Gaming Software

I've been interested in game design/cartoons for a very long time and have never really been able to pursue it. I just turned 16 and will be getting a decent laptop this Christmas. I was wondering what "FREE" software I can download to create games and cartoons? I don't want to make big games or fancy cartoons but I want them to be enjoyable and decent looking at the same time, not some small pointless Newgrounds game *cough* Stick Man Shooting *cough*. Maybe you have heard of Unforgotten Realms a small series created by Robert Moran...? Go to www.wittywizard.com to check out what he does, that will give you an idea of what I want to do. I appreciate all the help!

 

A while back I took a 3d animation course, and there was Alias Maya that had a free version available for personal use (it watermarked whatever you built, and you couldn't upload it into the retail version). It may be more powerful than what you are looking for, but it has been used for high quality movies and games. It now goes under the name AutoDesk. You can download the Personal Learning Edition at the following link:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=7635018

 

3d studio max is the 3d modeler you want. if you cant get it though..look into their free version. gmax

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=5659302&siteID=123112

 

Any 3d program would do (Maya, 3DS Max, XSI, Lightwave, etc.) but it's more a question of the artist and what they want to achieve (as well as what you feel comfortable using). You really need to be more specific about what you want to do.
In terms of creating animations I'd say Cinema 4D or XSI foundation. Both offer good animation tools (from what I've heard about C4d and what I've used in XSI).
Really though I'd recommend trying out something like Blender ( www.blender.org) which is free and can do a lot of what comercial apps do (including animation). At least it'll give you a taste before you spend a lot of money on a commercial app like XSI foundation (which is imo the best deal currently going).

You might want to check out:

Payware
http://www.softimage.com/
http://www.maxon.net/pages/dyn_files/dyn_htx/htx/welcome_e.html

http://www.erain.com/
http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/

Freeware
http://www.blender.org/
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/
http://www.inkscape.org/
http://www.gimp.org/

Also, if you want to do 2D animation or graphics, I'd really recommend one of these:
http://global.wacom.com/

 

3dsmax might not be the best[arguable] but it would be hard to find something that cant be done on 3dsmax.

But 3dsmax indisputably have the most extensive online community and support.

Also, 3dsmax is pretty much an industry standard. If i had to learn a program i would learn max.

I have tried C4d and it's confusing. although they are all confusing compared to sketch up.....

 

ZAW was asking about free software though, and Max is definitely not free .
That's why I'd recommend Blender. It's opensource, free and it can do pretty much what any other program can do. There's lots of support on the website for it too.
Bear in mind though ZAW that most of the games on Newgrounds were made in Flash (more 2d animation) which is different from making a 3D game. If you want to get into 3D games creation have you thought about joining a mod community/project doing some modeling/mapping/texturing work or something. The scale of 3d games makes it hard for 1 person to make something as completely as a game made in Flash within the same time frame.

 

Nvidia also has a 3d animation program called Gelato, but as far as I know they are the only ones using it. You can download a free version from http://www.nvidia.com/object/gz_plush_life.html
Correction: Gelato is a add-on renderer for Maya and 3DMax (just downloaded it ).

 

Softimage has created a free version of XSI 5 mainly for Valve HERE

It's the full version of XSI 5, but it doesn't allow exporting to certain formats such as .3DS, or .MDL... I've used it for awhile and have made some nice scenes.. one was a robotic cat with a gatling gun riding a dirtbike.. yea odd, and it took me weeks to do, but it's some of the stuff you can make on it too bad my hard driver shattered a few weeks after I made it never got to take pre rendered screenshots

Another thing is that once you download it, it starts with a webpage full of DivX video tutorials, many of them are several hours long walking you through it.

 

I really like Blender3D. It's a little harder to learn but once you take the time to learn just the interface of the program which is by far the hardest part, the rest of it is just a peice of cake. I actually found 3DS Max to be harder than Blender keep in mind AFTER I had learned the interface.

 

For games, I'd go with Game Maker.
It's simple and easy to use, and doesn't require programming. And it can make some pretty decent games.

Other than that (if you want something more web-oriented), Flash is probably your friend.