I think the various "sidekick" trends in gaming are really interesting.

Shamus Young attempts to make the game industry less dysfunctional by arguing with a rhetorical wall and hoping things change for the better.
After making such a mess of PC gaming with GWFL, Microsoft now wants to roll out a new platform that has even more power and control?
Lack of fair use is just a symptom of the larger problem that Content ID is an unfair, confusing, stressful mess. Here's how YouTube could fix it.
The recent #WTFU campaign hasn't resolved the problems with YouTube's content ID system.
Some reader questions this week, including Undertale, textures, and coding.
Like any other aspect of game design, Skinner boxes are neither good nor bad. It's all about how the designer uses them within the overall game.
What is the point of having a "Luck" factor in video games like Fallout 4 or The Binding of Isaac?
The problem with Rise of the Tomb Raider isn't that the story is too familiar, it's that we spend way too much time with it.
I'm going to take EA's announcement at face value and assume it's a genuine expression of intent and not empty PR, and then offer my advice.
Could we use deep networks to revolutionize videogame AI? It's a tough sell.
You would normally be excited about a sequel being made to a beloved classic, but Shamus is skeptical that System Shock 3 can live up to the original.
More people play Minecraft than own the Xbox One or Wii U. So why doesn't anyone talk about it?
One of the things we've come to accept in video games is that we're never going to get another big-budget, dialog-heavy RPG like we used to get in the old days.