Time to round up the various features and original Q&As we posted on Gamasutra and associated sites this week - and there's a pretty spectacular amount of noteworthy stuff, actually - including major interviews about XNA (the XNA-using Schizoid pictured!), the PlayStation Network, and Valve's Steam service.

Also stuck in there somewhere is the 'Excel as a 3D engine' article which has bagged lots of notice and a multi-hundred-thousand page view haul this week, as well as Ernest Adams on the copyrighting of game concepts, a nice explanation of business models for free to play, pay for item MMOs, and a host of other pieces. Here goes:

- Connecting Communities, Redefining Xbox Live: Chris Satchell On XNA
"Microsoft's major announcement at this year's GDC was the launch of Xbox Live Community Games - but how will it work? Gamasutra quizzed XNA general manager Chris Satchell on this, Zune game creation, and a host of other topics."

- Microsoft Excel: Revolutionary 3D Game Engine?
"We're all familiar with the leading game engines - from Unreal Engine 3 through Source and beyond. But veteran programmer Rakos has discovered a new pretender to the throne, in the form of... Microsoft Excel?!"

- Q&A: Musson Talks Writing For Movie-Based Games
"How does a movie become a game smoothly? Freelancer Dalan Musson, writer for The Golden Compass film-licensed games, has worked in both industries, and talks to Gamasutra in detail about how a film gets transitioned to interactive form with its innards intact."

- The Designer's Notebook: Damn All Gameplay Patents!
"In his latest column, veteran designer/educator Adams advocates against patenting any aspect of gameplay, suggesting: 'Our creativity is already under threat from enough directions without us terrorizing each other into mediocrity with the threat of lawsuits.'"

- Q&A: Valve Explains Why PC Gaming's Gaining Steam
"Gamasutra spoke to Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi and business development director Jason Holtman to discuss why, from supporting indie development to alternative business models, PC as a gaming platform is far from dead -- and why it may be about to give consoles a run for their money."

- The State of PlayStation Network: John Hight Interviewed
"Sony's PlayStation Network has provided some stand-out digital games, from Everyday Shooter to fl0w, and Gamasutra talks to SCEA's first-party PSN exec about the company's philosophy towards fostering 'signature' indie developers."

- Educational Feature: Play Testing
"Game designer Bruno Urbain of 10Tacle Studios Belgium knows how to make any game better and more fun to play: play test it. He’s written an article for GameCareerGuide.com with 10 professional tips on how to do play testing. The educational article is aimed at game designers who are new to play testing and want to start using it, as well as student game developers."

- How To Compare Online Gaming Businesses
"When MMOs all had monthly subscriptions, comparing financial health was much easier. But, as CDC Games' Williams (Lunia) usefully explains, metrics for online games are more complex for today's microtransaction and ad-supported titles."

- Q&A: Arey, Rafei On Big Red Button's Cross-Platform Power
"Gamasutra has been speaking to Naughty Dog veterans Bob Rafei and E. Daniel Arey about new developer Big Red Button, revealing a cross-media, cross-platform attitude coming from 'seeing these great franchises we developed for Sony -- and seeing competitors selling 3 to 5 times more because they were on multiple platforms.'"

- Best Of GDC: The Games Industry Confronts The Press
"What is the games press's responsibility? How are they responding to the ever more broadening and inclusive medium? Continuing Gamasutra's best of GDC 2008 series, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal led a panel turning the tables on journalists, soliciting tough questions from the game industry to challenge the press."