I've got some free time coming up over the holidays and am finally going to get around to building/prototyping a video game I've been building in my head for a few years. Now I'm just looking for a game engine that is:
- Free
- Nice API
- Easy to extend
The language doesn't really matter. This is really a prototype and I'm comfortable learning new languages (as this is mostly going to be a hobby project).
The type of game I am planning to build is basically a top-down 2-D space combat game. The player will control a little spaceship and battle other little space ships. That's the core of the game. I plan to add other fun little features, but basically any game engine that lends itself to top-down views is preferred.
Due to the nature of the game I want to build, I am asking a separate question than several of the other questions about game engines that have previously been asked.