When I go to YouTube in search of entertainment, sometimes I indulge in the mindless funny cat videos that saturate the Internet, but for the most part I like to watch content that enriches my life with useful information.

I’m a big fan of tutorial videos, well developed video series, news videos and thought-provoking clips.

One of my go -o channels publishes content that revolves around video games which I think quite a bit of the UTD student population would enjoy watching. I know that usually when someone says that a YouTube channel is about video games, the first thing that comes to mind is “Let’s Plays”, but in this case that would be incorrect. The channel I am talking about is “Extra Credits”.

“Extra Credits” is a lightly animated video series in which  gaming, game design and artistic concepts are discussed. It’s one of the few channels for which I would recommend watching every video in their archive, especially for someone who wants to be a game developer.

Topics they have covered include how a game should be developed well by talking about production and testing. They have also covered the less technical side that has to do with video game narratives and what artistic elements make a video game enjoyable for the player. I could make a very long list of interesting topics that they have covered, but instead I’ll just list out a few of my favorites with links below. Hopefully, you enjoy these videos and will invest more time into this channel.

Symbolism 101 – This episode discusses symbols and how they have been incorporated specifically into horror games to effect the mood of game play. It also gives examples of how you can use symbolism in your own games.

Gamifying Education – In this episode, the crew discuss flaws in the current education system and offers suggestions as to how we can make education more engaging and thereby more effective.

The Skinner Box – Skinner box techniques are being overused in modern day video games and the team puts forth how it is an unrewarding mechanic that causes people to play games even if they are not having fun.