I have studied java. I want to develop an android game which i can port to other platforms in the future. I want to use open source programs only. I have downloaded a couple of them and began toying with them. I understand GIMP is a software similar to photoshop in a way. That is it is used for creating 2D game sprites. Blender, goes beyond that being an animation software, and particularly for 3D job. Now this is my problem: In six months time, i want to develop an android game. I dont intend to burden myself with another programming language aside java, for now. I have chosen libgdx as my game engine bcos it is java-based. I dont want to learn blender and GIMP simultaneously but only one of them. If i choose blender, wont i end up studying python again, as it is the de facto so-called scripting language ? Please advise me based on the following considerations:
-i want to use java as my sole programming language
-either blender or GIMP buy not both please.
-have future plans of developing 3D games
-what if i plan to go solely 2D ?
-i have heard many game engines: libgdx, jMonkey, Slick2D etc. What will u suggest for me and why ?
-i have chosen audacity as my audio software tool. Any free tutorial downloads ? Complete books are most desirable.
-now tell me: what are the main categories and what open source tools do u suggest and why ? What i mean by categories is: Game Design, Art, programming(mechanics), Audio, etc
-i read that commercial softwares like Unity allow free versions which are limited to single player modes. Do u know further than this ? How true is it ?
-any other advice
Then you want libgdx.
Cas 
Blender is intended for everything around 3d, do you need 3d on your first game? Probably not.
I think you’ll want to learn gimp or paint.net (not the windows paint).
That will bring you a lot further than learning 3d modelling along with game programming which would be good for learning but won’t end in a game.
btw, Blender does not require you to learn python to use it for asset creation. You only need that if you’re writing plugins or fiddle around with their game engine as far as i know.
LibGDX, GIMP, and Audacity are fine tools. You’ll end up finding it’s not the tools that matter so much as the application of them.
Advice: You said you would like to create an android game in 6 months. Don’t do anything 3D, you’ll probably never finish the game or if you do it will be with simple shapes and very little actual animation. You also mentioned being “limited” to single player in Unity. I’m not sure if this is the case or even that you are planning multiplayer, but I wouldn’t even touch a multiplayer game until you’ve built another game (especially given the timeframe).
Regarding 2D art, I suggest you to add Inkscape to your list, it’s opensource too, and let’s you create art by combining multiple primitive shapes. I love it and it is fast to create modern looking cartoonish art.
[quote] … Inkscape …
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Inkscape is awesome! Had to use it recently (and also for the first time) to make a diagram at work, took less than an hour to get kinda used to it.
The tools are really nice and versatile.
If you plan to do only 2d then libgdx (with slickutils), GIMP and Audacity is a good place to start. also if you are in need of some decent placeholder or bit sound effects sfxr might be good to have on hand. Also while i would recommend finding a language and sticking to it (in your case java), don’t dismiss other languages too, some of them could be quite fun to play in every now and again, but that’s just me.
Also just a note: JMonkey is just for 3D games and Slick2D only for 2d (duh), but libgdx allows you to do both 2D and 3D, so there’s that :).
Caspian’s First Law of Indie Game Programming: don’t do 3D.
Cas
Second law of Indie Game Programing (for experts only!) - don’t do 3D yet.
And seriously, “full” 3D is usually much more time consuming than almost anything done in 2D… Altrough game itself can be 2D while graphics are 3D.
Like Doom