Once again, the weekend is upon us - so time to recap some of the week's top full-length features on Gamasutra, plus some bonus original news stories and interviews from the site you might not have seen.

Hanging out in here - Chris Remo's excellent, wide-ranging interview with Bethesda's Pete Hines, plus Pascal Luban on playtesting, the history of Elite, a chat to Major Minor and Parappa's awesome Rodney Greenblat, and lots more besides.

Cash 4 gold:

Growing Your Long Tail: Hines On Bethesda's Keen Focus
"In this Gamasutra interview, Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda and product manager for Fallout 3, discusses the strategies that the company has developed for maintaining retailer and gamer interest in its titles."

The Silent Revolution of Playtests, Part 2
"Continuing his series on playtesting, ex-Ubisoft veteran Pascal Luban examines the practicalities of getting consumer feedback on your game."

Analyze This: Advice on Investing in Game Development
"The latest instalment of Gamasutra's 'Analyze This' asks a trio of analysts whether it's safer to invest in casual vs. core game development, and where they'd put their seed money if they had a chance."

Delicious Data Baking
"In this technical article, originally printed in Game Developer magazine late last year, veteran game programmer Noel Llopis looks at data baking - that is to say, the steps that 'take raw data and transforms it into something that is ready to be consumed by the game'."

The History of Elite: Space, the Endless Frontier
"In the latest Gamasutra-exclusive bonus material, originally to be included in upcoming book 'Vintage Games', the authors look at one of the most influential, but sonetimes underdiscussed video games of the 1980s - Braben and Bell's Elite."

When The Band Got Back Together: Rodney Greenblat's Return To Video Games
"As the visualizer behind the seminal Parappa The Rapper, New York-based artist Rodney Greenblat's whimsical style is world famous -- and he talks about his re-uniting with Masaya Matsuura for the Wii-exclusive Major Minor's Majestic March."

Bonus Gamasutra news links: Stardock CEO Wardell On Impulse Phase 3, Competing With Steam; Will Wright Leaves EA/Maxis For New 'Entertainment Think Tank' ; GamePlan Shows Halo 3: ODST, Final Fantasy XIII Top 'Purchase Intent'.