From my perspective there are many things you can do:
- learn blender and make tracks/ships in it other than sketch-up
- learn python to make games in blender
- learn JavaScript/C# to make games in Unity 3D
- get free student version of Maya/3DS Max and learn it
- do 2D textures in graphic program like Photoshop/Gimp
- make game music
What do you think?