Links

=__Links__=

= =  This page contains links to interesting sites involving gaming and complimenting in-class discussions. Some links may be articles, while others may be online games. __**Additional links can also be found at the end of the lecture notes.**__ = =

 Students are encouraged to discuss the contents of these links (and others) in the Discussions section of this site.

 This page will be updated periodically.

= = If any student has a link they wish to be posted, please email me the links (sweitz@lccc.edu) or post them to the discussion area, and I will evaluate them and then add them to this page. Be aware that if submitted links are not related to gaming or the class, or if they have unacceptable content, they will not be posted to this page.

__**9/02/10 **__

Game Design!

As we begin discussing game design, there are many resources that you can use to improve your game-design skills. There are two specific resources that are extremely helpful in telling what you problems to avoid, so your games will have a better chance of succeeding:

The first is the No Twinkie Database which is a list of common problems in games that, if done, should force anyone to say: "Bad game designer; no twinkie!" Thus, you both simultaneously scold the bad game designer, and deny him or her a pastry (and, as we all know, the lack of a spongecake dessert is the real punishment).

The second link is to The 400 Project which is a work-in-progress site about game design. The link goes directly to an in-progress list of 112 (thus far) rules regarding game design.

Though both of these links deal predominantly with video-game design, many of the principles can be applied to any game design (including the games being developed for this class). These links are meant to supplement (and in many areas exceed) the class discussions on game design. Also, as noted in class, there is at least one exercise in which students will have to find examples of games that violate the "rules" in these links (at minimum, 1 example of game that violate 1 rule found in these links, due Tuesday, 9/7/10).

If students want to refer to a [|.pdf] version of the PowerPoint used in class, they can find it here (minus the class discussions, of course). Also, students can see the original document on game design, created by Dr. Richard Staats, from which the points in the class discussion are drawn, found in this [|Game Design PDF] file.

__**8/28/10 **__


 * Virtual NES **

Quite possibly one of the greatest sites on the Internet, as it gives visitors the ability to play a huge collection of Nintendo Entertainment System games, in full, completely online through a standard web browser (without the need to download any special software), completely for free, and, most importantly, completely legally (or so the site-owner claims... and if it is not legal, it is he, not we, who shall pay the price).

In addition to the NES games found at stores, this site also features a collection of unreleased games (games that were created but never officially sold for a variety of reasons), fan-created variations on existing games, and English-translations of games that never made it past the shores of Japan.

Beyond beyond a wonderful collection of gaming goodness, this is also quite possibly the ultimate time-waster, especially for those us who grew up playing the NES and have nothing but fond memories of the consoles... of course, as the years pass, I find that there are less and less of us.


 * <span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Virtual GBX] **

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">For those who can't get enough online emulation, this is Virtual NES, only for the Game Boy. Just as the above site, this an online collection of Game Boy titles, presented by the same wonderful site creators and in the same fantastic quality.

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Go browse both sites and bathe in the glory of retro gaming.

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8/24/10 **__

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below are various useful links for images and information on older games

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of these sites are either encyclopedic in nature or do not provide references and resources for the information presented within them. As such, they may not be reliable sources for use in any research papers. __**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Please contact me prior to using any of the information found in these sites within your papers **__<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">).

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **The Killer List of Video Games**

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A Site Containing Information and Images From Nearly Every Arcade Video Game Ever Created

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Pong Story**

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A Site is Devoted to the History of Early Video-Game Development

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Video Game Critic**

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Ignoring the Short and Relatively Uninformative Reviews, the Links to the Left of the Page Reveal Images of Games from Most Major Video Game Consoles

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __Other Sections:__ [|Discussions] Announcements Class Files Lecture Notes HOME