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Thursday, June 13, 2013

Extra Credits: The Best Discussion about the Video Game Industry on the Internet


A few friends of mine are not (I repeat, not) gamers. They are collectively the most intelligent people I know...and they know it.

Theirs is the world of literature, mathematics, and chemistry respectively. They love books, they like movies, and will tolerate television. The math one is still mad I "made" her "waste" an entire weekend watching three whole seasons of Breaking Bad, as if I had a gun to her head. Wait, people can't read sarcasm. OK, I did not have a gun to her head, she lives in an entirely different state, I swear.

Anywho, you can imagine their feelings on video games. Whenever I accidentally drop a cursory mention of something I happen to be playing their faces fall, (or they did, we haven't physically hung out in over a year) they have the solemn look saved for a friend they've just remembered has a pitiful, crippling, addiction. They think I'm pro gun control, that I'm a stalwart anti-feminist, and that I haven't been laid in six months. I'd like to point out it's only been two months. So Ha!

I've struggled to chip away at their willful ignorance, but again, I'm an impartial addict in their eyes. But I think I've found a way to at least make them think twice before declaring games the downfall of civilization. It's a fantastic web series called Extra Credits.

See? You see what you non-gamers are missing out on?!

Its witty, its informative, its not afraid to go super "inside baseball" and there isn't a an ounce of pretension to be found in its 130 episode deep back catalog.

I'd personally recommend the first episode as well as:

No Redeeming Value

Enriching Lives 

Facing Controversy 

Sexual Diversity

Gamifying Education

...and True Female Characters




While I'm actually pretty miffed at their latest episode, (here's why) They are far and away the most intelligent critics discussing the industry today. Everyone should listen to them, if only for five minutes, and I mean gamers and haters alike. You'll both walk away with something to think about, and its because of that I feel comfortable calling them master debaters...what?



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