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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.]

As we wander into the weekend, here's another of the slightly less seldom GameSetLinks, rounding up some neat stuff we ran into over the last few days about video games that you might not have seen - starting with an interesting Boing Boing essay on Venezuela and violent games.

Also in here - a look at hardcore sim RailWorks, the making of classic bar game Tapper, a catchy song by a colleague, SomethingAwful goofs wonderfully on those darn indie games, and rather more besides.

Up up:

Venezuela bans violent video games: a first-person guest essay - Boing Boing
An odd act, and a moving response.

Pretend you are an IGF judge: Part 1 | SavyGamer
Going through this year's IGF entries alphabetically and finding demos, extra info, brief single-line descriptions - useful. Also see a compilation of IGF entry videos by the Tale Of Tales folks.

Gamers will inherit the virtual earth | Ed Stern | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
A nice defence from Splash Damage's Stern: 'Games generate social experiences, often hilariously surreal, and are mainly played in more imaginative and ironic ways than their genre suggests.'

Interview: Paul Jackson On RailWorks | Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Awesome niche interview - excellent work, RPS, in mainstreaming things like this.

What the Alternative Press Expo Taught Me About Games - Offworld/Boing Boing
Intriguing Boyer post about how indie media interact.

The Making Of: Tapper | Edge Online
Extremely interesting retrospective on the classic title.

YouTube - Space Asshole
Our own Chris Remo's song about Red Faction: Guerrilla, as showcased on the (now kinda over, aw!) Idle Thumbs podcast. Super cute.

SomethingAwful: 2010's Most Promising Bullshit Indie Games
Hah. AWESOME.

Rounding up the last seven days a tad later than normal, it's time to recap the top full-length features and news of the past week on big sister site Gamasutra, plus extra features and Game Design Challenge goodness from fellow edu site GameCareerGuide.

This time, there's a couple of neat interviews - with the folks at Splash Damage and Disney's game boss - as well as some nice graphs of game mechanics, how to use Wikis in game design, the possibility of public safety games, and rather more things besides.

Here we go:

Thinking Brink: Splash Damage's Console Evolution
"UK-based Quake Wars developer Splash Damage is making a play onto consoles with the Bethesda-published Brink, which tries completely seamless transitions between singleplayer, multiplayer and co-op while playing. Gamasutra talks to senior game designer Edward Stern about the company's plans and philosophy."

Learning the Ways of the Game Development Wiki
"Game design veteran Ryan (Fracture) looks at the Wiki as a game design and development tool, asking -- is it the right tool to use to document game creation, and what are the pros and cons of using it to store design information about larger-scale games?"

Anatomy of a Game Mechanic
"Game design veteran Sigman presents a detailed look at how game mechanics can be represented visually -- and what we can learn about how to make great video games thanks to such alluring graphs."

Persuasive Games: This Is Only A Drill
"In his new Gamasutra column, writer and game designer Ian Bogost asks -- why can't the power of games be used to help retain information in public safety drills, for example replacing the air safety videos that many travelers barely listen to?"

The Mouse That Gamed: Graham Hopper Talks Disney's Video Game Strategy
"Disney Interactive president Graham Hopper is pursuing a broad array of avenues, and here he discusses the careful approach the company's numerous gaming brands."

The Indie Process
"IGF competitor and USC student Michael Silverman examines several different ways that different academic programs approach the process of prototyping games."

[Some more E3 highlights, then, as we relax after a week of zooming around the Los Angeles Convention Center -- and here's what the various editors on big sister site Gamasutra got from talking to some of the biggest companies exhibiting there.]

Continuing our E3 highlights, we look at what major companies told us in Los Angeles, with exclusive comments from Valve, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Crytek, Disney, and more.

This set of comments gathered by our reporters, many of which extracted from a larger Gamasutra interviews to debut in the near future, span many of the top companies exhibiting at E3 last week.

Also covered in addition to the interview highlights -- summaries and commentary on the third-party company press conferences going on in Southern California earlier last week.

The full set of stories is as follows:

Interview Highlights

E3: Brink Marks Major Console Focus For Splash Damage
"Splash Damage already made a console-converted game with Quake Wars, but the studio with hardcore PC shooter roots tells Gamasutra how the upcoming Brink will place even more emphasis on console game creation."

E3: Peter Moore: Do We Need a Controller?
"Peter Moore's EA Sports imprint has had access to Natal for months now, and feels that the best software experiences will be those that make more sense without any physical controller."

E3: Can Shadow Complex Modernize The Old School?
"Gamasutra speaks with Chair Entertainment's Donald Mustard, who hopes that the Super Metroid-inspired Shadow Complex can bring old school 2D gameplay into the next generation."

E3: Disney Boss Says Warren Spector's Game On Track
"Gamasutra had the chance to catch up with Graham Hopper, general manager of Disney Interactive Studios, and get an update on Warren Spector's Junction Point studio, its project, and how Disney's creative process is allowing Spector's creativity to flourish."

E3: Ubisoft's Detoc Looks To Game, Film Convergence
"Ubisoft is looking decidedly to the future -- new announcements at E3 have shed light on CEO Yves Guillemot's cryptic predictions, and now NA boss Laurent Detoc talks about why film and game tech is getting "more and more close every year."

E3: Valve's Lombardi On What Happened To Turtle Rock
"Left 4 Dead creator Valve South, the redubbed Turtle Rock Studios, no longer exists as a Valve subsidiary studio -- marketing VP Doug Lombardi explains what went down, and hints at a new Turtle Rock/Valve collaboration."

E3: 'We Launched Too Many New IPs At Once' - EA's Gibeau
"EA Games label president Frank Gibeau has told Gamasutra how the company's influx of new IP in 2008 should have been spread out, and talks about an aggressive initiative to build in two to three months of polish time for new games."

E3: Crysis 2 'Maxing Out' the PS3
"In an interview with Gamasutra, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli denied the Sony assertion that it would take developers years to maximize the potential of the PS3."

E3: The APB Interview
"In a rare interview, Gamasutra speaks with Realtime Worlds boss Dave Jones about APB, the EA Partners publishing deal, Counter-Strike's influence on the game, and "eco-gangs" roaming the beta's streets."

E3: EA's DeMartini - EAP is a 'Backseat Driver'
"Speaking to Gamasutra during EA's E3 press event, EA Partners senior vice president and general manager David DeMartini likens the company's third-party approach to "backseat driving - better than front seat driving.""

E3: Bringing Story To The Forefront In Star Wars: The Old Republic
"BioWare Austin senior producer Dallas Dickinson wants the upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic to have the same strong storylines associated with single-player RPGs. Can BioWare pull it off?"

E3: Valve Talks Left 4 Dead 2's Quick Sequel Strategy
"Following Valve's announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 coming just a year after its predecessor, Gamasutra spoke with project lead Tom Leonard about why the sequel is coming so soon -- and what it means for the original game."

Press Conferences

E3: Konami's Briefing Reveals New Castlevania, MGS Arcade
"Hideo Kojima surprised audiences at Konami's E3 briefing with news that he had four titles to announce -- three Metal Gears, and one... European-developed Castlevania? Press conference quotes, analysis within..."

E3: Ubisoft Commits To Strong Cross-Media Convergence
"Ubisoft pledged to take its investment into cross-media development further than ever, partnering with such figures as James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson."

E3: Inside Electronic Arts' 2009 Press Conference
"In Los Angeles on Monday, Electronic Arts' presentation showed the breadth of their content, spanning everything from The Old Republic MMO through the new Charm Girls Club tween franchise - details within."

We have already published an initial round-up post, covering the first-party press conferences taking place during E3. A third round-up, with discussion on what the first parties told us after their conferences, will debut in the near future.