Time to look at the notable features posted on big sister site Gamasutra and some of our other notable sites such as Game Career Guide this week, headed by a neat PopCap interview with CCO Jason Kapalka - his disdain for hex-based puzzlers is v.cute.

Also in here - our gigantic year end round-up with reader comments, plus that rare interview with Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka about why he left Sega, his new Let's Tap game, and lots more, plus some Game Career Guide design challenge winners and new challenges.

Apple of eye:

Casual Game Design: PopCap's Jason Kapalka and Bejeweled Twist by Brandon Sheffield (Gamasutra.com)
"Seattle's PopCap is heading for $170 million in sales this year, and Gamasutra sits down with CCO Jason Kapalka to examine clones, Bejeweled Twist, and why hex squares in puzzlers are "repellent"."

Gamasutra's Best Of 2008 (Gamasutra.com)
"Ending out 2008, Gamasutra puts together the definitive compilation of our year-end lists, from surprises through game of the year and beyond, with bonus reader feedback."

Yuji Naka On New Beginnings At His Studio, Prope (Gamasutra.com)
"Gamasutra presents a rare interview with Sonic The Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka, with the famed designer discussing why he left Sega, his new studio Prope and the innovative Let's Tap."

Results from the Game Design Challenge: Collector's Edition (GameCareerGuide.com)
"One of the most fun jobs a game developer can have (or so we've heard) is to be able to come up with all the goodies in a special collector's edition of a game. If you were in charge of such a task for a Terminator game, what would you put in? We asked, you answered, and the best ideas are featured here."

Ask the Experts: I Do Not ‘Heart' Teamwork (GameCareerGuide.com)
"A reader confesses to the Ask the Experts Advice columnist that she can't stand working on a team. Does this mean she can never work in game development, which relies so heavily on teamwork?"

GameCareerGuide.com's Game Design Challenge: Dress My Sackboy (GameCareerGuide.com)
"Don we now our gay apparel. Sackboy needs a new pair of shoes ... and maybe some new trousers, a hat, and an ascot, too! For this Game Design Challenge, design some new clothes for the beloved LittleBigPlanet character. How outlandish, imaginative, or thematic can your designs be?"