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There is one form of social games that has been around for a very long time: board games. Rob Zacny tells us how many game designers and players are paying more attention to the simple social interactions had around a board with some plastic pieces.

It's a little known fact that the creative head of Zynga is Bryan Reynolds, the man who brought us Civilization 2, Alpha Centauri and Rise of Nations. Russ Pitts sat down with Reynolds and asked him why making Facebook games is his focus right now.

Game designers can be stubborn. Erin Hoffman points out how denying tools like audience-tracking metrics and decrying that games are too artistic for Facebook, as well as stereotyping FarmVille players, allowed startups to steal what was rightfully theirs.

On the surface, no gamer finds anything of value in games on a social platform. Wendy Despain dissects just how our brain is tricked into having fun with FarmVille or Happy Aquarium.

The lessons learned in a strict, military environment can affect a person for the rest of their lives. Nicholas Branch's experience in the 75th Ranger Regiment tells us that it makes no difference if the military environment is in a "Realism" unit playing over the internet.

The Sims might just be the most ambitious roleplaying game ever created. If that sounds crazy to you, Troy Goodfellow will prove you wrong.

Perspective switches from first- to second- to third-person all within the first five minutes of Max Payne. Robert Buerkle examines this unique phenomenon in videogames and how the blend creates a positive roleplaying experience.

Strategy games don't always lend themselves to playing a specific role, yet Alex Donks tells the story of his tyrannical empire's rise and fall in Master of Orion II, all due to the hubris of its leader.

Professional wrestling has portrayed clear-cut villains for over a hundred years. Colin Rowsell examines the history of faces and heels in pro wrestling and how its simple storytelling techniques inform videogames.

Almost every modern videogame with a story or plot has a major villain or boss to be defeated at the conclusion. Rowan
Kaiser pines for a time when this was not always so, such as the RPG masterpieces Ultima IV and VI.

The final boss of a platformer may be easily defeated while the combined pits, spikes and wall-traps leading to his chamber are stained with the blood of a hundred reloads. Kevin Hoole explains how the environment can be the harshest villain in videogames.

With the medium's special limitations, making an effective villain is hard to do in videogames. Richard Dansky is a master at the craft and he imparts his villainous wisdom on how to create the perfect adversary for the player.

Many industry insiders thought that it wouldn't work, including some of its contributors. Allen Varney eats his words as he speaks to the founders of The Escapist and learns the history of the magazine and what has made it the mouthpiece of the gaming generation.

LoadingReadyRun has been creating comedy since before this console generation began and YouTube was a twinkle in anyone's eye. Nick Halme travelled to Victoria, British Columbia to visit with Graham, Paul and the rest of the gang to find out just what makes the LRR comedy factory work.

Find out everything about The Escapist staff that you've always wanted to know. Who's married? Just who has been faking that Funk? And what is it with ponies?

Remember those overly verbose criticisms that you were forced to read in college, written by intellectuals who used 10 cent words just because they could? Max Steele has taken that style and applied it to something that really matters: Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation reviews.

Kieron Gillen's New Games Journalism manifesto sparked a debate about how we write about the games that we love. Alasdair Stuart checks in with Gillen six years after he wrote that we should be "Travel Journalists to Imaginary places."

Searching Google for a game review is like using a hatchet when you need a scalpel. Chuck Wendig prefers sending a query to the trusted hive mind that is his Twitter followers.

A writer blasted reviews for over-hyping titles and giving too much credit to works that were just tripe. Peter Parrish proves that what George Orwell argued in 1936 for the novel is just as relevant to videogame reviews today.

Many sources review games based purely on how "bad" they are and don't care whether they are any fun. Fintan Monaghan examines a few of the websites and censor boards that describe the level of sex, violence and magic in games.