   Where do I start?
  _______________________________I've been all over the internet trying to figure out where to start if I have a great idea for a game.What i've found is that I should use Blender to create an .fbx model(with animations and textures), which I can bring into microsoft's visual studio.XNA should then be able to put that model into a gameplay environmentAm I on the right track?   
  you are very specific. for XNA i m not sure. but for game dev i would suggest 3ds if you are student else blender.   ;  I'd go with Blender as well, while it does take some time getting used to its UI it is a very powerful piece of software, while 3dsmax and maya both are better tools they're awfully expensive and i don't think you'll be allowed to use the student version commercially.You might also want to look at truespace (free but hasn't been updated for 3 years, its fairly easy to use though) and Milkshape3D (pretty darn cheap),   ;  I removed the poll. Do not use polls in the For Beginners forum.   