http://www.gamestudies.org/
= must have
Online Publication
FREE

Game Studies is a cross disciplinary online journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year. Primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games.

If you are interested in studying and learning about the cultural and strategic issues related to games development and use you do not need to go any further. On this site you get access to quality articles on the world of games. Though only one year old, the journal/site offers interesting insight into this fascinating world.

Here are some interesting titles from their archive
(http://www.gamestudies.org/ archive.html):

Marie-Laure Ryan: Beyond Myth and Metaphor: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media.

Jesper Juul: Games telling stories? A brief note on games and narratives.

Selmer Bringsjord: Is It Possible to Build Dramatically Compelling Interactive Digital Entertainment?

Jesper Juul: The repeatedly lost art of studying games. Review of The Study of Games.

Gonzalo Frasca: Grandmothers are cooler than trolls. Review of The Sims.

Torill Mortensen: Playing With Players. Potential methodologies for MUDs.

Kurt Squire: Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games.

Aki Järvinen: Halo and the Anatomy of the FPS. Review of Halo.

Mission of GameStudies.org - To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming (excerpted from the site home page).

Recommended.