Top 5 Recommended Game Engine Makers to Build 3D Games

Like most people, I fell in love with gaming at a young age.

16:33 18 December 2020

I've seen the evolution of video game culture go from moving tiny pixels around a flat world, to exploring worlds and characters in the most amazing life-like graphics.

 

If you love gaming as much as I do, then you've also probably considered becoming a game designer to create epic games. So to start, you will need two things; a great idea for a game and the best game engines too.

 

Now, my job is to let you know which game development platform is worth your time.

 

What is a Game Engine?

 

If you are very new to the world of game design, you might not know what a game maker engine actually is - I used to think it was a fancy term for a computer.

 

Essentially, it is game software that developers use to create their games. Just like you would use Microsoft Word to write things or Microsoft paint to paint things, (although 'paint' might not be the right word for how the pictures always turned out).

 

So, the game engine will provide you with all the digital tools you'll need to build whatever amazing vision you have trapped in your imagination.

 

Another term that is useful to know is the 'Open Source' game engine. This is just another strange way to say that it's a way to make a game that can be altered and changed.

 

Top 5 Game Engines for 3D Game Development

 

If you are in the market for a games engine, this list is the best place to start.

 

1. Unreal Engine

 

You may not have heard about Unreal Engine 4 before, but you've most likely played games that use this software- most notably Fortnite and Batman: Arkham Origins.

 

I would advise using this if you have some truly unreal games to create. This engine has tools like the real-time game preview, film-quality visual effects, a complete audio system, dynamic shadows, and more.

 

All this means is that you can create outstanding visuals for your video games, so graphics that wouldn't look bad compared to big-budget films. These high-quality video games are called AAA titles in the industry; there's a lot of new programming language to be learned.

 

2. Godot

 

Godot is an open-source, cross-platform (meaning that you can play the games on different devices) game engine tailored to beginner gaming designers for those not looking to reinvent the wheel; their words, not mine.

 

The drag and drop tool, user-friendly design, and huge online community has helped create an easy-to-use system, with pretty much no learning curve. Meaning you can get started almost immediately without getting lost just trying to get started that happens with the more complicated ones. Trust me.

 

This is also completely free to use, you own all the source code, so there's no risk if you don't enjoy it or you are not so good at it. It also means if you create anything great, you keep all the money it makes.

 

3. GameMaker

 

I know this is a list for engines to build a game in 3D, but if you are just starting off, I would recommend using GameMaker. (Maybe also beginning with a simpler 2D game too).

 

Start off with a simple 2D mobile game to learn the basics about building video games. Also, mobile games are worth billions now. If you make the next Flappy Bird, make sure it will work on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, so you can really cash in.

 

4. Amazon Lumberyard

 

Like everything Amazon is involved with, this open-source engine is outstanding. I'm waiting for someone to make a The Boys game using this.

 

Lumberyard has a fluid design process which can handle anything from virtual reality to immense film level graphics. But what really makes this a unique engine is the integration it has with Amazon.

 

Games designed with Lumberyard can be connected to the cloud allowing for live news updates, leaderboards, or other dynamic content in just a few minutes.

 

The integration also allows the creator of the game to interact with the fans and gamers on their live streaming video, so you can see what people think to improve on your next game.

 

5. Unity 3D

 

In your search for the top game engines in 3D, you'll surely find Unity 3D. This system is used for 60% of Virtual and Augmented Reality gaming.

 

The reasons that so many video games are created with this system is due to the powerful physics engine (this is what makes the physics like gravity in the game), detailed particle systems (makes life-like textures), and ultra-fast rendering time.

 

This is the best game engine for not only indie game designers, but for professional game developers as well.

 

Overall, this isn’t a comprehensive list, but it’s a solid compilation of some of the best game engines available on the market.