First Game

[Redeemer]

If this is truly your first time making any games, I would seriously suggest that each of your team members, including yourself, pick exactly one discipline to study and learn; such as, programming; art; or level design. Then, find a good game engine that will allow you to practice these skills without worrying about the low level processes of game creation.

Personally, I suggest you guys use "3D Gamestudio", an all-in-one 3D game creation system that includes:

- A fully-functioning "world editor" (level creation program)
- A simple but usable model editor
- A script editor
- And a physics engine, to name a few things

You can download the free version of this engine here. If you like this engine, you may purchase a commercial and/or professional license that allows you to use advanced features such as shaders, as well as the ability to sell your game on the market, by going here.

I myself have used this engine to create multiple games, one of which will soon be commercially released. If you need any help, my username on the Gamestudio forum is "Redeemer".

Good luck, and remember: making games is NOT easy. There is a very good reason games take a few years to come out with a staff of 100+ people. If you want to make a good game with a small team, you must have a few things: determination, and patience. In addition, you should keep your games short and simple. Visually, you should try to go for a style that looks good, but doesn't require much detail. Also, a bit of general game design advice: the purpose of a game is to entertain the player. If your game is entertaining, it isn't a game at all. You need to try very hard to see how you can bend and shape the gameplay to yield the maximum "fun factor". Pick up a few books or magazines and see how the professionals do it.

You will be at the very bottom of a very long ladder, but don't give up and you will eventually make your way up.