"Extra Credits" on gaming Difficulty and Fun

Couple of very good discussions on gaming, IIRC Extra Credits is associated with Penny Arcade, http://penny-arcade.com/, in some fashion.

Direct link for Youtube above http://youtu.be/BWFzFsHc75U
Link for Extra Credits Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz/featured

They do an exceptional job of articulating some of the differences in games and gamers.

Stuff I'd understood, but never heard clearly stated before, I know I much prefer games of Depth, as they term it, big part of the reason I still like Diablo 2 but can't stand Diablo 3.

Or Chess vs Checkers.

Difficulty isn't the motivator, or at least not the sole motivator, I also like Minecraft.

Worth watching if your into gaming, and very worth following IMHO.

Twitter and more info for them is available on their Youtube Channel.




Link for VOD http://youtu.be/ea6UuRTjkKs

Nerd News: Valve’s Gabe Newell

In case you missed Penny Arcade's interview of Gabe Newell, here is link, and teaser [Gabe Newell's response to a question]:

It’s not my job to track down or supervise everyone and make sure they’re doing the right thing. It’s more like I’m a resource here and I can be helpful at addressing a problem. It works surprisingly well, but it takes a while for people to get used to it. We’re optimized for people who are very experienced and have been working for a long time and don’t really need someone looking over their shoulder or second-guessing their decisions. 

Sounds like a really cool place to work, I am a fan of Valve, though I tend to think of them as Steam, cause I was buying games from Steam before I knew what Valve was, if your not clear on the difference take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation

Gabe Newell also mentions wearable computers and related hardware, something that I am interested in, since it seems to me the logical interface for smaller and smaller electronic devices.