In its simplest form, game development is the art of making games and includes the process of game design. Game design refers to generating creative ideas and concepts behind a game for entertainment or educational purposes. It involves bringing a game to life by crafting compelling stories; creating the characters, environments, and objects; and setting rules and challenges to drive interaction. This multi-faceted field requires strong artistic vision and technical skills.
GAME DESIGN SOFTWARE
VIDEO GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Autodesk offers the tools artists need to create expansive worlds, realistic characters, and immersive experiences that delight game players.
What is game design and development?
Image courtesy of Splash Damage
Features in Maya & 3ds Max for game design
See how Maya and 3ds Max offer a wide range of proven and established 3D tools for every step of the game development process.
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ROBUST ANIMATION TOOLSET IN MAYA
Intuitive and customizable toolset allowing artists to work faster and achieve high-quality animations.
Image courtesy of Tsubasa Nakai
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UNMATCHED RIGGING CAPABILITIES IN MAYA
Providing power and flexibility to create sophisticated rigs that deliver compelling performances.
Image courtesy of Massimo Righi
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POWERFUL MODELING TOOLS IN 3DS MAX
Fast spline and poly modeling workflows to easily model a place, character or element.
Image courtesy of Alt Shift
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PHYSICALLY-BASED RENDERING IN 3DS MAX
Quickly iterate and see near-final quality renders of your assets right in the viewport.
Image courtesy of Tomas Kral
Benefits of Autodesk game design software
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CHARACTER CREATION
From low poly characters to complex performance capture, Autodesk software provides the tools that are used to create the most amazing characters in games.
Image courtesy of CD Projekt S.A.
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PROCEDURAL WORKFLOWS
Autodesk software has procedural tools to speed up 3D content creation and scale workflows to the scope and size needed to build massive worlds.
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BLAZING FAST PERFORMANCE
Game designers need to evaluate and iterate game content quickly. Our tools are designed to offer optimal viewport playback and manipulation of game content.
Image courtesy of CD Projekt S.A.
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COMPLETE PIPELINE INTEGRATION
Autodesk software provides highly extensible platforms that can support even the most advanced pipelines and workflows.
How is game design software used?
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Keeping game development creative with Splash Damage
See how the M&E Collection’s end-to-end toolset allows Splash Damage to shift their focus away from software and toward sharpening creative skills.
Image courtesy of Splash Damage
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Santa Monica Studio Presents: God of War
Watch how animation performance in Maya accelerates workflows for Santa Monica Studio, and how their animation best practices can be applied to other cases.
Image courtesy of Santa Monica Studio
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From Black Sheep to Black Mesa
Shawn Olson, a technical artist specializing in 3ds Max and the Source Engine, shares how he and the Black Mesa team worked with 3ds Max to bring Black Mesa back to life.
Image courtesy of Shawn Olson
Video game design tutorials
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MAYA - ANIMATION BASICS
Learn how to navigate the Time Slider, set Keyframes, and set the playback speed in Maya to create a basic animation with a tennis ball.
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MAYA - RIGGING AND BODY DEFORMATION
Check out these best practices for making realistic game characters from the makers of God of War.
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3DS MAX - MODELING TOOLS
Learn the basics of poly objects, sub-object selection & manipulation, and more common tools such as extruding and beveling faces.
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3DS MAX - UV UNWRAPPING
Learn the practices and process needed to create a workflow in 3ds Max for unwrapping and texturing your models.
Design 3D game character
3D character artist, Michael Robson, take us through his process of creating a 3D fantasy-inspired orc using Maya and 3ds Max.
Image courtesy of Michael Robson
The do's and don'ts of motion capture
Learn everything you need to know about the Motion Library plugin in Maya and tips from motion capture experts in this webinar.
Image courtesy of Rokoko
Free software for game design and development
FREE GAME DESIGN SOFTWARE FOR STUDENTS & EDUCATORS
We offer free Autodesk software for students and educators. Use the same 3D computer animation software as top professionals around the world.
FREE GAME DESIGN SOFTWARE FOR NONPROFITS
Are you a nonprofit or entrepreneur working to create positive impact through design? See if you qualify for our Technology Impact Program.
Free resources for game design and development
Learn more about game design and development with these tutorials, guides, and tips.
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Autodesk's official CG community. Watch free tutorials and get the latest industry news.
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Maya Learning Center is dedicated to providing you with all the resources you need to bring your dreams to life in Maya.
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The Maya Learning Channel provides tutorials of all levels to help you learn Maya.
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3ds Max Learning Center is dedicated to providing you with all the resources you need to bring your dreams to life in 3ds Max.
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The 3ds Max Learning Channel provides tutorials of all levels to help you learn 3ds Max.
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Watch Autodesk University video lessons on 3D animation from expert 3D artists.
