Sometimes it just clicks...

Programming:
Today is turning out to be a good day on the programming front.  I am working through structs and arrays, and I am now starting to see how this garbled-looking stuff could take shape into a game. I think it just takes a little bit of an altered view of things to see how certain things are performed from the mathematical side of things.

A little later I may progress on to operator overloading and maybe some basic classes. The overloading concept sort of eludes me so far, so it might take a bit to get a handle on it.

Design:
Still reading through Game Architecture and Design. I would highly reccommend this book. It does a great job outlining an efficient design phase and highlights the common mistakes that a lot of teams make. It talks about the importance of a clear and concise Design Document.

Another great segment in the book is a piece on the Dominant Strategy Problem. This could be defined as a catch-all strategy, or a universally superior way to play the game. In an RTS, this is the classic one unit wonder, or in an RPG it is the absolutely dominant skill. The author makes a point to convey the importance of having weaknesses and strengths of every unit. He used the example of Rock-Paper-Scissors. It may be the most primitive games of all time, but it displays a good model of balance. Each choice has a weakness and a strength,so selecting the right hand signal is your path to victory. The same strategy is used in well designed games. Each challenge should have a unique ( or as close as possible to unique) weakness and strength. It is the players job to find and exploit these weaknesses, and also be prepared to adapt to any situation.

Graphics:

The Graphics segment has sort of been on hold for the last bit as I get the basics down, though I have been looking around at some modelling resources and have found a bunch of great tutorials already. I have yet to pick a modelling program, though Blender seems to be a popular and capable program. The interface DOES look a little daunting though.

Music:

Was cruising around last night and a buddy of mine threw in a new CD I hadn't heard before. The name of the band was "Band of Horses". They are a bit of a different sound, but I immediately was drawn into the unique vocals and the soothig guitar. I'd reccomend checking them out.