Extreme Tech’s Loyd Case (one of the “final words” on hardware, as far as I’m concerned) has written one of those “list” articles that are entirely geared to provoke discussion. And here I am, discussing it. Bravo.

Case’s topic is Gaming Myths, and the top ten list runs the gamut from contemporary business anaysis (Is the PS3 as doomed as the PC is?) to cultural analysis of who gamers are and what they want.

I’m not sure what I think about Myth 7, “PC Games are too complicated“. Though I’m sure that Case’s line about Windows Solitaire is meant as a joke, his larger point that a game with a good interface can make a sophisticated game easy holds true. (I often draw a distinction between “complex” and “complicated”. The two should not be used interchangeably.)

But then you run into an editorial like this one from snakemeister (yeah, I know…) opining that thanks to strategy guides, many games are designed so that you can’t experience everything without some help. Easter eggs, hidden special items…games aren’t just complicated. They are designed to trick you.

What does one have to do with the other? Case’s argument that PC games aren’t more complicated than console games isn’t too interesting if console games have also spiralled upward in complication. Though it seems that some people can turn Madden into a learning experience, it can take a lot of time to become good at a particular game.

I’ve written before about Myth 10, what I dubbed Gamer Shame. I think this is a generational thing, but,as Case notes, it isn’t helped by the mocking self-loathing of many gaming media outlets who imply their own readers are nerdish, isolated teens living in a basement surrounded by photos of Stacey Kiebler.