Ok, Replaying to a copy of myself 1.5 years ago.
We create 3D and other assets in external tools. Then we import them into game engine. You do not need multiple game engines. Pick one. You can not use multiple engines to make a game. It looks like one way trip. After importing those, we apply behavior through c#,javascript etc within game engine. We create a material behavior though shader. There are plenty of built-in shaders and you can make custom material behavior, whatever you want though CGFX,GLSL,HLSL etc.
Now all asset includes:
1.3D meshes
2.Maps
3.Animations
4.Sounds
We make 3D models from 3dsmax,maya,zbrush etc. We animate in 3dsmax,maya,blender etc. We create maps from tools like xnormal,maya,zbrush etc. We compose music on sheet paper or we can use “Finale”, often we use VST to emulate actual instruments in computer. There are tons of free VST plugins.
To create 3D assets,you need to know the following.
Theory:
1.Object formation
2.Human anatomy
3.Color theory
4.3D graphics theory for Artist
5.Some motion theory for animation
Actual work knowledge:
1.Hard surface modeling
2.Organic modeling
3.Nurb modeling
4.Procedural modeling
4.Smart UV manipulation
5.UV painting and general painting in photoshop.
6.Rigging humanoid
7.Animation(there are many types and tricks of animation,as example one is called “pose to pose animation”.)
To get all those knowledge,actually there are many places. At first catch the main logic of modeling,then autodesk’s official documentation is really good. I suggest you try blender,it is free and open source! Procedural modeling might be necessary if you use node base tool to create terrain.Between,unity’s built-in terrain tool is simply great. You must manipulate UV smartly if you ever target mobile platform. For rigging,just google it. If you use autodesk’s product,again nothing beats their official documentation.There two type of rigging,IK,FK.learn them. When you catch animation,first learn some simple animation theory. If you do not have any books,fine,just google for “animation theory” or something like that. You need to know weight balancing,force management etc for beautiful animations. A rough knowledge of school physics would really help here very much.
At this point you will have 3D assets and maps.
To create music,start from simple music theory. Just google at “music theory”. Here http://www.musictheory.net/lessons Stop after completing cord progression. Search in youtube for “counterpoint”. This kind of music is used for flutes. Here ishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNNPrqIrBb0 an example. After that, you can past some time with “Orchestration”. Manage a good sheet music editor, I believe there are free tools available. Also manage some VST if you do not have the actual instruments. I believe you can create some good music at that point. Meanwhile you can join http://www.ultimate-guitar.com. They are really good guys. You can lurk around wiki-books too.
After importing you assets into game engine,you need to know some programming. Language does not really matter. You need to know code writing techniques. You really need to know OOP. Again,google for OOP,you will find plenty of tutorials and books.
Learn how to design character controller,how to play with psychics etc. You might need to learn shader languages for custom graphical effects.
Did I miss something? Let me know.
