Hello, I'm new to this whole concept of game development, but I have a few nice ideas. Rather than creating a game, I just want to make a prototype of my idea for a melee combat system. I plan to create 3D animations of combat moves and controls. Can someone please lead me into the right direction as to how I should start. I just want really simple 3D models for this animation (Sphere for head, cylinder for arm, sphere for elbow). What is the simplest software to do this in??? Thanks.

Check the "2D and 3D Software" sticky, but in short, I'd recommend Blender because it's free.

I agree with the above poster.

Something free (Blender) or something cheap (Milkshape). Or if you have loads of cash just lying around you could buy one of the expensive packages like Maya or 3D Studio Max (There are several others). There may be student discounts as well if you're a student.

I'd recommend Blender as well, not only because it's free (and legit) but because it's quality. Robust software, very active community, a wiki with step-by-step on every feature...good good stuff.

Blender is a good application for most 3d modeling task, unless your willing to spend over $1000 its probably the best your going to find

Ok, great posts. Thanks for this. I probably will end up using blender as it seems the most common one. Just one more question, will it also be the simplest to use?

Thanks again :)

Blender looks overwhelming at first, but if you take a few hours to go through the beginning tutorials on their site, you should be fine.

Quote: Original post by Kaze
Blender is a good application for most 3d modeling task, unless your willing to spend over $1000 its probably the best your going to find

Not exactly true, as XSI Foundation is only $500 and it is an amazing package.

Quote: Original post by Sharp Mouth
Ok, great posts. Thanks for this. I probably will end up using blender as it seems the most common one. Just one more question, will it also be the simplest to use?

Thanks again :)

Personal opinion: I find Blender very easy to use. The documentation makes finding any hidden function a breeze. Opinions aside:

Blender is heavy on the contextual commands (i.e. pressing "z" while translating a face won't do the same thing as pressing "z" while in the ipo curve editor) but once you learn the various commands, which are all listed in the various dropdown menus for just about any action, your workflow will increase many-fold.

Also, when in doubt, press the space bar while modeling, it opens up a menu with most of your options.

Blender can be confusing to use, especially early on, because a single keystroke can completely change your view (or move your objects to weird places) without any kind of confirmation, and no clear way to "undo" the action. So be careful with your typing while you work. Eventually you should be able to figure out the more common mistakes, at which point you can speed up your workflow a bit.

Incidentally, I recommend hanging out in #blender on irc.freenode.net; it's a good channel for getting advice.