16 Recommended 3D Game Engines (Updated)
Updated (April 27, 2015): This post has been updated with an additional game engine, updated links and new information that was outdated.
If you ever wanted to take your skill further into game development and game design, you will need to begin exploring the world of game engines. Game engines will provide you with the framework that game designers use to create games.
Make sure to check out all the tutorials within this series listed below:
Level Editors/Game Engines Series:16 Recommended 3D Game Engines
"The core functionality typically provided by a game engine includes a rendering engine ("renderer") for 2D or 3D graphics, a physics engine or collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, and a scene graph. The process of game development is often economized, in large part, by reusing/adapting the same game engine to create different games, or to make it easier to "port" games to multiple platforms." - (wikipedia.org/Game Engine)
Few examples of games and game engines used to create them are:
Games: Dota 2, Half Life 2 series, Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Left4Dead, Left4Dead 2, Portal 1 and 2
Game Engine: Source Engine wikipedia.org/Source
Game Engine: Source Engine wikipedia.org/Source
Game: Hitman Absolution
Game Engine: Glacier 2
Game Engine: Glacier 2
Game: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Need for Speed: The Run
Game Engine: FrostBite 2 wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostbite
Game Engine: FrostBite 2 wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostbite
Games: Mass Effect Series, Dishonored, Bioshock Infinite, Batman: Arkham Asylum and City and hundreds more
Game Engine: Unreal Engine www.unrealengine.com
Game Engine: Unreal Engine www.unrealengine.com
Game: Crysis 2 and 3
Game Engine: CryEngine 3 www.crytek.com/cryengine
Game Engine: CryEngine 3 www.crytek.com/cryengine
Not every game engine is available to download to try without paying for a license first. However there are many free game engines, open source engines and non-commercial versions that you could work with and download right now.
In this blog post I will provide you with options and links to few game engine, their features and download page so you can make a better decision on which one is right for you.
I limit the list to essential few game engines because they are:
- available to download right now for free (easy access to try and test)
- few are open source
- few I have used myself and recommend them
So, for those who are interested in going a bit further into game development, to explore new technologies to showcase your game environments in or just curious behind game engine technology; here are 16 suggestions of game engines you can get your hands on right now.
Here is the full list of game engines in this article:
- Unreal Engine 4
- UDK (Unreal Engine 3)
- CryEngine 3 SDK
- Source Engine
- Unity3D
- Leadwerks
- Torque3D
- Blender
- Neoaxis
- C4 Engine
- Shive 3D
- Panda 3D
- Esenthel Engine
- iDTech 4
- Ogre3D (Rendering Engine)
- Irrlicht Engine (Rendering Engine)
UNREAL ENGINE 4
Unreal Engine 4 is the new version of one of the most widely used game engines out there; the Unreal Engine. It features new interface, new material pipeline of physically-based shaders, Blueprint visual scripting, DirectX11 rendering, improved lighting and the list can go on. But you may want to check out all the features yourself.
Unreal Engine 4 is now offered as a free download. It did require a monthly subscription fee but that is no longer the case.
Features: Unreal Engine 4 features
Download: Download Unreal Engine 4
UNREAL ENGINE 3
Unreal Engine 3 is the complete toolset to create your own games. It is a very widely used game engine in the industry. Unreal Engine is very versatile and has been used to create many triple A games such as: Batman: Arkham City, Gears of War Series, Borderlands Series. For a full list of Unreal Engine games go here: Wikipedia.org list of Unreal Engine games. Unreal Engine is one of my favorite engines to work with. UDK is a free educational version of the engine, with commercial license available if you want to take your project further and sell it.
Features: Unreal Engine features
Download: Download UDK
CRYENGINE 3
CryEngine 3 has been used in games such as Crysis 2, Crysis 3 and Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. Just like Unreal Engine 3, CryEngine 3 is the complete toolset for game development. CryEngine 3 has been used as a benchmark for visual graphics for some time and it continues to push the limit what games are capable of. One of CryEngine's features is its ability to produce huge beautiful, highly detailed landscapes.
CryEngine 3 SDK is now on Steam and requires a monthly subscription service. You can also choose a full license but for independent game developers and hobbyist, Steam subscription will be enough.
You can still find a free version of CryEngine 3 SDK somewhere online. I believe the last free version was 3.5.8 but it is no longer being updated by Crytek. For new updates and new version of the game engine you will need to sign up for subscription service.
Free version of CryEngine 3 SDK is still available with all the necessary tools to start creation your own worlds or your own game.
Features: Cryengine3 features
Download: CryEngine 3 SDK download
SOURCE ENGINE
Source Engine has been used very extensively in the modding community with hundreds if not thousands of mods available. Source Engine is a bit outdated, yet still very powerful. It has been used to create games such as Half Life 2 series, Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Left4Dead, Left4Dead 2, Portal 1 and 2. Each game has a huge community behind it with new content always being released. I love using Source Engine because of its games. You can get your hands on the engine by downloading any of Valve's released games on Steam. If you are interested in licensing Source for commercial project gohere.
Eventually Source is going to get an update to Source 2 with unconfirmed and possible releases of Half-Life 3 and Left4Dead 3.
I myself can't wait for the day that happens.
Features: Source Engine Features
Download: Use Steam to download SourceSDK and level editors for each of Valve's games. See this tutorial.
UNITY3D
Unity3D has been a very popular choice among developers. Full pledge game engine featuring everything you would need to create full 3d or 2d games with multi-platform support right out of the box. Easy engine to get into and begin using. Unity has a free indie version as well as commercial license version. Latest version of Unity offers DirectX 11 support.
Features: Unity3D features
Download: Download Unity3D
LEADWERKS
Leadwerks is an OpenGL, 3d game engine. It features deferred lighting system, Screen Space Ambient Occlusion which simulates real-time global illumination, advanced shaders, support for huge terrains and physics. Only engine on this list that does not offer a free version. Although it is set at a reasonable price.
Features: Leadwerks features
Download: Download Leadwerks
TORQUE3D
Originally Torque was developed for 2001 FPS shooter, Tribes 2. Torque is an open source game engine and has been an independent dev favorite for quiet some time. Some features include a world editor, Collada support, per pixel dynamic lighting, normal and parallax occlusion mapping, reflections, sky system, physX, multiple platform publishing and access to source code.
Features: Torque3D features
Download: Download Torque3D
BLENDER
Blender is a free and open-source 3D content creation suite. It includes tools for animation, compositing, 3D modeling, uv unwrapping, texturing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke, particle system, physics and rendering. It also has a built-in game engine. The game engine is written in C++ and includes support for Python scripting and OpenAL 3D sound. I like Blender because it is the only free alternative that I know of to Maya/3dsMax as a modeling/animation software.
Features: Blender features
Download: Download Blender
NEOAXIS
Neoaxis has all the features of a modern engine such as advanced material and shading support, real-time shadows, built-in Nvidia physX and current/next-gen rendering. It comes with complete pipeline SDK, including a map editor. When you download the free educational version of the engine it comes with example files for first person shooter with multiplayer support, real-time strategy and 3rd person shooter. There is a free non-commercial SDK available to download.
Neoaxis 3D engine has now complete free, you can read more about here.
Features: Neoaxis features
Download: Download Neoaxis
C4 ENGINE
C4 Engine is full 3d game engine featuring dynamic lighting, stencil and cascaded shadows, advanced shader support, terrain and scene management such as portals, occlusion and level of detail. There is a standard and professional editions available. As well as free academic version to download.
Features: C4Engine features
Download: Demo download include all the tools that ship with the full version.
SHIVA 3D
Shiva3D is a 3d game engine that is designed for web, console and mobile games and applications. Engine can run in OpenGL, DirecX and software modes. Some features include Nvidia physX, compound dynamic body, point light shadows, per-vertex per-pixel and lightmapping. Shiva3D has a free web edition of the engine, with ability to publish your games online.
Features: Shiva3D features
Download: Download Shiva3D
PANDA 3D
Panda3D is open source game engine and 3d rendering engine using Python and C++. Some features include physics, particle effects, GUI creation, AI, OpenGL/DirectX, render to texture and advanced shaders (normals, gloss, glow maps, HDR, cel shading).
Features: Panda3D features
Download: Download Panda3D
ESENTHEL ENGINE
Esenthel Engine is a complete game development suit that offers ability to create fully featured triple A games. It provides the developer with rich toolset simplifying the game development process. The engine supports wide array of rendering, animation, physics, memory and network. Different licenses include a free non-commercial version as well as personal and company license.
Features: Esenthel features
Download: Download Esenthel
IDTECH 4
idTech4 is a game engine that powers games such as Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey and Brink. John Carmack released idTech 4 source code at the end of 2011 as open source. Some features include unified lighting and shadowing, shadow volumes and mega texture.
Features: iDTech4 features
Download: ModDB.com download iDTech 4
OGRE3D
Ogre3D is an open source rendering engine. It is not a game engine, but a 3d rendering engine. It allows game developers to utilize hardware-accelerated 3D graphics into their own engine. It features object-oriented design, multi-platform with OpenGL and Direct3D support, landscape scene manager, animation engine and content exporters for most 3d modeling software.
Features: Ogre3d.org features
Download: Download Ogre3d
IRRLICHT ENGINE
Cross-platform real-time 3d renderingengine using Direct3D and OpenGL. Irrlicht is not a game engine but a 3d rendering engine. Includes features such as dynamic shadows, particle system, character animation system, indoor/outdoor rendering, collision detection, lightmapping, direct import of common 3d mesh file formats and simple collision. It is platform independent. Irrlicht is open source.
Features: Irrlicht features
Download: Downloads Irrlicht
For a full list of various game engines see the following links:
Any other game engines you think should have been included? Let us know on WoLD Forum thread: Recommended 3D Game Engines.
Read Next: 15 Recommended Level Design Editors
12 Recommended Level Design Editors for Download
CATEGORY: LEVEL DESIGN
DECEMBER 10, 2012
There are a lot of level design editors (map editors) available. From original Half Life and Team Fortress to more current games such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Crysis 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Skyrim.
If you have been following World of Level Design, I primarily focus on level design and environment art for first-person shooter games. But level editors are just tools to get your ideas into players hands. Many of the level editors I list have been used for other game genres. From racing to 2D top down shooters to puzzles and third person action games.
Following is a list of level editors you can download and begin using. Below you will find editors that I either I have used in the past, continue to use or recommend to use.
Make sure to check out all the tutorials within this series listed below:
Level Editors/Game Engines Series:12 Recommended Level Design Editors
First, let me cover the basics of what a level editor is. If you are familiar with level design, feel free to skip this section.
What is a Level Editor (Map Editor?)
Level editor is software that is used to create levels/maps for a specific game engine and specific game. Level editor allows level designers to create the world that the player will navigate, interact with and play in.
Level designers are able to create new mission types, new worlds, and new content for a game without modifying any code to the game engine itself. Level editors usually come packaged with the game engine as part of the toolset for game designers. Then the level editor is configured for a specific game.
So if you want to create new maps for Left4Dead2 you would need to download the L4D2 Authoring Tools. These mod tools will give you access to the level editor and everything you need to create custom map campaigns to add to the world of L4D2. Same goes for any other level editor (map editor). In order to map for Call of Duty Black Ops, you need to download the SDK toolset with the level editor for Black Ops. You cannot use L4D2 level editor to create maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops or vice versa.
Level editor usually comes bundled with the game engine and its tools, also known as SDK or Software Development Kit (Mod Tools). More on Game Engines and SDK in this tutorial.
Level editors are either shipped with the game or released later as a download. Usually the level editing tools become available as a download after the game is out. Many level editors are never released to the public and are only used in-studio where the game was created.
So if you ever wanted to create new maps, new missions, new worlds to an already existing game, this list will give you options to do so.
Lets go through WoLD recommended level editor list:
1. UNREAL EDITOR / UDK
Level Editor: Unreal Editor, UDK Editor
Game Engine: Unreal Engine 3, (UDK)
(Wikipedia.org Unreal Engine)
(Wikipedia.org Unreal Engine)
Games: Unreal Tournament 3, Bioshock 1/2, Bioshock Infinite, Gears of War Series, Borderlands 1/2, Dishonored and many, many more.
(Wikipedia.org - Unreal Engine Game List)
(Wikipedia.org - Unreal Engine Game List)
Download Option 1: UDK (Unreal Development Kit)/Unreal Engine 3
www.unrealengine.com/downloads/
www.unrealengine.com/downloads/
Download Option 2: If you want to go back to an earlier version of Unreal Engine and map for Unreal Tournament 2k4 or UT3, you will need a copy of each game.
Download Option 3: All other options will depend on a game that uses Unreal Engine 3 and made its Mod Tools available for download.
Tutorials UDK: UDK Tutorials
2. HAMMER SOURCE
Level Editor: Hammer Source Level Editor
Game Engine: Source Engine
(Wikipedia.org Source Game Engine)
(Wikipedia.org Source Game Engine)
Games: L4D2/L4D1, CS: GO, CS:S, Day of Defeat: Source, Half-Life 2 and its Episodes, Portal 1 and 2, Team Fortress 2.
TF2 is free to play and download from steam. You can also get authoring tools to level editor for free.
Download: You will need a copy of the game and Steam. You can download Source Level Editor and full SDK. Tutorial how to download Source Engine Level Editors.
Tutorials: Left 4 Dead 2 Tutorials, Left 4 Dead 1 Tutorials, Counter-Strike Global Offensive Tutorials
3. SANDBOX EDITOR / CRYENGINE 3 SDK
Level Editor: Sandbox Editor
Game Engine: CryEngine 3
(Wikipedia.org - CryEngine)
(Wikipedia.org - CryEngine)
Games: Crysis 1, 2 and 3, Warface, Homefront 2
(Wikipedia.org - CryEngine Game List)
(Wikipedia.org - CryEngine Game List)
Download Option 1: CryEngine 3 SDK is a free download from CryDev.net
Download Option 2: Purchase Crysis 2 and download Sandbox Editor here from Crydev.net
Tutorials: CryEngine 3 SDK Tutorials
4. SCENE EDITOR / UNITY3D
Level Editor: Scene Editor
Game Engine: Unity3D
(Wikipedia.org Unity Game Engine)
(Wikipedia.org Unity Game Engine)
Games: Need For Speed World, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Wolf Quest, Global Conflicts.
(Unity3D Game List)
(Unity3D Game List)
Download: Download Unity3D from Unity3d.com
5. CREATION KIT (SKYRIM)
Level Editor: Creation Kit
Game Engine: Creation Engine
Games: Skyrim
Download: Download Skyrim Creation Kit through Steam. You must own a copy of Skyrim.
Tutorials: Creation Kit Wiki page http://www.creationkit.com/
6. GTKRADIANT (QUAKE 3, RTCOW, SOF2...)
Level Editor: GtkRadiant
(Wikipedia.org GtkRadiant)
(Wikipedia.org GtkRadiant)
Game Engine: id Tech 3
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech_3)
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech_3)
Games: Return to Castle of Wolfenstein, Solider of Fortune 2, Quake Live, Quake III Arena, Urban Terror, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Jedi Academy.
Download: Download the level editor here from Icculus.org
7. D3RADIANT (DOOM 3/THE DARK MOD)
Level Editor: D3Radiant
Game Engine: id Tech 4
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech 4)
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech 4)
Games: Doom 3
Download Option 1: Copy of the game Doom 3 comes bundled with a level editor.
Download Option 2: Download D3Radiant for DarkMod, Thief inspired modification of Doom3 game engine here from Darkradiant.Sourceforge.net. For more info on The Dark Mod modification visit their website.
8. GTKRADIANT (QUAKE 4)
Level Editor: GtkRadiant
(Wikipedia.org GtkRadiant)
(Wikipedia.org GtkRadiant)
Game Engine: id Tech 4
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech 4)
(Wikipedia.org Id Tech 4)
Games: Quake 4, Brink, Prey
Download: Download Quake 4 level editor here from Iddevnet.com
9. SERIOUS LEVEL EDITOR (SERIOUS SAM SERIES)
Level Editor: Serious Level Editor
Game Engine: Serious Engine
Games: Serious Sam Series
Download Option 1: You have to own the game and download mod tools through Steam.
Download Option 2: If you want earlier versions of Series Sam level editor, you will need a copy of the game and download the level editor.
Link: Croteam website has a lot of additional tools, maps and files for level editing for all the Serious Sam games.
10. GTKRADIANT (CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE)
Level Editor: GtkRadiant
(Wikipedia.org/ GtkRadiant)
(Wikipedia.org/ GtkRadiant)
Game Engine: IW Engine
(Wikipedia.org IW Engine)
(Wikipedia.org IW Engine)
Games: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 1/2
Download Option 1: Mod Tools for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from ModDB.com
Download Option 2: Mod Tools for Call of Duty: Black Ops - you have to own a copy of the game and download mod tools through Steam.
11. CHROMED LEVEL EDITOR
Level Editor: Chromed Level Editor
Game Engine: Chrome 5 (Chrome Engine)
(Wikipedia.org Chrome_Engine)
(Wikipedia.org Chrome_Engine)
Games: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Dead Island
Download Option 1: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood level editor from CoJModding.com
Download Option 2: Dead Island level editor from DeadIslandWiki.com/
Tutorials: http://www.cojmodding.com/
12. G.E.C.K
screenshot: fallout.wikia.com
Level Editor: G.E.C.K
Game Engine: Gamebryo
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
Games: Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas
Download: Download here from BethSoft.com
Tutorials: geck.bethsoft.com/index.php/Main_Page
Following few were user submitted, which didn't make the original list.
13. FAR CRY 3 MAP EDITOR
screenshot: fallout.wikia.com
Level Editor: G.E.C.K
Game Engine: Gamebryo
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
Games: Far Cry 3
Download: Level editor is included with the game.
14. WARCRAFT 3 GAME MAKER
screenshot: fallout.wikia.com
Level Editor: G.E.C.K
Game Engine: Gamebryo
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
(Wikipedia.org Gamebryo)
Games: Far Cry 3
Download: Level editor is included with the game.
Additional Links:
For an extensive full list of other level editors that I didn't list to take a look at this Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_level_editors
Do you use any of the above level editors? Have you tried any or interested in trying? Let us know here on WoLD Forums Recommended Level Design Editors.
