As most of you already know, Bitmob turns one year old this week. In that time, the site has grown from a tiny, tentative group of gamers into the blossoming community you see today. What better way to celebrate that community than by highlighting some of our favorite posts from the past year?

I asked the editors and interns to pick one article they loved from the past year and explain why they loved it. You can find their responses below.

Keep in mind that this list is only the beginning of the conversation. I'm sure you all have your own favorites as well -- share them with us in the comments!

Happy birthday, everyone!

Dan Hsu, co-founder:

The Highest Arcade in the World 
By Lee Bradley

E3 2009: Microsoft Press Conference Recap (In Limerick Form)
By Andrew Hiscock

Shoe: I'm cheating and picking two, because when I think back to specific moments when I knew we were onto something here at Bitmob, these two posts come to mind first. They exemplify how creative our community members can be and how they can do such great work that professional writers (including myself) might never have thought of before.

In "The Highest Arcade in the World," author Lee Bradley takes us on an exotic adventure we never, ever would’ve known about ourselves. It was such an interesting piece -- even Kotaku picked it up. And Andrew Hiscock had me nearly in tears while we were at the E3 trade show last year. His "Microsoft Press Conference Recap (in Limerick Form)" was accurate, brilliant, and damn hilarious.

Demian Linn, co-founder:

Hardcore Gamers' Reaction to Nintendo's E3 Conference: An Empirical Study
By Andrew Hiscock

Demian: I definitely should've written my entry before Shoe, because he pretty much stole my answer. We knew we'd get some interesting posts from the community that would be very different from the usual kind of game writing out there -- but we didn't know how interesting that would be to other people besides us. So when more traditional (and way bigger) outlets started noticing and linking to community content, that was pretty cool.

Andrew Hiscock should stop reading now because I don't want him to get too excited, but I suppose the most memorable, early instance of that for me was Andrew's "Hardcore Gamers' Reaction to Nintendo's E3 Conference: An Empirical Study." He charted the real-time reaction of NeoGAF's freakish hordes during Nintendo's E3 press conference -- it's something any site could've done, but no one had ever thought to do it.

Jason Wilson, managing editor:

Fear Not the Pen
By Brian Shirk

Jason: I found Brian's experience in school to be inspiring, and I hope the community found it inspiring as well.

Brett Bates, editor:

Game Stories: Pulling Them Apart, Putting Them Back Together Again
By Brian Taylor

Brett: Brian's article on how we impose our own narratives on games is bar none one of the best community pieces on Bitmob. Maybe I'm a sucker for Joan Didion references, or maybe I've fallen for the gorgeous photographs Brian took for this article, but I like to think there's a deeper reason "Game Stories" connected with me. So much of games writing is taken up by reviews, previews, or critical analysis, where the focus is always on the games. We tend to neglect the act of gaming itself.

That's why I've been most fascinated by the community stories on Bitmob that touch on the humanity of gaming. After all, what bonds us together here is not any one particular game but the fact that we are all gamers. Brian's article made me realize that.

Rob Savillo, editor:

No More Power Fantasies: Can Games Completely Deny Players of Victory?
By Gerard Delaney

Rob: I like this article for several reasons. First, the introduction does an excellent job of pulling in the reader. I can instantly relate to Gerard's descriptions of his growing years. Second, I'm also partial to his main point: that too many games are nothing more than childhood power fantasies. How many times do we need to be indestructible badasses? And finally, I like his emphasis on horror. Although he doesn't say this explicitly, I feel that he's calling for games to provide tension through the realistic chance of significant loss. It's a thrill that too few titles induce, and I'm all the more saddened because of that.

Jay Hennginsen, editor

Can Video Games Make the World a Better Place? (series)
By Frank Anderson

Jay: I'm a fan of Frank Anderson's "Can Video Games Make the World a Better Place?" series. Video games get enough bad press, and I like that he is taking the time to help spread the word about the good things that video games can do. While this series isn't particularly philosophical, it's exactly the sort of crusade against popular opinion and general misinformation that I can take up a banner for. I really feel like Frank is fighting the good fight here.

Andrew Hiscock, community manager:

Nobody Should Care That I Dislike Uncharted 2
By Aaron Thomas

Andrew: Aaron Thomas wrote my favorite video game article of all time. I well up every time I read it. It simultaneously captures our obsession with games and the desperation following a tragedy in real life. He juxtaposes a few short sentences condemning the enthusiast press with his own displeasure at the fact that games take up his life when his friend is dying. Despite all this, Aaron has given his useless struggle meaning through this article.

Mike Minotti, intern:

Pong: The Interactive Fiction
By Pete Davison

Mike: This has to be my favorite humor piece ever run on Bitmob, and frankly it makes me a little jealous of Pete's comedic abilities. Sometimes an idea can be so good it's impossible to mess up. Pong...as interactive fiction. Brilliant!

Omar Yusef, intern:

Pixelation: The People of the Game Industry
By Tim Thomas

Omar: Can I choose a video as my favorite article? Well, I just did. With some help from his friends TJ and Jason, Tim Thomas produced a short documentary about games journalists. Although the title, "Pixelation," threw me off, the low-key banjo tune and Handycam style commanded attention. Between the somber tone of the film and the touching accounts from the interviewees, Tim's documentary does a lot to remind us why we write and read about games.

Above all, Pixelation stands out because of its format. While the majority of discourse on Bitmob comes in the form of text, Tim did his best to convince us that video journalism is just as meaningful to our understanding of video games.

Alejandro Quan-Madrid, intern:

Fast and Furious: A Shadow Complex Twitter Tale
By Carlos Macias

Alejandro: One of my favorite stories so far has to be Carlos Macias's tale of how he broke some speed laws just to meet a few of his idols in person and win a Shadow Complex download code. The best part about it is not even that he made what should have been a two-hour-plus commute on a whim, but that he tells the whole story via Twitter messages between himself and video game journalist Geoff Keighley, who's waiting with a group of people for Carlos to arrive. To top things off, they gave Carlos two codes, and he in turn had a mini-contest to give one away to a Bitmob community member!

Omri Petitte, intern:

Quitting Time
By Omar Yusuf

Omri: My pick would have to be one of Omar Yusuf's earliest entries on Bitmob, "Quitting Time." Not only do I harbor some solidarity for the perpetual siren call of World of Warcraft, I was also mightily impressed with the level of personality and detail that Omar injected into his writing -- at 19 years old, no less. His stark realization of how WoW had increasingly assimilated into his life is indicative of how video games can weave themselves into our identities.