i'm still a long way off from 3d graphics and anything past the very beginning but i like ot have an idea of possible future paths so i was wondering, what are the limits of things such and openGL, blender, dev c++ and other free or moderately priced software/libraries? would an amatuer programmer/graphics artist or a group of amatuer programmers/graphics artists be able to develop a professional game project? for instance with a VERY firm understanding of key programming languages, Blender(for 3d animation/graphics) and either Directx3D/openGL or some other free/low priced API(s), what are the limits? something in the realm of an N64 game(Perfect Dark, Rogue Squadron), PS(Final Fantasy 7, some of the EA Sports games) PS2(socom, brothers in arms) or modern computer stuff(elder scrolls, age of empires, diablo 2)? i'm aware that console development requires development kits and i'm not specificly saying for a console, i'm just giving a general example of graphics quality etc... i'm also aware that professional companies have the man power and resources to make a task liek that alot easier, i'm just wondering if the tools I listed have the capability to produce results like those, and if not, what do commercial game/software developers use? thanks

I'd recommend taking a look through some of the developer journals so you can get a look at what some actual indie developers are working on. Ysaneya and dgreen02 in particular give an example of just how good an indie product can potentially be.

OpenGL btw is an 'industrial standard' API if you consider that there is such a thing, and is used in plenty of commercial products. I would recommend the free Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express rather than dev-C++, but other than that there isn't really anything to prevent the tools you've mentioned being used to produce a AAA quality game; it will likely take you a lot longer though, and won't neccesarily be as easy as it would with some of the more expensive tools.


As someone who's just getting started you're quite away off from being able to produce results such as those demonstrated by Ysaneya and dgreen02, but the tools you're using are quite capable of some excellent results if that's the path you want to take. You'll learn more about the exact limitations and where more expensive tools might be of more benefit to you as you gain more experience.

Hope that helps. [smile]

Sorry for the double post, but...

Quote:Original post by godsenddeath
i'm aware that console development requires development kits and i'm not specificly saying for a console, i'm just giving a general example of graphics quality etc...

If you wanted to develop hobbyist/indie titles for the Xbox 360 you could check out XNA Game Studio Express. Just thought I'd mention it as a possibility.

thanks, thats exactly what i wanted to know.

and yeah i know i'm years away from even geing able to consider something like that, i just like to have a good scope of things,