[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's daily link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Spooling out of the weekend and in to a week that's sure to be busy (with Game Developer Front Line Award winners and IGF Main Competition finalist announcements from us alone, blimey), this set of GameSetLinks continues to noodle around some of the more alternative 2008 'best of' and 2009 'going to be best of' charts, thanks to Steve Gaynor and Auriea Harvey respectively.

Also in here - Six To Start's Dan Hon gets a little inflammatory, Jason Scott pokes around in Adventure International's mail order catalog, and Erin Hoffman talks about what makes a game designer a game designer.

Fabulous prizes:

Adventure International - Taking Inventory
Jason Scott: 'When people think “text adventure company”, a lot of people think Infocom, but others also think of Adventure International, which was not only the first company to sell text adventures, but one of the first companies to sell computer gaming software at all.'

Tale of Tales» Blog » Games I’m looking forward to playing in 2009
ToT's Auriea identifies some interesting alternative games she's anticipating this year - and a worthy alt.list ensues.

Six To Start: Everything you know about ARGs is WRONG
Dan Hon with some very smart points on ARGs: 'Do you want a game that’s going to get lots of eyeballs, or lots of engagement? Those two things may well require two different and mutually exclusive optimisation strategies.'

The Saturn Junkyard: Dezaemon 2 Shmup Galore - Part 2!
Ooo, it's 'the Dezaemon 2 Save Game Manager Volume 2! Oh my, what a feast. This thing opens - once again - the world of Dezaemon 2 user made shmups to you and your Saturn.'

Determined to foment a rebellion - What Game Designers Actually Do
Erin Hoffman: 'There are certain focal points that certainly lend to the notion that "game designer" is a "type", beyond the vague ways they're often described -- "jack of all trades", "wide interests", "multitaskers" -- though all of these things often have to be true as well.'

Fullbright: MOTY 08
2K's Steve Gaynor: 'I started putting together a list of my favorite games of 2008... and then realized that gaming for me this year wasn't defined by individual titles, but by memorable moments from lots of different games.'