• Audacity – Audio Editing Program
• Gimp – Image Editor
• Install Creator – Makes Install Files for Programs

Audacity

This is a simple yet powerful audio editing program that can mix channels, add effects, and save to multiple file types including Ogg Vorbis which is used a lot in the game industry.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Gimp

If you don’t have the cash for Photoshop, then Gimp is probably your best next bet. Not as powerful and easy as Photoshop, but should be able to do enough for all that sprite editing.

http://www.gimp.org/

Install Creator

A neat little program that creates installers out of zip files. Allows you to place programs in the Program Files, auto create a short-cut to the desktop, and even can create an uninstaller that you can find on the Add/Remove Programs.

http://www.clickteam.com/website/usa/installcreator.html

Game Alchemy is a site that gives amateur game makers a place to show off their stuff.

• Post your game for anyone to play
• See just how many people downloaded your game
• Have other players rate your game out of 10
• Get your own personal forum page for players to post about your stuff

See how your game racks up and maybe even get the Game of the Month accolade!

http://www.gamealchemy.com/

Sprite Database has tons of sprite sheets from gaming’s past.  If you can’t do art, look no further!

• NES
• SEGA
• PC
• Gameboy
• N64
• PS1
• and more!

Definitely worth checking out for game clones. Any 2D game could use a visual spice from pre-made sprites!

Sprite Database: http://sdb.drshnaps.com/

Looking to write a 2d game and having a hard time coding collision detection?

Interactive visuals to help show and explain how to tell if two objects are intersecting and what their displacements should be. Ranges from rectangles on rectangles to rectangle on half pipes.  Any platformer or physics based games should take a look.

http://www.metanetsoftware.com/technique/tutorialA.html#section1