Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

DarkMaster · Feb 19, 2010 6:21 AM

Hey Peoplez

Does anybody in this whole forum know any Free 3D Game Making Programs for the Apple Mac because i am really into making games but i cant find any good one for the apple mac. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanx
DarkMaster

Neotyguy40 · Feb 20, 2010 8:40 PM

I'm really surprised that no one posted something... But here is a quick fact:

Did you know there are more 3d game engines available for Mac than PC? I was surprised when I learned this, but of course, they are talking about game engines and not builders.

There are many 3d game engines out there, but I personally use the ones at TorquePowered.com (A.K.A. GarageGames).

Currently, there are a couple dozen Torque engines made so far, so here is a quick list. Be noted though, they are pretty expensive compared to builder (but VERY inexpensive compared to other engines):

Torque Game Builder: A 2d game engine (it's an engine, even though it has 'builder' in it's name) that costs $100. Made for both Mac and PC.
Torque Game Engine: A 3d game engine that costs $150. They don't commercially sell it anymore on their website, but you can contact them and they will still be happy to sell you it.
Torque X 2d: The XNA equivalent to Torque Game Builder. It costs $150, but since it uses Microsoft's XNA license, you can't publish it without MS's permission or use it on the Mac.
Torque X 3d: XNA equivalent of Torque Game Engine. Costs $250.
Torque 3d: The newest engine that replaced Torque Game Engine. Costs $100 for the binary only, but to edit the source code it costs $1000. I suggest you get this, but binary only.

There are others, like iTGE and iTGB (for the iPhone) and Torque 360 (xBox), but I am guessing you want to make it for the computer, so I suggest Torque 3d.

DarkMaster · Feb 20, 2010 8:48 PM

Thanx for the suggestion but im looking for something that is free, and i love making games, but it has to be free, if you can find any good 3D ones that are free, then feel free to post them here, but if they cost, i cant do them, just in case

Neotyguy40 · Feb 21, 2010 3:10 AM

DarkMaster wrote:

Thanx for the suggestion but im looking for something that is free, and i love making games, but it has to be free, if you can find any good 3D ones that are free, then feel free to post them here, but if they cost, i cant do them, just in case

Well, if you're looking for free, you won't find any game engines (or at least ones that are supported enough for a hobbyist). You will have to settle for a game builder, but those don't usually have any distribution rights, and even if they did, I doubt they have one for the Mac.

DarkMaster · Feb 21, 2010 6:58 PM

oh man, dont open the spoiler, had to get it outta me, that sucks sad

▼Hidden text

Neotyguy40 · Feb 22, 2010 12:10 AM

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but pretty much all development tools will either cost a lot of money, has a lot of licensing restrictions, has a ton of bugs/no features, or is very old.

If you really want to get into game design, then you really should buy it. I mean, I personally spent well over $1000 on the tools I have.

But if you are smart, you will find ways to get them for free. I got Maya for free (costs about $3,500) by signing up for the student autodesk community. I also got TGB Pro, and iTGB (about $650 added) because GarageGames had too many bugs in them (was very generous to give that for free).

If you really want to get a free software studio set for game development for free, you can always use this combination... I warn you though, the software is REALLY crappy:

Unity: A good free game engine that lets you create a small variety of games. The bad part is that the scripting languages used will REALLY limit you on what kind of games you make. This is your game engine.
Gimp: A free bitmap editor that is much more versatile than something like paint. The bad part is that it is really slow and does not allow you to use the same effects that something such as Photoshop would allow. This is your bitmap editor.
Blender: A free open-source 3d modeler that allows you to make complex shapes for your game. The bad part is that it is really difficult for someone new to use, and your work will be much slower than if you were to use Maya/3ds Max. This is your 3d modeler.
Xcode: Even though it is free, it is still probably the best IDE you will ever use. It's even better and quicker than Microsoft's Visual Studio IDE. You do need to sign up on the website for it though. This will be your IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

Game Engine, Bitmap Editor, 3d Modeler, and IDE. That is all you will need to make a game. Albeit the tools you use above would probably not be the best, easiest, or suggested tools. They are free.

DarkMaster · Feb 22, 2010 5:02 AM

meh, maybe your right, when i get a job and earn my own money, i'll buy some game making programs, my mate has a good game making program that he got for free, but only works on microsoft, *bleep*, anyways, i'll buy some good game making programs later on in life, thanx for all your help mate! big_smile

Neotyguy40 · Feb 22, 2010 8:06 PM

Well if you want a good (yet still fairly cheap) studio set, here is a good one:

Torque 3D: Probably the only high-performance engine that is cross-platform and cheap. Costs $100 for the binary version, and has a great amount of documentation.
Maya: Now it may be expensive ($3,500), but you CAN get it for free legally by signing up for the Student Community. This won't work unless you are in school, and you will still need to port your shapes to Blender and export them to Collada, since the student license won't let you use it for commercial use.
Photoshop: It's not at all cheap... But you just can't replace the one and only Photoshop... If you can't afford it, GIMP is still an option, but it will be 100x easier with the effects of Photoshop.
Xcode: You can either use this, or the TextEdit built into your computer. I highly suggest Xcode other than any other piece of software, since it is an IDE and not just a basic text editor.

Extra: Mudbox: If you sign up for the student community and download Maya, you will also get Mudbox for free. Unlike when you need to edit textures in Photoshop (or Gimp), Mudbox allows you to paint on the 3d model. It allows you to make details that are much more difficult to make in photoshop.

That should come out to about $750, or $900 if you wait until the Torque 3d sale is over.

#1 Feb 19, 2010 6:21 AM

Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

#2 Feb 20, 2010 8:40 PM

Re: Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

#3 Feb 20, 2010 8:48 PM

Re: Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

#4 Feb 21, 2010 3:10 AM

Re: Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

#5 Feb 21, 2010 6:58 PM

Re: Free 3D Game Making program for Mac

#6 Feb 22, 2010 12:10 AM

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#7 Feb 22, 2010 5:02 AM

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#8 Feb 22, 2010 8:06 PM

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