Molly Thunderbreeze

This will probably tick people off, but the personality types that should be purged from society via the death penalty or encarceration are not responding in this forum. For that reason the various sides to the debate are riddled with a personal view of the world that may not reflect the reality of the issues. Proponenrts of psychology and/or rehabilitation forgets to mention that for a person to change, there must be a personal decisionn to make the change. This is why psychology and rehabilitation foisted on a sick minded person or criminal do not work. I do not know the alternative, but we cannot ignore the falicy of believing that these are effective avenues when dealing with a 'problem' citizen in our society. Should we create a subsociety that lives better than the population at large. This prompts situations like the homeless man, Stephen Espalin, threatening to kill the president to get health care twice. As for commenting on the original post, who knows what that sick joker had in mind with his collection in the basement. Consider this, maybe all those items kept him in a fantasy world rather than acting out those fantasies in the real world. I did not read that he acted on those fantasies, just talked about having them and the obvious sick fantasies they implied. When did talk become a criminal offense? I think that is the more scary part of the post. You are willing to give up your (his and my) rights to privacy for some perceived sense of security (see Benjamin Franklin's thoughts on this if you did not catch the reference). Do not get the wrong idea, I am a firm believer that some people need purging from society, and without that purging, society will never function as it should. I feel leniency towards criminals is a misuse of judicial power. Groups that hold up victims (direct or indirect) that state they want no 'retribution' for their attackers is even more abusive and irresponsible. x steps off soap box x

This thread got a bit heady, and I must agree the font is rough on the eyes. Immersion is a personal issue, and for developers of either video or tabletop games is a primary goal. It is often the why and how a player defines a game, movie or book as being fun. Immersion keeps them pulling that umbilical cord to reach the end. Something as simple as 8 shots from a 6-shooter will destroy that desired effect.

Before you start your program try doing some research on it, look for anecdotal of students that have been through the program, and college reviews online. Game Design programs have been popping around colleges and most of them are a scam. Unless you're willing to go the extra mile and be basically a self taught student or you're just doing it for the degree, then it's not worth it. Have you decided on a specialization yet? It is something that you want to do early so you put the most work towards it and develop your portfolio around it. Other than that; good luck, this is a tough field and you're going to need it. As a retired math professor, I can tell you this, every university out there is a business first. This means getting and keeping your tuition is job one for them. For that reason, the above recommendation is sage advice. As with any education, what you get out of it is closely related to what you put into the process. There are two things you are aiming for when getting an education, one knowledge and two connections within the industry you plan on entering. For this reason I would not recommend an online education. Connections are harder to foster in that environment. In many 500 level course textbooks for game designer you will find the NWN2 (or the Aurora toolset that is included with the game) is often mentioned as a way for a new designer to show off their game ideas to prospective employers or investors. Many in-school projects at this level require this (or another) toolset to be used. As many have pointed out, bringing a game to live takes a large team and there are many professions within that business. A clearer understanding of what role you wish to play in this profession might help in directing you for not only your educational goals, but also your long term goals. This will also prove to make your educational dollars more fruitful. The fact that you have played games for over 24 years may lend itself to a fabulous and successful designer career. Most game engines work on the same principal, and showing your ideas and work in this medium will give people an idea of your abilities to create and work within that environment.

I love this cartoon! OK, back on subject. Today I installed and attmpted to learn NWN2, but a lot to take in for one sitting.