Hey everyone my name is Shane and i go to the Art Institute of California_LA.
I just went to this site http://www.applied-ideas.com/real-time.html. I found this awesome real time viewer called IViewer3D that exports for Max and Maya. They have a free beta on the site that you can download. The great part about it is that it's really easy to use and you can package your scene as an executable to give to other people. Also it's got an easy scripting interface, normal and spec map support and particles systems. So check it out, cuz its free and will definitely help you out.
Shane