Just wanted to mention here that if you are inclined to make a game with 3ds Max AND are interested in the Torque engine (www.GarageGames.com) then you should check out the book Creating Art for 3D Engines. Max has been my favorite modeling and animation tool for decades, and I searched high and low for the most powerful, affordable game engine I could get my hands on. Because of the examples I found on the Torque site, the user community, the features in the engine, and the fact that it was compatible with Max, I gave it a try.
Three months later I was just beginning to get the hang of how to get art from Max to come alive in the Torque engine. I had six months left for my game development project, and I shelved it in order to take a different kind of pleasure - that of writing a clear, well-illustrated manual on how to get Max and Torque to work together.
Check out my website if you are interested in more info about the book: http://www.3dcognition.com.
Creating Game Art for 3D Engines is 332 pages long, has 241 full-color illustrations, and comes with a book CD which has 90 minutes of video tutorials.
