A 3D engine is software that handles the representation, rendering, physics simulation, and animation of three-dimensional scenes, providing an abstraction layer over GPU hardware and platform-specific graphics APIs so developers can build interactive applications and simulations without writing low-level graphics code.
Semantic Classification
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- A 3D engine manages geometry, materials, lighting, and cameras to produce images of a virtual scene. It typically drives the graphics processor through a rendering pipeline and may include subsystems for physics, animation, and audio.
- These engines provide tools and abstractions so that developers can build interactive applications without writing low-level graphics code for each platform. They are used in games, simulations, and visualisation.