Game Engine

Right...do you mean you're trying to start using OpenGL to render? If so, you should take a look NeHe's OpenGL tutorials.

If you are actually talking about writing a "graphics engine", I'll tell you right now: the place to start with programming is not creating a render system or game engine. Render systems and game engines, even the relatively simple ones, are large and very, very complex software systems; they take teams of experts years to write.

By all means, start by using a game engine. Get yourself something moddable like Half-Life, Half-Life 2 or Doom 3, download their Software Development Kit (SDK) and modding tools, find yourself some modding tutorials, and start experimenting. Or just start by writing some small, simple games. Starting on a monolithic project you're never likely to finish is bad. However, if you do a series of smaller projects, and finish them, the sense of achievement is great and you'll have something that you can show to others as proof of your skills. As you progress, you can build up to bigger and bigger projects.

Good luck [smile]