General purpose libraries

These are libraries that tend to encompass several areas of the game, often providing a whole framework to work within. Good for beginners or those more interested in quickly having a finished product as opposed to fine-tuning many individual aspects,

3D Graphics

These libraries primarily deal with rendering of 3D models and scenery. They've been split into two fairly arbitrary categories, but in fact there is a continuum from massive feature-rich engines to simple add-in libraries.

'Engines'

This section contains largely complete systems that - in theory - you can just bolt your game onto. The bias is towards feature completeness.

'Libraries'

This section lists self-contained units of functionality relevant to 3D applications. Typically you add these into your games, or they provide a minimal framework which you code your game around. The bias is towards flexibility.

2D Graphics

2D graphics libraries typically specialise in rendering sprites and GUI elements. Some may use underlying 3D acceleration functionality, and some may not.

Video

These libraries are for decoding and displaying real-time video, useful for FMV cut scenes and the like.

Image and Font Handling

Libraries in this section handle the loading and setup of graphics formats, whether simple bitmap images or vector formats commonly used for fonts/typefaces.

Images

Fonts