Can I use Google SketchUp to design three dimensional levels? Designing it is no problem, I just have no idea how to program into a game.

I only want to make a very simple game where you just explore a castle-type place, with basic walking and jumping animations. I'm not doing anything complicated, no enemies, no weapons, no fancy pants visual effects, none of that.

What programs out there can you use to animate a character sprite so he can navigate the game world?

And how do I put the SketchUp design and the sprite together into a playable game?

Please help  

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Be careful what you wish for,
Because you just might get it all.

Learn about the different engines, program languages, level editors, model programs and useful skills. Need any help PM me.

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Admiration is the furthest thing from comprehension.

that's the one thing you need to understand going into this, is to not underestimate game development. common misconception.

firstly, you need a platform on which you will create your 'game'

there's a lot of free engines out there that you can use, but still require a lot of programming experience to get em on the go, not to mention the tools that are used to utilize these engines can be a bit wacky.

the best thing i think you can do if you really are interested in this, is go with a game that has a good sdk(software dev. kit) and just work from there. it may not be entirely yours, but, should at least allow you to work things out and get shit on the go.

i can't think of any platform that'll actually support google sketchup. GTK radiant is supported by a lot of platforms/engines... however, it's pretty useless if you have no assets to use (ie. textures/models/entities).

if you REALLY want to see what actual modelling is all about, try downloading a trial of a popular modelling platform ie. XSI, 3ds max, maya etc. etc.

blender is free, but, i hate it. then again i learned with 3ds max, so.