What do 3-D game programs use to send standard video commands to the device driver?

The answer is "APIs".

Explanation:

APIs stands for application programming interface. It provides an interface between client and server. Several types of APIs are used web-based systems, databases, hardware, and software libraries.

It is also known as an in-built program. APIs interact in the most commonly used shares and embedded game content, libraries, operational systems, applications, etc.