I new to the game programing world and i want to design a game. i know what i need book wise, but i dont know what i need for software. I need something for characters, level design, weapons, and items

Ok, you''re more on the designer side ;o) (I''m a programmer).
From the experience I have with Designers (the ones from my team) they seem to like 3dsMAX (www.discreet.com) and Adobe Photoshop. Now, since you probably have the money for that kinda stuff (3ds max is like 6k USD or so), I''d suggest starting out with Milkshape (dunno the exact URL right now, but I''m sure you can find it). You can make Halflife and Quake models with it. Also, Lightwave seems to be used quite often...

ok,
hope that helped,
cya,
Phil


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