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[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

While we're way into a super hectic GDC week, and in fact, the GameSetLinks haven't got busted out for a long time, we still have a few in our back pocket for moments like this - and here's some fun results.

Among them: 1UP on fanfiction, a neat good interview with Wadjet Eye Games' Dave Gilbert, a Sonic retrospective of some classiness, a retrospective on David Cage's early piece of semi-insanity that is Omikron, and rather more besides.

Eff bee eye:

Fan's View: Inside the World of Fanfiction from 1UP.com
'Our first part in a series on game fan culture looks into the controversial art of weaving non-canonical tales.'

Retrospective: Omikron: The Nomad Soul Article | Retro | Eurogamer
'I will argue with you that Fahrenheit is one of the most exciting games I've ever played, even though it's broken in about 657 ways.'

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog : Report: "The Game Maker" Vol. 2: Sunsoft
Nice, the Game Center CX guys doing new retrospectives...

WoSblog: Weird or Standard? » Blog Archive » Games mags in a coma
Presumably to be sung to Morrissey/Smiths? But sad :(

Bestower of Blackwell, Repossesser of Emerald City – INTERVIEW with Dave Gilbert » A Hardy Developer's Journal
Great interview on the adventure game dev, who has transitioned from casual portal-supported to self-supported status in terms of distribution, interestingly...

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog : Lost Levels: Sonic and the Secret Games
Great retrospective from Frank.

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

You will see an occasional GameSetLinks out of us, even with GDC coming up and schedule being all kinds of crazy, so here's the first one in a while, headed out with Spiderweb's Jeff Vogel on getting somewhere in the indie game business - fine advice indeed.

Also in here - some curious Harmonix music licenses, discussion of EmoGame, some totally retro demo-scene goodness, why Playfish did the right thing by partnering with IP powerhouse EA, and various other neat things besides.

Stop stop stop:

The Bottom Feeder: Three Tips For Getting Started In the Indie Gaming Biz
'Let me say something here, and I don't want to put too fine a point on it. You need sleep to live.'

...on pampers, programming & pitching manure: Playfish's Smart Move in the Facebook Gold Rush
Interesting analysis - suggesting 'outbranding' with EA brands will be Playfish's route to success: 'Another flavor of spending your way out of the clouds. Specifically, license IP/Brands, from games or elsewhere, can help your title stand out in a crowded space.'

Apocalypse POW!: Retro Flashback: EmoGame
'EmoGame and its sequels were particularly enjoyable and novel because not only were they clever and well-designed from a gaming perspective, but they were also predicated on a staunchly devoted and surprisingly well-informed knowledge of pop culture.'

Royalty Network Revealing New Harmonix Project? - bemanistyle.com
Very interesting, Harmonix requesting some hiphop and trance tracks? PLEASE let it be the return of Amplitude.

Sonnez Les Jeux Video: During which part of playing a video game does the actual "playing" occur?
'During which part of playing a video game does the actual "playing" occur? Unfortunately, the answer to this question, like the answer to too many other questions, is: It depends.'

8bit today: DATASTORM 2010 PRODUCTIONS
Talking of demo-scene, here's some awesome products of an oldskool party in Scandinavia, including a MP3 on the C64 (!).

San Diego Reader | Sweat Like a Rockstar
Local alt.weekly has a go at the Rockstar San Diego story. 'According to an employee who calls himself “Captain Anonymous,” it’s a workplace that might as well be in Pyongyang, North Korea; he told me, “Employees are being surveilled, and the last person to speak anonymously whose identity was presumed (not proven) was fired.''

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Continuing a fun - if slightly ancient - trawl through some of the best video game-related links we've seen in recent times, we start out with an old standby - a big list of neat free games, courtesy 1UP, and it even includes a number of titles that we haven't had a chance to check out.

Also in here somewhere - classic games of 20 years ago in pictorial form, a paean to the Nintendo DS, a look at whether indie games are dead, Frank Lantz on art and games, Tim Rogers wanders along to his own happy place, and more besides.

It was a swan:

101 Free Games 2010: The Best Free Games on the Web from 1UP.com
Another excellent annual list from 1UP and the Sharkey.

can videogames make us happy? - tim rogers - Kotaku
Dunno, but articles as silly as this can def. make us happy.

Interview: Frank Lantz | Edge Online
Nice chat from Art History Of Games conf.

Is Indie Dead? :: Culture :: Features :: Paste
An amazing cover article from Paste Magazine about indie music which has some serious relevance to indie games too - I think in the next couple of years, they will be here too.

IGF 2010 finalists overview at Big Download Blog
Finished up all the finalist overviews, they have, and some really nice write-ups are to be had.

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog : Advertisement Gallery: The Games of January, 1990
'The following is a gallery I put together of magazine advertisements showcasing games released in the United States in January of 1990 which, for a few more hours anyway, is exactly twenty years ago.'

Retrospective: Listen, We Have to Talk Article | Retro | Eurogamer
Some of the best writing in the world is on Eurogamer recently: 'DS, we have to talk. I'm sorry that I'm doing this in a letter rather than face to face, but I need to express all my thoughts and feelings carefully. I need to make sure you understand.'

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

With GDC coming up early next month and DICE next week, there's a whole heap of busy out there, but we're going to keep up with the periodic GameSetLinks, since there's a lot of really cool content out there on the Internets that not enough people get to see, sometimes.

This time, some of the highlights include an in-depth look at all-time ZX Spectrum classic Manic Miner, a discussion on history and The Beatles: Rock Band, an interview with the still awesomely monikered Michael Michael at one of my favorite cult developers, PomPom, and rather more things besides.

Go go go:

The Making Of Manic Miner | NowGamer
'Matthew Smith talks us through every level of his classic platformer.' BLISS. Esp. for VVVVVV fans, heh.

Action Button Dot Net: Tim Rogers reviews FFXIII
Yes, there is a 'short version' of this review.

Indie | Artistic Vision | Resolution Magazine
'The EGP has again shown what developers can do when given a theme and just seven days to work on a game.'

RevisioNESt History: Comparing Made-Up Mythology in Retro-Style Games from 1UP.com
'Is making games purposefully simple and arguably ugly a piece of cake? Not if you want to properly represent their forebears.'

Hotmilkydrink: Cod liver oil and effective learning...
'How can parents make sense of games and how they can be used for good with their children when we are faced with the continual construction of them as modern day folk devils?'

Experience Points: I'm Looking Through You
Regarding The Beatles: Rock Band: 'As I play the game, I grow continually more interested in the narrative and its relationship to historical events. More than once, I found myself thinking of one of my favorite films, which also deals with the line between truth and myth: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.'

PomPom Games' Michael Michael Interview | Eurogamer
Super-rare interview with the talented UK shooter creators, personal indie heroes of mine.

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Wandering along the GameSetLinks road this time around, we start out with a blog post from Steve Streeting about why Lego Rock Band is actually a heck of a lot of fun, even if semi-grumpy reviewers who are fed up with the genre downrate it. And it was one of my favorite games of last year, too.

Also in here - a video from the super-wacky, fun Incredible Crisis, an apprecation of Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes for the Nintendo DS, Wired on how real-life football takes a cue from football games, steps to be an indie dev, and a bunch of other neat things besides.

Cha cha cha:

SteveStreeting.com » Blog Archive » Game reviewers are snobs
'So, I got Lego Rock Band for Christmas and we just finished the main story mode last night. This is a game that’s averaged 70 on Metacritic, and has basically been described as the lazy, ugly child of the Rock Band series. What a load of old bollocks.' Heartily agreed.

How to become an indie developer in eight steps | Technology | guardian.co.uk
With some nice indie-related interviews along the way.

Opening theme to Incredible Crisis, by Tokyo Ska... - Tiny Cartridge
I really love Incredible Crisis, because it's VERY. SILLY.

Warp Skip! | You have received bears
On Capy's Might & Magic DS game, a major sleeper: 'They’ve managed to find a way to integrate RPG elements with a puzzle game like Puzzle Quest did a few years ago, but their core mechanic doesn’t end up introducing a feeling of unfair competition from the AI.'

In your electronic arms « WoSblog – gaming, music, snacks, the Apocalypse and more
'The Longest Life (the clip’s rarely-used actual title) has certainly used a videogame to create art, and that’s probably enough italics for now.'

Game Changers: How Videogames Trained a Generation of Athletes | Magazine
'For certain football fans, the excitement of a last-minute comeback now commingled with the shock of the familiar: It’s hard to think of a better example of a professional athlete doing something so obviously inspired by the tactics of videogame football.'

SteveStreeting.com » Blog Archive » “Maturing” download games market starts to show retail-like characteristics
'What’s depressing is what’s happening to the ‘official’ download channels – which were a bastion of independent content a year or two ago, and now are turning more and more into just another channel for the same mainstream developers & publishers we see at retail.'

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Digging into our cache of GameSetLinks, we come up with some beautifully earthy article goodness, starting out with the 1UP folks discussing just where the character-based rhythm action game went - something I certainly mourn, since musical stories are actually major moneyspinners in other creative industries (uh, Broadway!) Shame.

Also in these links - a neat UK Guardian piece on Britsoft and indie gaming, plus Cartoon Brew gets on the Rockstar quality of life discussion train, Bear McCreary's rather gorgeous Dark Void soundtrack is dissected by the artist himself, and other things occur besides.

Remember me:

Chiptuned: 1UP's Game Music Blog : Mourning the Character-Based Rhythm Game
'We just need a concept as original and interesting as the first Parappa -- and there's never been a better time, now that most rhythm games seek to be indistinguishable from their competitors.'

Retronauts Flashback: January 1990 from 1UP.com
Super-nice Cifaldi snapshot of 20 years ago in gaming...

Bear's Battlestar Blog » Blog Archive » The Dark Void Score
Was really taken by the Dark Void soundtrack, discovered it's by Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary - here's a gigantic making-of blog post with sample music.

Back to the bedroom: how indie gaming is reviving the Britsoft spirit | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Excellent article from Keith Stuart on indie games as creative renaissance: 'Britain used to produce some of the most entertaining and idiosyncratic videogames in the world. Then the eighties ended. But are the glory days returning?'

gamedrinkcode » Archive » How to afford an indie game
Heartily agreed.

Is Rockstar a sweatshop? | Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation
Interesting to see this story get as far as one of the major animation sites, and the comments there-in.

BigDownload: IGF 2010 Finalists: Design Excellence
Really nice overview from James Murff and the BigDownload folks.

Life Starts Here: High Society
Writer and former GSW columnist Duncan Fyfe with a great fictional tale taking place at GDC, oddly enough - this is a blog to watch.

[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Still a little bit behind on the 'ol GameSetLinks, but catching up marginally - starting out with another excellent Brandon Boyer piece at BoingBoing, this time looking at where Xbox Live Indie Games is currently at and possible prospects. (The recent announcements of top XBLIG sales for 2009 reveal slightly better financials than Boyer knew when writing the editorial, but nonetheless...)

Also in these particular links - Ico Partners on its 2010 predictions in the online game space, 1UP on game preservation, Necessary Games on JRPGs, Lost Garden's Daniel Cook on his work helping to create Ribbon Hero for Microsoft Office, and rather more neatness besides.

Working so hard:

What's Microsoft doing for Indie Games? Boing Boing
Great editorial from Boyer about XBLIG and the future.

Games from Within | Making A Living (Barely) On The iPhone App Store (aka The Numbers Post)
Absolutely fascinating stats from Noel with his app Flower Garden - looks like in-app purchases are making a big difference for him.

ICO Partners » Blog Archive » 2010 online games trends
Another excellent trends piece in the online/social space...

Game Raider: The Science of Game Preservation from 1UP.com
Frank C. on his guerrilla approach, which, yes, works: 'Every archaeologist knows that sometimes, the only way to save a precious artifact is to steal it.'

Lost Garden: Ribbon Hero turns learning Office into a game
'I’m happy to announce the availability of Ribbon Hero, a new download from Microsoft that turns using Office into a game. I’ve been helping the fine folks over in Office Labs with the design and we are all immensely proud that this is getting released to the public.'

Coining the Faceless Wind (Magical Wasteland)
'We have all heard the koan about the tree falling in the forest and its sound, or lack thereof, in the absence of observers. In terms of a video game, the answer is obvious that if there is no observer present there is no reason to calculate the observable property.'

Exit Fate game review | Necessary Games
Kinda a review, but actually an extended musing on why JRPGs matter: 'For me, the few times I didn’t regret playing jRPGs (Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, etc.) made up for the many times I did.'