There are probably books on the subject, but at a guess, probably maths is the #1 most important thing? And then maybe lots of computer science.
The games industry is so big, probably people specialize in (say) sound or music, or gameplay, or 2D or 3D,and so on.
I know when the Harry Potter movies came out, some companies specialized in (say) snakes CGI and others in (say) smoke CGI. So it can get that granular : )
So, your question on computer programs and specs probably needs to be put on hold until you've joined some programmers and games industry forums (if they exist), read any books on the subject, and until you know a bit more about what you want to do. All the above is a best-effort guess. Perhaps some internship with a games company could help you decide.
