I’ve just been shanghaied to do an interactive book, and because I have fallen in love with the GE over these last few months, I want to do it in Blender.
My one concern is distribution. I could theoretically have any user download blender, but with the added need for Python and the Visual C++, I will probably scare away quite a few mild technophobes. Since young teenagers may be in the intended audience, bad idea.
Then I noted the Blender Player! I am having trouble finding detailed collected info on it, though; everything seems scattered about, much of it out of date. Could anyone give me the quick pitch on how Blender Player works, and how to use it to make a non-Blender user get easy access to a ‘game’ made in Blender? If it can play the files straight from .blend (rather than making EXEs and such), I shall dance a little jig from joy (and quite likely get an injury, but hey, it’s a worthy sacrifice)!
If it can play the files straight from .blend (rather than making EXEs and such),
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=106655
this may help …
Thanks, I already have an eye on GameStarter, it looks really interesting. However, I feel I should know more about the actual Blender Player that follows with the Blender installation before I go hunting for external programs.
You can read about it on blendenzo site… he has explained it very well.
You do not need python or c++ to run .blend.
You may need python for some blends that use functions not listed for use in the specs… make sense?
Also, you do not need c++ to run anything since it is a compiled language. Do you understand… Sorry if I am confusing…
The blenderplayer is basically just the blender game engine in an EXE (or other executable type). When you click “Export Runtime” in the File menu, your active .blend is packed into a new copy of blenderplayer, and is available to be run as a standalone app. Normally it runs without any issues. It really couldn’t be easier. The resulting executable can then be packed into an installer, or distributed in any other way. If your game has any Game actuators, the blenderplayer can also play external blend files.
do you mean you want to know how you turn on mipmap as example but via batch files and commands ?
sorry again if i’m wrong 
or don’t understand ya
edit :-
www.blendenzo.com talks about the same thing in another way 
Thanks, to all of you! I think I got a clear idea now. I will experiment to fine tune the whole thing, but from all the pages you have provided me here, I think 90% of my needed knowledge has been taken care of 
You should also note that it is very easy to hack a blend file out of a"default" blenderplayer. If you perfer to keep your game close source, you may want to use a protected blenderplayer.
It all depends on the exact type and level of interactivity you wish to provide, but generally I don’t consider blenders’ realtime engine to be the “right fit” for something like an “interactive book”.
I’m all for using open source software whenever one finds the opportunity, but sometimes it’s much less painful to put ideology aside and just use the best tool for the job.
In this case, I think that tool would be Flash. Pretty much anything 2D; I would recommend flash. However, if you really need 3D interactive content, then I would say go with the BGE.
I’ve just been shanghaied to do an interactive book
here is a person who tried to make one , … so Blender can as Social said 
http://www.bentstraight.org/Games.htm