Please keep this very simple please. I have been meaning to ask for some time now, what exactly is a game engine? as in CryENGINE etc etc. I have oft seen a game uses this particular engine or that particular engine and wondered what on earth was meant by it. As already asked, please keep answers simple if possible.
as i understand it, a game engine is like a framework the game is then built up around it most games that run on the same engine will handle very similarly ( the same way that Call of duty 4+ are all nearly the same, mearly different weapons and maps ) think of it like the Engine of the car...then the game developers build the car around the engine so most cars with the same engine will perform VERY similarly ( depending on how much fluff they bolt on to it ) but expect people to correct me on this
In laymans it's essentially the building blocks / framework for everything you're seeing in front of you and distinctively shows in games which are built around the same 'engine' E.g for the most part, games built under the Unreal 3.0 engine are very similar in appearance as they use the same source.
Download Hammer editor or UDK and have a poke around, should give you a reasonable idea. Its basically a collection of software tools
An engine is a tool set for implementing and managing the various elements of a game/media. Generally a game engine is made up from a collection of smaller and more specialised engines (e.g. graphics engine, physics, sound, animation, AI and so on) that have been combined into one larger development environment for ease of use & management.
Its essentially a program that creates and runs the game I like to think of it as a render program myself thats constantly being fed information and creating new scenes to help your head get around it. I'm not yet amazing at maya but I can create and plays games using it plus other programs, It also has its own script language so I imagine its possible to create an engine from it.
Here is an engine editor in action: UT4 Move to: 4min 55sec Unity The idea of a game engine, is that it allows the developer work on actually producing the game mechanics, story, graphics, collision system, battle system, etc. And not really focus on basic stuff such as lighting, many basics visual effects that is taken for granted today, drawing 2D/3D objects on a scene, physics, and optimize the crap of everything.
You've pretty much nailed it. I know for my work the engine takes the headaches out so I can tell a story.