Done Some 2D Game Design, Now Want To Move To 3D

I have used PyGame for a while now, and quite enjoyed doing so, but only 2D experience is not going to cut it when I apply for video game jobs, and besides, I have a number of ideas I want to try out in 3D. What 3D library should I go into first? I was consider开发者_StackOverflowing Irrlicht, which will also force me to work on my C++ again, but I was also looking towards XNA, as it would be cool to write 360 games. Any suggestions?

You can try Unity3D http://unity3d.com/. In the fall they released their engine for free that is cross platform (Mac, Win and possible Linux) and it can also be targeted for iPhone and web browser and is starting to build an open community and looks promising.

I've done some XNA stuff and the Unity tools look pretty good in comparison making it easier to get content into your games.

In my opinion, going with Irrlicht or OGRE is a good idea. It will help you get back in touch with C++ and experiment with 3D without making it too easy. It is a good idea to learn XNA as well and build a few 3D game prototypes there.

Summary: Do both, eventually. Learn OpenGL/DirectX later.

All the best.

XNA Game Studio is a fantastic framework and let's users jump into creating games quite quickly if you are comfortable with the .NET Framework.

However, if you decide that you want to move to the 3D world, you have 1 more dimension to take into consideration and it makes things exponentially harder. Simple collision detection, isn't so simple anymore. However, with the vast amount of information available for XNA Game Studio, you should find yourself getting to grips with the 3rd dimension quite quickly.

If you haven't done the whole Nehe type tutorials, it's probably best to play with the API, so that you get comfortable with it.

1. Create a Triangle
2. Spin the Triangle
3. Color the Triangle
4. Load some assets (models and textures) and render them
5. Try your hand at Alpha Blending

Take into consideration that XNA Game Studio does not have a fixed function pipeline and you will have to use Shaders (HLSL).

I have personally used Irrlicht, Ogre3d, Unity & Xna. Because you want to do this to help for when you apply for jobs in the game industry in my opinion I would suggest Irrlicht as you will want to work on your c++ skills. I also suggest Irrlicht as it is a 3D engine not a specific game engine which will allow you to work on your physics and maths skills as well which are highly sought after in the games industry.

I would suggest avoiding Unity if you are looking for experience to take to industry as it is a package that handles a lot for you and as such could limit your learning.

Ogre3D is a viable option as it is similar to Irlicht, maybe look into the tools available to help you make a choice between those two.

Xna is another interesting choice, it will give you a lot of chances to learn as Irrlicht could and there are a huge amount of resources to help you learn but at the same time you lose the c++ experience that comes with irrlicht.