Since most independent or hobby game developers can’t afford hi-tech engines like the Unreal engine, and writing one yourself - even a simple one - is a complicated and time consuming process, Nuclex has made a list of seven engines you should know. Here’s the short version:

  • C4 Engine
  • Ogre 3D
  • Irrlicht
  • Torque
  • Crystal Space
  • NeoEngine
  • Unity 3D

The author of the article shares my opinion on Torque about the documentation. Now, I’m using the 2D version and I assume he’s talking about the 3D engine. Furthermore, the source code is said to be quite ugly and hard to understand. Of course, since I don’t use the source code, this isn’t really an issue for me, and every time I couldn’t find the answer to my problems in the documentation I could always find help in the forums.
The engine of choice, according to Nuclex, is the C4 Game Engine. The screenshots and features look quite impressive, and pricing starts at $150 for the student license. The standard license, wich is what most indie developers will use, costs $200.