As far as material that explains game design, may I suggest some Super Mario Game Design videos and articles?
Level design notes from Super Mario Bros 3
http://www.significant-bits.com/super-mario-bros-3-level-design-lessons
4-step design process for Super Mario 3D
Since the subject of consoles came up, buying a Wii U and get Super Mario Maker is a relevant possibility. At the very least for demonstration purposes.
Okay, I got the consoles and some games and now I need a place to discuss them. I don't see a relevant section on this site for game discussion. Does anyone have a recommendation?
After a short period somebody usually does a online vid playthrough of a game
Using those you can get/see alot WITHOUT actually taking all the time to play through an awful lot of games
Over in Game Design all kinds of aspects are talked about (if its more technical then - the AI or Graphics or Gen Programming as appropriate)
Okay, I got the consoles and some games and now I need a place to discuss them. I don't see a relevant section on this site for game discussion. Does anyone have a recommendation?
It still technically game design. Talk about it here. I could be wrong thought.
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Q. Should I buy a console if teaching this stuff?
Couldn't hurt to get ideas for the class.
Q. Which is better?
Xbox & PlayStation are pretty much the same * . There are a few exclusive titles, for example: "Halo" is only on Xbox and "Infamous" is only on PlayStation.
* I'd be crucified for saying that on some forums :wink:
Q. Are the titles compatible with both consoles?
No.
The disc will only work on the console it is intended for and will clearly be marked whether it is for PS3 or Xbox 360 etc.
Q. Will discs become obsolete?
Not yet.
Q. Are play throughs on YouTube good enough to give an idea of gfx, story and general scope of games?
Absolutely.
Q. Is buying a console a waste of money because you can get the same games on PC?
Sort of.
Depends on how "awesome" your PC build is.
Q. How much room do games take up on PC?
The disk space requirements are always listed for PC games.
Q. What exactly are game engines?
Good question.
The game-engine handles everything in the game. Lucky for you, companies who have done all the hard work of building one now offer them online for "free". 'Unreal Engine 4' as you just mentioned is one such "free" game-engine.
"free" = not EXACTLY free.
Q. What's the latest Xbox and PS?
Xbox One
PS4
Q. Is another model right around the corner that would make them redundant?
Yes.
But that is a risk customers seem prepared to accept. That shouldn't affect your purposes, however.
What about all this VR nonsense?
:lol: That cracked me up good.
It's only the next big thing in entertainment.
Did you mention that the " 'Game Design' " course your are teaching is already in progress? That was fast.
I would never play hundreds of hours of games as that would be a complete waste of time, and could never compare to reading or doing constructive things in the real world.
Um, yeah. Reading books and constructing things. I'm sure that is how non-gamers are spending their free-time.
"Time you enjoyed wasting, isn't a waste of time."
