The weekend is here and it’s time to chill at home and do nothing. Or probably read some great articles. The past week saw some great reads coming out from various publications. Here are three that captured my interest.

Unknown to most, there’s a “Judges’ Week” before E3. In this week, editors and writers from major gaming publications are flown in to “judge” games. It’s only open to a select few, and that brought up the idea of the caste system. Ben Kuchera of Penny Arcade Report writes about what goes on behind the scenes of this event. He also brings up the caste system, exploring it within the context of the current status of the gaming industry. It’s quite an interesting read, and it’s not too long.

Michael McWhertor, over on Polygon, takes a look at the making of the live action trailer for The Evil Within that wowed gamers last week. The thinking process behind the brief teaser is quite fascinating to read. It comes from people who have worked on major Hollywood movies such as Iron Man and X-Men First Class. Apparently no computer effects were used in the trailer, and it was all practical effects, which makes it that much more amazing.

Finally, who doesn’t love swag? Collector’s editions of games are quite popular these days. This is what GI.biz’s Steve Peterson explores by looking at the company behind it all: Marketing Instincts. This organization is one of the few that are behind the concept, production, and execution of all the collectible items you can find online for your favorite games.

All the links above are Readability versions of the articles, making them much easier to read. You can browse to the original links from there.