Extra Credits

Gingetsuryuu

Hey,

I found this really good youtube channel and I can't see any mention here about it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz?feature=watch

They spend a fair bit of time analyzing games and talking about game elements. I found it very enlightening so far and I've only finished the first Season.

Ramperkash

I've been following them for quite some time now and I really like it.
I always assumed everyone already knows of them, so I'm sorry for not mentioning it before. I've been watching them on penny arcade (and escapist when they were still there) but I don't know if following them on youtube is as/more convenient.

I wanted to make a list of episodes I would recommend... but that's probably almost all of them, so I figured I'd skip that.

It might be cool to discuss some episodes (where relevant) as they come out though.

Aequitas

There videos are often good, and I've posted topics based on their vids before. I think that would be a better way to go about it. If you watch one that you want to talk about, make a new topic and link the specific vid ;)

EvanGreenwood

I find the ExtraCreditz videos where he talks about narrative and social issues illuminating.

But I find his game design advice is more like game appreciation advice. Good on the analysis but poor on the actionable suggestions (what I mean is while his analysis is good I find his conclusions naive).

Though I'm not sure if it's meant to be a game appreciation channel (does anyone know?). So maybe my complaint is misplaced because I feel like he does game appreciation/analysis well.

hanli

I think it falls under Game Studies - which is the convoluted term for what you are calling appreciation and analysis. We avoid the term 'appreciation' because that makes it sound like a fan club, where it is actually more about learning how to "read" games (ludoliteracy - if you can believe that such a terrible word actually exists), and how to engage critically with them. I don't think it is supposed to act as a game design channel at all. I find them useful clips to introduce game study themes that can then be further developed in lectures.