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The Extra Credits guys tackle how gamers can affect political change. They even get a game-playing Congressman—didn't know any actually existed—to offer some advice.

Welcome to the first installment of a brand-new semi-regular feature here at GameCritics.com: TouchTalk. While this series was inspired by one of my old features, the Bargain Basement, I've got an all-new focus for an all-new phase in gaming. Rather than highlighting discounted gems in the used section of a retail shop, I'll be reviewing downloadable mobile games and apps that you might want to check out… and maybe some that you'll want to avoid.

Hiroshi Yamauchi (former President of Nintendo of Japan) once famously said that "gamers like to sit alone at home playing dark, depressing games?" Yamauchi was criticizing the industry and even gamers at the time for embracing dark, gritty, CGI-heavy, and mature-oriented games over the more cheerful, family-oriented titles. He felt that it was making games less inclusive and too much like movies. But his words were largely dismissed as the ravings of an old exec upset that fewer people were buying games on his platform. Extra Credits is taking a similar tack, only it makes a better argument than Yamauchi.

The guys at Extra Credits look at something that you've probably never heard about: we are running out of bandwidth. All of those videos of cats being adorable and marathon sessions of Angry Birds and Call of Duty are taxing the current bandwidth sources leaving us in need of more sources or risk running out in a couple of years. It may not seem applicable to gamers, but just watch the video and you'll see that this could be an issue especially with newer game consoles and game-playing media devices coming online at about the same time.

With so many platforms and the influx of new funding sources, Indie game development is looking like a surer bet than it ever has. However, as the guys at Extra Credits repeatedly point out in this video, once you actually attempt it, you might have to temper your expectations.

Between Sega Europe's painful restructuring and Activision's dismantling of Radical Entertainment, this past week has been another one of those weeks that we'd rather forget. It's always unfortunate when people lose their jobs, and downsizing doesn't often instill confidence that the affected industry is moving in the right direction. These moves are a continuation of the state of correction that the video game industry is in—especially in the console sector.

Extra Credit now examines the Augmented Reality Game genre. This genre appears to be the furthest out of reach given the technological requirements and costs needed to create seamless experiences. Should someone get their head around those limitations—and I guess wearable technology becomes a thing—it has great potential to blur the line between gaming and the real world.

Alternate Reality Games and Augmented Reality Games both fall under the acronym of ARG, but are actually quite different. Extra Credit takes a quick look at the Alternate Reality Game half of that genre of games—and yes you can argue that they are games. Perhaps it is because they are unfamiliar to the public and save for a few great examples like Microsoft/Bungie's I Love Bees or Electronic Arts' Majestic, they have been largely untouched by many in the games industry.

Extra Credit looks at the latest gaming trend: crowdfunding. It's not quite a household term but going by Twitter, press releases and gaming news coverage in general, it's getting there. Crowdfunding takes money from ordinary people in exchange for, say, a copy of the game or seeing a digital version of that person somewhere in the game. Right now Kickstarter is the company on everyone's lips but it isn't the only game in town. IndieGoGo, RocketHub, ulule and the newly formed Gambitious are all out there trying to help someone create that sequel to TIE Fighter or Star Tropics.

Most who have dared venture online with a microphone and an ear-piece can attest to just how awful things are out there. Maybe it has always been that way, but is only noticeable now with the accessibility of the Internet and the explosion of online gaming. Whatever the reason, it is clear that we need a solution because it has gotten pretty ugly. It's not just dumb kids being dumb kids, its adults (mostly male) that believe an Internet connection gives them the right to be horrible human beings.

The guys at Extra Credit have suggested an interesting solution to the problem and one that I'd like to see implemented in some form by a Microsoft, Blizzard or whomever runs an online gaming service or game where all sorts of horrible interactions are known to occur. Kudos to Extra Credits for doing this episode.

Parental discretion is advised!