http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiePaAHK3jE

On the inside, a beautiful piece about persistence as told through the lives of iconic video game characters. On the outside, a reflection on our memories of early video games and the bonds we formed with these characters. A true testament to the story, animation, art, passion, and love developers pour into games to craft these unique experiences.

With it’s brilliant cinematography and direction, I cannot think of a better piece to humanize video games, bringing my reasons for gaming to a whole new level.

Dave Tach, Polygon

Elizabeth McQuaid, a psychologist at Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center, is overseeing the trial launch of a video game designed to help children with food allergies.

McQuaid teamed up with developer Virtually Better to test a web-based game for children 8-12. Researchers hope the software, which puts players in scenes intended to help them learn more about food allergies, symptoms and reaction management, will reduce the risk of allergic reactions.

Mmmmmm… educational gaming for health… yum :)

Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University, quoted by Yahoo! News UK

Patients recovering from chemotherapy have been shown to need less painkillers if their minds are occupied by games — and the same has been shown to work on children with skin conditions.

The cognitive side effects of addictive games offer health awesomeness.

Lorne Lanning, Oddworld CEO, quoted by Polygon

“Money, means, and the ideas that figure out how to do it without getting dull and standing on a soap box, which quite frankly nobody wants to listen to, and if they do they will go to documentaries. But as we are seeing, the more audiences realize that deeper content reflecting relevant truths can be more refreshing and engaging, [the more] we see documentary films having greater successes than ever in history. This is reflective of an evolving appetite that more people want more meaningful content and want to walk away from their experiences with more lasting impressions that add ‘more value to their lives.‘”

I find it oddly coincidental that two similar arguments on the lasting power of video games were published by two of the largest video game publications on the same day. What is the catalyst?

The bulk of the indies that reach the market are more akin to the early days of gaming. There is much more experimentation; however, indie devs in this evolved market are not making games to turn a profit but express themselves through the means created by gaming forefathers, thus unintentionally shaking gamers out of an empty dark-age before it has time to swallow us whole.

I’m giddy thinking of the ideas and stories Ken Levine could tell without the pressure of sales figures. I can’t be the only one who wished BioShock Infinite were simply an exploration game rather than FPS. Alas, shooters sell. Maybe Cyan could bring him in as a consultant on Obduction?

The answer for IGN’s Mitch Dyer may lie on the Dark Side of the Moon. However, Toxic is a damn good song.

Mitch Dyer, IGN

Furthermore, no game you and I are excited to play right now will continue to sell copies like A Tale of Two Cities. The majority of enjoyable games are disposable. Even the number of brands that could predictably succeed in this capacity is microscopic. Part of this comes from the brand problem, which is that every video game sequel seems to be about doing something better rather than having something to say. They don’t really add to the art — they improve on past mistakes. Games are too often too busy chasing the technology ahead of them that there’s little room (or budget) left to chase anything else — design, emotional engagement, or individuality, for instance.

“A brave and brilliant article” or “Suddenly, I feel empty”?