Kotaku
Over at 1Up, they've got a wonderful Friday afternoon time killer in 'Playing With Power: Great Ideas That Have Changed Gaming Forever'. They look at a couple dozen gameplay conventions and trace them from modern usage down to their 8-bit progenitors.
Some of the great ideas that have shaped gaming are better than others — power-ups versus ice or life bar vs. canine companions — but it's just the sort of nostalgic retrospective gamers have so much fun spacing out reading.
Playing With Power: Great Ideas That Have Changed Gaming Forever [1UP] (Thanks, Jane!)
