I remember, and I still think, that one cannot even make a prototyped 3D game to test just simple behaviors without using gigantic tools like unity or knowing extensive C++ programming, design patterns, a decent or basic 3D engine, etc.
Now I'm wondering, since I know programming, whether I'm even more lucky than the ones who need to learn programming before knowing how to make something. Even scripted engines such as Unity are not for kids, and to my sense they tend to dictate their ways of doing things. This is not the case with engine like Ogre or Irrlicht.
Now I'm thinking that character-driven games occupy a big part of the game market. Do you think it is a good idea to make a character-control oriented game engine which only allows building AI to the exclusion of anything else?
When I say prototype, I also mean "generic" in the sense that one can quickly choose from a set of gameplay parameters such as the scene manager, the camera POV of the player, the controls, some very basic collisions/physics, and integration of basic steering (OpenSteer for example). The main idea is to make an AI sandbox but in 3D, so it can be demonstrated without the 2D constraints (and also make it more fit to prototype in 3D for a 3D project instead of 2D).