Make games without programming for free?

To make anything interesting, you have to learn how to program, sorry. Adding a "free" requirement narrows down the options considerably in any case. Unity is free for the basic version, and is fairly visual as far as these things go, but still it requires programming.

--Eric

 

Sorry to bust your bubble, but you're not going to create a cool 3D game with an intense storyline yourself, even if you were an über-programmer. You need a team where you (and possibly others) do the creative stuff and others program.

You might want to look into using the Blender Game Engine (it's quite impressive, as seen in this video). But again, you need at least some Python scripting to create an actual game.

 

You need a nice dousing of perspective. Making a 2D SIDE SCROLLER is hard enough with one person. I think Commander Keen was made by a group of about 20.

 

http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/
"You can make games with backgrounds, animated graphics, music and sound effects, and even 3D games!"
(emphasis added)

 

Unfortunately, programming is the hard part. Fortunately, it's not that hard. With the appropriate resources, you can do a surprising amount with really breaking a sweat.

I personally learned to code with DarkBASIC. It's windows only, (I've long since moved on anyway) but if you have access to windows, whether by bootcamp or the like, I suggest you try it. It's not that expensive and there's a trial version.

Basically, DarkBASIC takes out all the leg work of a 3D game. Literally, you can write 5 lines and see a model. Check it out.

 

Oh wow, DarkBasic has came a long long way since I last played with it.

For 3D and free Unity is going to be your best bet. The Unity engine is quite capable of a lot and I've been working through the tutorials and learning it.

As others have stated though making a good 3D game by yourself is pretty much impossible. Youd have to have an amazing amount of time.

That being said, you could learn scripting with Unity and crank out a level or 2. They have a great (150+ page) tutorial of setting up a 3D level.

Another suggestion (although not free) is Torque.

 

Since your interest is in developing maps and models rather than writing game engines, I'd suggest modding an existing 3D shooter.

It's years since I did any modding myself so can't offer any specific suggestions, but this looks like it might be a good place to ask for advice:

http://www.macgamingmods.com

Bear in mind that even a modest conversion could easy take a couple of years; if you're not willing/able to give that sort of commitment then you might want to consider scaling down your ambitions and join a team project.

 

Haha, true that. I remember when there was no "pro" version, a simpler time when the latest version was 1.10, and there was still a team request forum...