Hey all!

Stack exchange redirected me here to ask this, but anyway.

I am currently in a concept stage of designing a 3D game, however I am having trouble deciding what game engine I should use.

Some requirements would be:

• Designer-oriented
• Similar to Source in visuals
• Doesn't have to be very good when it comes to realism, i.e:

http://www.gamerzines.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/c1a0_release11_001.jpg , great

http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/04/Crysis-3-1.jpg , over the top

• Life-like lighting

Also, the game engine does not have to be modified much when it comes to programming.

Anyway, what would be the game engine suited to the requirements I need?

A couple of options to look at:

Unity. The homepage is currently showcasing the engine's 2d capabilities, but that's only because they were just added in the latest release. It's a mature and very capable engine that should have no problem with the level of visuals you want to achieve. You'll need a pro licence (US$1500) for high quality writing, but you could do almost all of your development with the free version before making the purchase. You can program in C#, UnityScript (very similar to JavaScript), or Boo (very similar to Python), or if you purchase the Playmaker add-on ($65) you can use a visual editor instead of programming at all.

UDK. I don't personally know as much about this one, but it's definitely capable of what you're after and again you can start development for free; it's then just $99 when you want to publish, and royalty payments if you make over $50,000. You should be able to find out more on the website and in the faq.

Leadwerks. Again, well supported and capable of what you want to do. Programming in C++ or Lua, and again there's some form of visual editor offered.

I remember someone suggesting a pretty capable looking 3d engine that didn't require any programming recently, but unfortunately I can't for the life of me remember what it was or where the recommendation was. Hopefully someone else might know what it was!

All of these can be tried for free, so I'd suggest checking out any of them that seem interesting. I'm sure others will have some good alternative suggestions and further feedback on these ones as well.

For reference, you can achieve the "less real" look you're after with the right artwork even if the engine is capable of "better".

Hope that helps give you a starting point. :)

I recommend http://mycryengine.com/ because you showed a image of Crysis, it's similar to UDK and both will require a good team if you want to make games like the ones in your examples.

Unless you want a serious headache, forget UDK and Cryengine. Just go with Unity!

Big fan of Unity...

But I think more importantly, pick a handful and select which one is more intuitive to your own personal preferences. Anything Unity can do, UDK and CryEngine can do (and vice versa). I just happened to pick up Unity, and it just kinda "fit" me.

Try them all, see what you seem to pick up the easiest. Chances are if it fits you, you can find a way to make it work for whatever your needs are.

I tried out the UDK and found it pretty good.

But others have warned that the UDK is not great for single-devs so I tried out Unity.

I seriously can't figure out the unity interface at all.

I've read tutorials and watched videos but I find it hard on how to actually use it as fast as using the UDK or Source SDK.

Also, I said that I don't want a life-like look, so no CryEngine.

Also, FPS dev in Unity seems sort of... long to implment to my suitings.

But I try to develop some type of level in the UDK and Unity in a week time and post what I think for future people reading this (that have the same needs).

Posting a new topic about 3D Modeling Choices.

Also, I said that I don't want a life-like look, so no CryEngine.

As I mentioned earlier, a large part of that will be about the art assets you use, and about the effects applied. You can make a non-realistic game with CryEngine just as easily as with any of the other options.

Given your listed requirements however, I would definitely not describe CryEngine as "designer friendly".

Unity comes with more scripts for fps than anything else...