Friday afternoon tidbits

Not two weeks after surgery, the splint came off and it's on to physical therapy, which in some ways is more painful and difficult than what was happening before. The therapist tells me that that elbow is the hardest body part to rehab, so that's awesome. You should see the huge scar on my arm, too. Anyway, links.

-Thanks to this week's post about trying to play games while injured, I was introduced to Able Gamers, a site for gamers with disabilities. They also run the Able Gamers Foundation, a charitable organization that advocates for accessibility in digital entertainment. It's an important subject many of us probably don't think about enough. To that end, I'd also recommend the Big Red Potion podcast with guest Mark Barlet, the founder of Able Gamers. Very illuminating.

-The re-launch of Irrational Games and its website has been something to see. Not only is Shawn Elliott back to podcasting, but they're releasing things like Ken Levine's recollections of System Shock 2 development. Great stuff.

-I don't think I've said this before, but I appreciated the way Assassin's Creed II didn't shy away from grappling with religious ideas, to the extent where the bad guys were actually members of the Catholic church. But, as Rich Clark points out, the game mechanics undermine any real penetrating look at the tough questions the game seems to want to raise.

-I don't play or advocate for independent games nearly enough -- or at all, really -- but I've been enjoying the VVVVVV demo. Not sure why I played this one when I skip so many others. Maybe it was Rock Paper Shotgun's write-up about the game, and interview with its creator. Either way, glad I tried it. The music is great, too.

-I'm not going on record with a Super Bowl pick, but, like most people, I'm rooting for the Saints. But really I'm rooting for myself to drink beer and eat a ton of food.