The Sunday Papers

What do you do on Saturday? Well, if you're me, you pull on a suit and go and sell comics to people dressed as Wonder-Woman. But Sunday is a very different time. Sunday is a time for assembling bookshelves and/or lists of interesting reading from the world of games in a handy list while trying to resist linking to old Bob Mould records. Join me.

• Vince D Weller takes first prize on the reading matter this week, compiling a mass talking shop of RPG luminaries about World, Character and Story design. Everyone from Chris Avellone and loads of other Obsidian staff and... oh, more RPG sorts than you'd imagine would submit to this stuff, let alone turn out genuinely interesting stuff. Go read. Worth it for Avellone talking about how KOTOR2 was a game inspired by thinking the Force sucked a bit. And - y'know - he has a point.
• Sensible Software veteran John Hare writes for new site Gaming Verdict. He's both mourning the leaking of creativity from the minds of a generation of developers, while trying to talk about how it's essential to not despair, and creatives to nurse gaming through this teething stage of gaming history.
• Is PC gaming dying part 567,218,294,123,742,982,298? Valve's Doug Lombardi : "It is absolutely a perception problem. I mean one of the things that happens is--Microsoft has an army of PR people that work for Microsoft. They have at least two agencies that are additional armies. Nintendo I'm not as familiar with their PR outline, but I'm sure it's similar. Sony is similar. The PC has nobody. They've got people like us, in our spare time, talking to guys like you". Lots more here.
• One of the more fun Games Are Good For You Ones recently. Professor S. Shyam Sundar of Penn State talking about research showing that videogames may spark creativity. Reading what they've said, it's not that surprising - the fact that people who came off a game either excited or depressed ended up being more creative seems to be the way we're wired. Art is inspired by feeling. Anything which makes you feel, inspires creativity. And if feelings fail, there's always the ever-inspiring booze (I agree - Brendan Behan).
• If I Can't Change Your Mind from Sugar's Coper Blue. Which I found when unpacking and remains a ridiculously glorious proposition fifteen years on.

Failed.