2D/3D game developement

[arunpawar]

Hi
I'm interested in 2D game developement.

Which softwares are availale for 2d developement free,paid?
Which scripting language do i need to learn?
How to create cross-platform games?
What i need to startup with 2d-game develoement like graphic engine,tools,design apps etc?
Same questions for the 3d game developement.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks in advance.

[Lashiec]

I think I know the answer to the third question: You need to know how to handle either SDL or OpenGL (Allegro could be used as well), at least for graphics. I don't know about the others

[Ampa]

The answers to your questions are short essays in them selves!

Games can be written in almost any language, for almost any platform, as has been proven time and again, when nerds port Tetris to Casio calculators, and Doom to dishwashers.

It really depends what sort of game you want to create: are you thinking that you want to create the next Halo / Crysis or is Line Rider / Armadillo Run more the kind of thing you are interested in?

The former take teams of a hundred people working at the cutting edge of technology for many years, while the latter will run on decade old machines, and could be written by an individual or small group of friends. The playing-field really is that open!

[tinjaw]

I'm interested in 2D game developement.

That's quite a list you got there.  Those are all great questions. You are definitely on the right track. However, your questions are broad enough that my answers would just be long lists of lists, and that won't help you. May I ask you a few questions so I can better answer yours? First of all, what computer programming experience do you have? If none or very little, I highly recommend purchasing a copy of The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners. I own a copy and think it is an excellent start to learning how to build 2D games. I also suggest you start with 2D games for two reasons: 1) You need to learn about the general aspects of programming games, and 2) It is easier to start off with 2D, as the programming is a bit easier. I can also recommend the game development tools from Garage Games. I like Torque Game Builder for 2D and the Torque Game Engine for 3D.

[arunpawar]

I'm quite intermediate level for programming.

I know java,C++,C and Flash.I just want to start with 2D application first then to 3d.I want to know other than gamemaker and garagegames how many other apps are for 2d and 3d?
Adding more questions to the list:

What is source engine? and graphics engine?
Where can i find sounds for games which are open source?

Please help me by answering question,i have laid them out in such fashion that they can be useful for anyone.

[Gothi[c]]

standalone programs :


http://sphere.sourceforge.net/ : 2d (mainly focused towards rpg games, but not at all limited to that genre) ide based on javascript... (free)

http://gamemaker.nl/ : mainly 2d (but some 3d support


nevermind.

I started writing up this post when a big deja-vu suddenly hit me. I already did this on donationcoder once.

Behold, a huge list for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=5471.msg38337#msg38337

Also, DO read the rest of that thread which is very related to these questions