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It’s somewhat fitting that was I was having trouble writing an introduction for a Bitmob Writing Challenge roundup about crafting five different openings for a piece. The beginning of your article sets the tone for the rest of your work, and you are only hurting yourself if you don't put any effort into it. When I read articles as part of my moderator duties on this site, I examine them from beginning to end regardless of how it starts. Few people will feel obligated to do this.

While I wish the turnout could have been better -- maybe I should have only required three unique intros -- we do have two great writers who participated.  Jonathon Oyama is a former Featured Community Writer, while Leigh Harrison is a newer member who has done a great job creating interesting topics that often make the front page of Bitmob or regular Spotlight features.

Please enjoy reading these articles and the two's commentary on their beginning passages.

The agony of victory: Drinking heavily and playing games
By Leigh Harrison

As someone who is lives alcohol-free, I do not support excessive drinking, but playing video games is one of the less-terrible things you can do under the influence. Leigh attempts to exert some fun out of Just Cause 2 using beer, and the writer tries several creative ways to introduce the article’s thesis.

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The Community Spotlight features some of the best unedited articles that didn't quite make the front page. This week, we consider the importance of a game's first impression, consider one gamer's list of the top PS3 games, check out a fan-made model of a 3DS, and more. Join us!

The importance of first impressions
By Trevor Hinkle

Trevor argues that a game's introduction is the key factor in whether he finishes playing through it or not. What entices you to complete a game? Should a first level be the best part?

The top 25 PlayStation 3 games, part 1
By Jason Rose

Jason's taking a stab at listing the best PS3 games in the system's long lifespan. This entry contains his choices from 10 to 25. Take a look and see if you agree. (Personally, I'd put Infamous higher!)

Sweet satisfaction?
By Trevor Hinkle

Having discussed the beginnings of games above, Trevor now tackles endings. He writes: "There are some games that cannot provide a quality ending, often ruining the experience for the player." Have you ever had an enjoyable experience spoiled by a lousy finish?

Nintendo 3DS XL -- 3D model
By Jan Neves

Our 3D artist-in-residence is back with a pretty great computer model of Nintendo's newest handheld. He's even got all that fine print on the back of the device that nobody reads! Nice work, Jan.

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Alex Hutchinson, creative director of Assassin's Creed 3, recently went on record as saying, "We're the last of the dinosaurs .... We're still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made, especially as the middle has fallen out."

Now, his perspective is obviously biased. I would never call Assassin's Creed 3 the last triple-A title, not even close; however, I look at the world of gaming as a whole and take something into consideration: Can we really keep this up?

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It's that time again! Actually, it's past time. It's almost the middle of the month, and we haven't saluted our best and brightest from August yet! That one's on me, guys. (I blame PAX Prime. And football season.)

Luckily, y'all have been pumping out the good stuff in the meantime. We've got a great Big 10 for you this month, including a Bitmob first: a marriage proposal! Special congrats to the happy couple, and well done to everyone.

Here are the most-read community stories for August 2012:

10. Fan-made media is great, but let's leave it at that by Jordan McCollam

9. The 10 funniest songs from video games by Taylor Stein

8. Music, context, and Mass Effect's Mission Complete screen by Steven Lauterwasser

7. Is the Wii U really a next-gen game console? by Antony Wanjala

6. Does Duke Nukem deserve to exist? by Nathaniel Dziomba

5. A bad Internet connection can make you a great Halo player by Jordan McCollam

4. Smashing your partner's game console is not a solution by Tyffany Davis

3. The Tetris effect: How a game can alter the way you look at life by Ethan Clevenger

2. Gaming and relationships: A pixelated love story by William Harrison

1. 50 games in 2012: #15, Forza Motorsport 4 by Bryden Keks

Do you want to be on next month's list? Here are some tips:

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Once again, we call up the smartest people we know to phone one in!

It's here! Apple, maker of all things good in the universe, finally announced its announcement that we'll soon be able to preorder the iPhone 5! The company even let us look at it first! So Apple's all-powerful and benevolent (except in China, which doesn't count anyway).

Forget the crushing disappointment of nine months ago when it bait-and-switched us with that iPhone 4S crap. The future is here again! So what do you think of the new candy, panel of experts? Best thing ever or even better than that?

"Why can't they do these unnecessarily long and self-important announcements at E3 like decent people?"

- Nathan Drake, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

"Actually, I scratched a few hard corners into the 'S' on my iPhone 4S, so I've had an iPhone 5 for nine months now."

- Samus Aran, Metroid: Other M

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We’ve all seen some of the horrible results that result from high-profile, big-screen video game adaptations.

Many of these movies were either poorly made or have not captured the essence of the games they were based on. Sometimes these films even ignore those titles completely. But, at the same time, many promising game-based films are in development, such as ones based on the Uncharted and Assassin’s Creed franchises.

As long as video games continue to develop and mature as an art form, many of our favorite interactive properties could become great movies ... if they're executed well.

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Not all World Warriors are created equal. The Street Fighter series may have revolutionized fighting games with its diverse cast of characters, but making sure that they all have a chance against each other is an arduous balancing act. Whenever a new game comes out, it doesn’t take long before message boards erupt with “tier lists” that attempt to rank the cast by strength.

The best of the best are known as the top tier. These are the ones who have the strongest options, dictate competitive play, and receive the most colorful insults. As Street Fighter celebrates its 25th anniversary, let’s look back on some of the greatest versions of these competitors.

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While first-person shooters are among the most common and easiest pick-up-and-play games available, the awful amount of bitching from the online community is clear proof that not everyone is aware of how to play.

The annual FPS fest is nearly here. But let's not forget that no matter if you're celebrating it on November 13 (for those who faithfully attend the traditional release of a Call of Duty game), November 6 (for those who worship the fourth coming of our savior, Master Chief, in Halo 4), or early on October 23 (for those silly people expecting something called Medal of Honor), in the end you'll all end up complaining about basically the same thing.

The following flowchart should cover the different stages of gameplay that most have to endure when interacting with any game of this genre.

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You might say the developers at Jellyvision do know Jack. They've been creating irreverent trivia, writing good (and bad) comedy, and recording hours and hours of smart-ass dialogue for their You Don't Know Jack video game series since 1995. 1995! That's 17 years of...well, a lot of pointlessness. And with the company's recent Facebook release, it's not looking to stop the fart jokes anytime soon.

We asked Jellyvision to stop screwing around for a few minutes to dig through its long history of work for some interesting numbers and stats. Here's what they told us:

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Screw modern art.

Did I do that right? That eye-catching intro?

Ahem.

Over the time humans have been creating art, we've also been innovating it, even if those innovations resisted against aesthetic conventions.

Paintings used to serve as tributes, and they eventually developed into status indicators for the wealthy. Then, skipping a few centuries, we arrived at the murky modern-art era and a transition to emotion where we're required to interpret people's creations.

Art is still in this phase of purpose, but with the invention of time-based media, we're able to influence a consumer's emotions. This means that a video game's success is based on an analog response, an up-and-down spectrum of emotion whereas earlier art usually evoked one response.

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If you are playing a game that allows you to blow everybody's head off, what's the harm in flashing a breast or two? One of these taboos is so standard that hardly anybody even thinks about it, while the other gets far more negative attention than it deserves.

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