendering
- animation
- scripting
- sound generation
- collision detection (physics engine)
- networking
- threading
- memory management
- artificial intelligence
The following 3D game engines are relevant in the context of embodied virtual agents :
Other renowned 3D game engines are listed hereafter :
- Unreal Engine 3 (free educational version available)
- CryEngine 3 (free version available)
- Source Engine (Source SDK available free of charge with purchase of a source-based game)
- Torque3D (open source)
- Neoaxis (free educational version available)
- C4 Engine (free academic version available)
- Shiva 3D (free web version available)
-
Esenthel Engine (free non-commercial version available)
- IDTech 4 (open source)
- Leadwerks (no free version available, but low prices for licences)
- Gameplay 3D (open source)
Some 3D renderers are sometimes listed as 3D game engines, for example :
- Ogre 3D (open source)
- Irrlicht Engine (open source)
More informations about 3D game engines are available at the following links :
- 15 Recommended 3D Game Engines, by Alex Galuzin
- What Level Editor and Game Engine Should You Use – (How to Choose), by Alex Galuzin
- List of game engines (Wikipedia)
- 100 Most Popular Engines Today, by ModDB
- 19 Free 3D Game Engines to create your own 3D Games, by txzoneAdmin