Announcements

=**__Announcements__**=


 * __ 12/18/10 __**

 **The semester is officially over, but the wiki-space site will remain up and running. If anyone wants to continue discussions, they may do so - log-ins will still work as they currently do. After the Fall 2011 semester begins, this site will be updated for new students, however, all of the discussions (including private group discussions) will still be available to previous students, via the "Archives" section of the site (listed beneath the site-contents on the main page).**

**Have a nice break everyone!** 

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 * __ 10/07/10 __**

__ IMPORTANT PRIVATE DISCUSSION ANNOUNCEMENT __

The password protection for the Private Group Discussions does not function properly in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7), due to a new "feature" of IE7 that blocks specific types of JavaScript code. As such, students will be immediately redirected to the Lock-Out page if they try to access their Private Group Discussions page via IE7. This is completely unrelated to pop-up blockers or privacy settings - the problem is built into IE7 itself. I do not know if previous versions of Internet Explorer have the same problem, but based on what I have read about this new "feature" in IE7, I would guess the previous versions do not have this same problem.

__ ALL OTHER BROWSERS I HAVE TESTED WORK FINE __

These other browsers include: Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera

If anyone wants to access their Private Group Discussions, they must do so using a non-IE7 browser. All of the browsers listed above are free to download, have versions which function on any operating system, and work perfectly with the discussions

For an archive of this message in the future, please see the Announcements page.

Finally, Groups 1 and 2 still have not provided me with a new, custom password for their Private Group Discussions, and thus do not have their discussion pages as secure as they could be. The Private Group Discussions are not mandatory (though the class discussions are), so if Groups 1 and 2 have no desire to use the Private Group Discussions, and have other ways of meeting and discussing game progress, that is fine.

Also, just a reminder, once a new, non-Private Group Discussions announcement has been made, there will no longer be links to the Private Group Discussions on the main page. Any student who wants to access the Private Group Discussions, however, may always do so via the Group Projects page, found in the Class Files section of the site.


 * __ 9/30/10 __**

I have had multiple requests from students to set up a section of the site for Private Group Discussions... and I have done so.

Due to the limited nature of the free Wikispace site (which is what we are using), I had to use some creative ways of blocking out those pages so only specific members can see them. Until I can figure out a better way of doing it (if such a way is even possible on the free Wikispace site), I am using password protection.

For the time being, every group's password is just the name of their group - so Group 1 has a password that is simply "Group 1" (without the quotation marks). Members of a group should discuss what they want their permanent password to be, and let me know, so I can change it, and truly make the discussions private - there is no way for anyone to change the password on their end, since I have to do it in the actual site (and I have the entire site locked-off to non-administrators).

__**LISTS OF WHO IS IN WHAT GROUP CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON THE PRIVATE GROUP DISCUSSION PAGE**__

Anytime a student wants to access the Private Group Discussions, she or he may do so via the Group Projects page, found in the Class Files section of the site.

NOTE: I can not guarantee that the discussions will truly be 100% private. Obviously I have access to them, but other students may find ways to access them, too (I can already think of at least 1 way to bypass the password protection, but I am obviously not sharing that information). Because of this, I do not recommend posting extremely sensitive information - only things about your games and game development. The purpose of these discussions is to keep at least a little bit of secrecy in the game development phase, as well as retain a sense of surprise before the final game day.


 * __ 9/02/10 __**

I have posted some links to game design resources in the "links" page of the site.

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> As noted in class, students should go through these two lists and read the various rules and explanations. Students should then think of a game that violates one of these rules, to be discussed in class on Tuesday, 9/07/10. Students need to only choose 1 rule and 1 game that violates that rule, but can choose more if they like - but everyone should read all of the rules, anyway, as they are very helpful (and the "No Twinkie" rules are very entertaining).


 * __<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8/28/10 __**

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Be sure to look at the links page of the site, as it features many great game-related resources. As of today's postings, the links page includes links to two online emulation sites, giving access to a huge library of classic NES and Game Boy games, including titles never released commercially and home-made variations on existing games, a huge database of arcade gaming machines, a site that features an extensive history of the early days of video games, and a review site that, while relatively uninformative on it's own, features a large number of images from older game consoles concentrated in one easy-to-access source. =<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;"> Welcome to the Class! Newer announcements will be dated and appear above this one. The newest announcements will be at the top of this page.

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Remember, as noted in class today, EVERYONE must contribute to the [|Discussion board] on this Wiki Page. To do this you must create a sign-in name for this Wiki, at which point in time it will email me, indicating that a new user wants to join the site. You can use any screen-name you like when signing up, but, preferably it will reflect your real name. Regardless of whether you are using something that includes your real name, or if you are using a random screen name, please send me an email containing your real name and your chosen screen name for this site.

<span style="color: #2a4a8d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A new discussion thread has been added on the discussion board asking you all to introduce yourselves - remember, this will be included as part of your participation grade in your class!

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