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I'm wanting to try my hand at making a video game. Are there any free game engines or other free means of making a video game that I can use to make a video game?

I've been pointed to Ogre once, but I was later told it was just a "scene renderer" and not an actual game engine.

There are lots of free engines available, but the best thing for you to do unless you've got a really strong coding background would be to attach yourself to a preexisting project or work on a mod project. Unless you're using an engine designed for non-coders (which aren't usually free and come with pre-fab game code), you're going to need coding skills to make a game from the ground up.

I, myself, started with a program called GameMaker. Fairly limited (2D only), but you can make some pretty good puzzle/arcade/platformers with it. There's a free version that has some restricted features and the paid version is only like $10.

If you want to try your hand at something a little more complex, I understand the Source SDK is pretty flexible. But you have to have a Source game to use it (Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Couter Strike: Source). But just one of those is definately worth the purchase for the game alone, let alone the SDK.

(PS, I've never actually looked into using the Source SDK, so you might want to wait for someone with experience to explain how to get it/use it)

Maveritchell wrote:There are lots of free engines available, but the best thing for you to do unless you've got a really strong coding background would be to attach yourself to a preexisting project or work on a mod project. Unless you're using an engine designed for non-coders (which aren't usually free and come with pre-fab game code), you're going to need coding skills to make a game from the ground up.

I know "go to modding" seems like the most reasonable thing to do, but modding is too limited. As when it comes to downloading a game engine, I realize that there's a high chance that it will be over my head, but I have a shred of hope that there will be tutorials or online support that I can use. All the while, I'm already reading a 12 chapter beginner's guide on programming.

Twilight_Warrior wrote:If you want to try your hand at something a little more complex, I understand the Source SDK is pretty flexible. But you have to have a Source game to use it (Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Couter Strike: Source). But just one of those is definately worth the purchase for the game alone, let alone the SDK.

Too bad I don't have any of those games.

To anyone - I've read someone somewhere else make a post about using SDK with Knights of the Old Republic. Is this possible? KOTOR is something that I'm more likely to get.

Source SDK, programming-wise, is pretty intense, it's all C++. Creating, and not modding, Source is gonna take lots of work, and anyone creating games with it usually will have years of modding experience, and possible some formal education on the topic. The best engine for any developer for whom complexity is not an issue is probably the UDK. It's fun to twiddle around in, and while the level of sophistication is high enough that it requires background coding, for simple stuff, the coding language is fairly easy. There's also the Torque engine. Overall, though, the older engines are probably the best. The older an engine is, the (to a certain extent) less complicated it is. It really depends on what you want to do. Game Maker, as Twilight mentioned, is a really fulfilling system, because it's easy to use and, being 2D, you can create a whole game single-handedly without crazy amounts of work. I worked with it at a very young age, and it was really fun.

It all really depends on what you want and how much of a learning curve you're willing to push yourself over.

I myself am interested in game making as well, not necessarily with potential to be full-time, and I'm learning the UDK. It's hard, yes, but the documentation is ever-growing, it's state-of-the-art, the scripting language I find just about manageable, and with 350,000 installations, all of which didn't cost a dime, it's got lots of support. There are some great forums (not as up to par with GT here, being less organized and less strict, but good enough) and I feel comfortable using it. The best part for me is that it's going to have support for iOS (iphone/ipad/ipod touch) soon, and I love the idea of making a small game for iOS.

Big wall of text over. Start out small and build out. There are lots of possibilities. What are you looking to do?

redgroupclan wrote:I know "go to modding" seems like the most reasonable thing to do, but modding is too limited. As when it comes to downloading a game engine, I realize that there's a high chance that it will be over my head, but I have a shred of hope that there will be tutorials or online support that I can use. All the while, I'm already reading a 12 chapter beginner's guide on programming.

What are you trying to make a game for? Unless you're really interested in going the route of marketing and distributing an indie game, there is no viable reason to make a new game over making a mod. You can still get just as much experience from working on a mod. There is no member of this site for whom modding is really "too limited." If you're not already practiced with programming, making a new game will be over your head. If you were to make something within the scope of your limited programming experience, it would be an unsatisfying project, since all you'd end up with would be at best a simple flash-type game.

Well, if you think it's over my head, I'll stick to GameMaker.

Thanks for the referral, Twilight.

Anyone is still welcome to name free engines for future reference, assuming I still have some trace of the thread a couple years from now when I know how to program.

But I guess that's it then.

Unity3D
Good for beginners, supports a few different programming languages(JavaScript for example). One of the easiest/fastest pipelines for assets Ive seen so far. There are lots of small scripts on the web you can put into your game. Unity is free(however there is a Pro version with some nice additions(real-time shadows, streaming...), but if youre new to game making you wont need most of them).

http://www.youtube.com/user/TornadoTwins
They have many tutorials about Unity and game making in general.

Game Maker actually does do 3-D and with some extra .dll's can be pretty good. You have to pay the registration fee for 3-D and the .dll support, but it's only $25

I'd have to see exactly what that $25 grants me.

Sring rts and UDK.

computergeek wrote:Game Maker actually does do 3-D and with some extra .dll's can be pretty good. You have to pay the registration fee for 3-D and the .dll support, but it's only $25

Game Maker is really bad, we learn to make 2d and 3d stuff in it at school and it really isnt that great... if your looking to make a game, I'd just say make a massive mod for a little game. I know some mates that worked and a flight simulator expansion and it made more than the actual game itself.

I've been looking into the Unreal Development Kit
It looks pretty complex but at the same time wayyy simpler then starting from the ground up.
I agree with mav though... If the game you have in mind doesn't bring any radical new features to the table then all you really need is a mod.

edit: OHHHHH, gosh darn it not again... I just checked the post date. I did contribute info though. Plz don't lock.

In August Crytek will release a free(free like UDK) CryENGINE SDK featuring CryENGINE 3 which is what Crysis 2 was built on, if you have not played Crysis 2 go look up some gameplay videos to see what it is capable of.

Source:
http://www.crymod.com/

EDIT
The page that had the information is gone but you can read the same thing here.


EDIT2
The CryENGINE 3 SDK has been released!
http://www.crydev.net/dm_eds/download_detail.php?id=4