Irrlicht is a free open-source cross-platform real-time 3D engine written in C++. The engine is free for open source and commercial use under the zlib/libpng license.
Irrlicht, like others 3D engines (Ogre, Unity, CrystalSpace, …), enables you to create 3D games and programs without having to deal with low level details.
In a few lines of code, you can load a complex mesh created in a 3D modeling software like Blender, apply a texture to it, add some lighting, fog and other visual effects, render it and even animate it.
For a complete description of the features of the engine, checkout the list of features.
Useful links
- Official website
- Complete API documentation built with Doxygen
- Nice tutorials to get started really quick
- SVN repository, the entire source is available under a zlib/libpng license.