Lots of interesting stuff in my Google Reader today. First off, Racketboy has a Beginners Guide up with tons of images and text about the hallowed Vectrex. Looks like they've really put some work into gathering links and summing up the high points; probably not much here for old fans, but curious folks will find lots of concise info here.

Another interesting article is 12 Components that Reshaped the PC by Loyd Case. The article talks about some particular components that made a difference, such as the Voodoo II and the Ad Lib Music Synthesizer. I found this interesting as well as informative, since I didn't really get into PC gaming until the late 90s. Lots of fun stuff here to read and think about.

Finally, there's Christiaan Moleman's The Necessity Of Interactive Animation For Games which talks about how games could benefit from better body language and facial expression. I think this is indeed very important, and I love to see research being done in this area. We all know that far more is communicated via non-verbal things like posture and movement than is ever said aloud. I agree heartily with Moleman and hope more developers will explore this area.