Understanding psychology will assist in creating a more immersive environment for the player, crafting and implementing more realistic characters with proper responses, reactions, and dispositions according to their predetermined personality. Understanding psychology can be utilized to create an environment that the player will revel in and can experience with a sense of astonishment and curiosity as they are engulf themselves in it.

There is no useless information in game design.

Mechanics are the base components of the game - its rules, every basic action the player can take in the game, the algorithms and data structures in the game engine etc.

Dynamics are the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on player input and "cooperating" with other mechanics the game will demonstrate during the course of play.

Aesthetics are the emotional responses evoked in the player - joy, frustration, fantasy, fellowship and the art style and experience the player will immerse themself in.

MDA - Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepAJ-rqJKA
MDA - Article
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf

Start small, build a working demo and add new features and content over time. Perfect the concept you have and implement gathered resources over time. Even if the project does not work at first, you've gained experience that will accumulate as you dive further into the game industry. Enjoy what you do and maintain confidence to succeed.

I wish I could afford ZBrush. That program is incredibly intuitive.

Hello Valve Pipeline! These guys possess some incredible insight into the game industry; they have been of great use in my own preparation for independent game development and designing incredible games. I’m sure they will be of great help to you as well!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDqfD3NEm0Y

So You Want To Be a Game Designer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvWMdWhFCc

So You Want to be a Developer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCuUWGmatpU

So You Want To Be a Producer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUkcz2taCiw

Playing Like a Designer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HmtmoGwpZc