Yes, games can attain the status of art.

Back to my original question. I like the idea of choosing one of the consoles, perhaps the one that has the most exclusive titles that are the most ground-breaking, or ARTFUL, as Journey seems to be. I don't think going with a pc streaming service makes sense for me. I don't have a powerful laptop, I don't want the quality of the games dumbed down and I want to get good audio and a large screen experience. Thus it seems to make sense to just buy a PS or Xbox for my bedroom tv. I also don't want to pay an ongoing monthly fee, nor do I want to rent games from Redbox, where I will feel pressure to play on a given night to get my money's worth or because I have to return the game the next day. So...

What is the latest model of xbox and PS? Are there newer models right around the corner that would render anything I buy now obsolete in a matter of months? What about this whole VR nonsense? Should I get that or will the titles be limited?

What I want to be able to do is get classic titles from the last 20 years as well as the latest games. I want to be able to buy them from Game Stop, play them a week, as somebody suggested, and then return them for no charge and repeat the process indefinitely. Does this make sense?

I also still need an answer to the following:

3. What exactly are game engines, like Epic Unreal? I assumed they are software for running video game making. 4. When you mention "portals" for games, what is that? For example, what are oculus and vive? And was their something similar called rift?

3. What exactly are game engines, like Epic Unreal? I assumed they are software for running video game making

Game engines are software / tools used to create games. Basically, they provide the common features and technical foundation which most games rely on, so that you don't need to reinvent the wheel with each game. Most games need to do things like "play audio" or "load and display a 3D scene", for example, and engines provide tools to make these common tasks more straightforward.

4. When you mention "portals" for games, what is that?

A portal is a web site / service which has a catalogue of games which customers can purchase, download and play. It is analogous to the mobile app stores.

For example, what are oculus and vive? And was their something similar called rift?

These are virtual-reality heasdets. Oculus and Rift are the same thing (the company is called Oculus, and the headset is the Oculus Rift).

Thanks!

Watching gameplay can give you a pretty good idea as well. For example, the best way to understand the story to metal gear is to watch this video

#t=3h47m12s

But I think there's a fundamental misconception about the complexity of video games... They can have stories as good as any novel/contain provocative or controvertial stories/concepts (Something Novels usually get high praise for).

For example, the video I just linked is about people being illegally imprisoned/tortured in Guantamo Bay prison. The main character essentially a "terrorist" killing American soldiers (As a last resort. The game's a stealth game so you try to avoid enemies as much as possible/distract them) to try and free former child soldiers. A novel/film would be lauded for such a story, however, the narrative is fits perfectly as a video game (Probably better than a novel/movie could).

Not even getting into the meta-aspect many games do with ARG's etc.

I have been advised to buy both an xbox 360 and a ps3 as between the two I will be able to buy and return the largest number of classic games. Visiting Game Stop, they had 5 times as many of the older games than the new ones, so it stands to reason that if I want to experience more games that are classics, I would need an older system.

Agreed?

It's good to have an idea of what generation of console to study but from how I understand the scope of your course, I don't really think there's a need to buy two consoles at this time. But it'd probably be good if people were to give you some idea of games considered "classics" of that generation or at least are ones worth studying. I haven't actually played much from that era so I wouldn't know what to suggest other than maybe Red Dead Redemption. Don't know how you feel about westerns or if you'll be able to get a handle on the controls but you might be get enough of a feel for what's going on in what I presume is a limited amount of time for you to play. I also hear it has some pretty similar gameplay elements to Grand Theft Auto.



/* EDIT: Additional note removed by moderator as it is unrelated to the topic at hand */

So what about my approach regarding Game Stop as my guide to getting an older console. And if I get just one, which has more classics?

I have been advised to buy both an xbox 360 and a ps3 as between the two I will be able to buy and return the largest number of classic games. Visiting Game Stop, they had 5 times as many of the older games than the new ones, so it stands to reason that if I want to experience more games that are classics, I would need an older system. Agreed?

They will probably be less expensive overall, yes.

And there will be many more used games because people are likely to turn in all their old games when they trade in their old systems.

I'm not sure I'd call them the "classic games", but there are plenty of good games to choose from.

So what about my approach regarding Game Stop as my guide to getting an older console. And if I get just one, which has more classics?

If you go on ebay and bid shrewdly you can pick up xbox 360 games to keep for less than your gas money to travel to gamestop to buy games (and send them back for refund)...

So let me get this straight:

1. Is buying a console a waste of money because you can get the same, or equally strong or popular titles on your pc?

2. How much room do these games take up on your pc? How much RAM do you have to have? For that matter, what is the difference (in layman's terms) between the "gaming" computers and regular laptops?

3. What exactly are game engines, like Epic Unreal? I assumed they are software for running video game making.

4. When you mention "portals" for games, what is that? For example, what are oculus and vive? And was their something similar called rift?

How much do pc games usually go for?

Where do you get Journey? Seems like it may be one of the best games out there.

What's the deal with the whole VR thing? What year did that start and where is it going? It's scary seeing kids sitting around with their senses cut off with headphones and goggles. Doesn't this make anyone else nervous?

I heard someone saying something about a bunch of different PS's. Was I hearing that right? Is there like a whole line of them to complicate things further?

Thanks!

Buying a console is a waste but it's so much more simpler than a PC. Popular big games are laggy and messing on PC for mysterious reason..... because all of the difference hardware some games might not work as well for stupid reason until some patch or something. You look like a simple guy not invested in the long term. My advice to you would be to get a console. It's simple, less details, less hassle HOWEVER if you're willing to learn other details unrelated to game design you could go PC and get hundreds of games cheaper and increase your potential. You will have so much more to draw from. Some PC devs make games that will make you question the logic of humanity and your existence all for 5.99$

Most games on PC don't take up a lot of space and you can probably play the majority but some big popular titles do require powerful PCs.

Game engines are prewrittern code. You know programmer write code right? Well sometime is easier and faster to buy prewritten code and add you own special touch to it. These are game engines.

Never heard of portal but the 3 other technologies you mentioned are VR (Virtual, reality). Basically you wear a helmet and see a digital world. It has motion tracking technology so when you turn you head so does the in game camera. From my experience it feels like you exist without a body and the world looks like a video game.