what else is needed?

[sony]

beside lightwave, what else is needed to create a video game beside learning how to, what programs do i need?

[Lamont]

MS has Visual C studio for free.
Some way to paint textures (photoshop/Gimp/Artrage etc..).
Some way to sculpt in detail (ZBrush, Mudbox and that Cherry something app on Flay).
Some open source engine (Ogre is a good one).
Or buy an off the shelf engine.
Or if you know how, write one from scratch.
A way to bake down information (xNormal or that plugin for LW).
Maybe you want to paint on the mesh? (3DCoat or ZB?).

[UnCommonGrafx]

Hmm, so the game engine material has to be compiled?

[Lamont]

Hmm, so the game engine material has to be compiled?Depends on how you want to do materials.

[particledecay]

How comfortable are you with application development?

If you are serious about wanting to learn about how a game is developed, and are already a confident dev then you'll benefit from looking at an open source engine or try writing one yourself.

I'm guessing that you are actually focussing on learning art or gameplay / scripting? My experience of learning with compiled apps was a frustrating one as I didn't want to know how to do that and it just got in the way. If that sounds like you then I'd suggest avoiding compiled apps and taking the simplest path.

I valued:

ease of use for artists and scripters
an active forum community that shares and teaches each other
variety of target platforms (to see it play in context and show it via web somehow)
common scripting language (is there a language you're already familiar with that'll save you time?)
good looking examples and tutorials
a manual that was easy to read


I've only tried a handful of engines but when the fit was wrong for me it was a nightmare, so I'd suggest you try a few before you invest too much time in one, and explore each vendor's forums.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_engines#Freeware_engines
http://www.technicat.com/games/tools.html
http://www.devmaster.net/engines/

[shrox]

Rad 3d seems decent. It's free. I've been looking at it, well, I just installed it after downloading it weeks ago...

[Traveler]

To be honest, you're asking the wrong question. (It's like asking, 'I have a hammer, I want to create a building, now what else do I need?')

Seriously, what kind of game is it that you want to make? Do you want it to be 2d or 3d? (engine choice) Single player/ multi player. Do you want it to be a console game (XNA?), Windows (DirectX) or do you perhaps want to support Macs and/or Linux too (Opengl). Etc, etc...

Generally I'd say take Lightwave to build you assets, use PhotoShop to manage and post process them. Then take you're favorite language and code until you have your game. You may also find Audacity useful for the sound effects.

There are alternatives, that require no or very little programming experience such as Games Factory or Game Maker.

[borkus]

That Project Sandbox looks interesting. You won't make Crysis with it, but I'm not nearly on that level anyway... There forums also looked promising with info.