It featured minimal graphics, no sound effects, and deeply flawed gameplay. Yet one of the most important game titles of 2008 was played by thousands and helped change the face of American politics. That game was My.BarackObama.com.

If our referral logs and those of our friends are any indication, where to go to cast a ballot is at the top of many peoples' minds these days. A neat new mobile tool from CREDO Mobile, the New Organizing Institute, and Mobile Commons makes it trivial for voters to find their polling place, wherever they might happen to be; MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe is offering some considered musings on whether Barack Obama's social-networking efforts will actually turn millennials out to vote. It's an open question, and will be for a few more days; A life-long Southern California Republican is backing Barack Obama, and he's rounded up some professional filmmakers to make the case for his candidate; and a good deal more.

The liberal mini-media empire Talking Points Memo is out with an inventive "Map of GOP Sleaze" that plots campaign robocalls and mailers against a map of the United States; Former Hillary Clinton Internet adviser Peter Daou is arguing that what shouldn't be forgotten on November 5th is how the netroots did its part to close the famed "Daou triangle" formed by the blogosphere, traditional media, and political establishment; MoveOn's new CNNBC video stars *you* in the role as the one single pro-Obama voter who failed to vote, thus keeping him out of the Oval Office; and much more.

With his in-game ad-buy on XBox Live, Obama is bucking the Democratic Party's history of maligning video games and reaching out to a 21st century American constituency.

We've talked a great deal about data this cycle, from Obama's use of Catalist and VAN to the Republican National Committee's vaunted Voter Vault. And this election may indeed be the election of databases -- but it might be the states' voter databases we're talking about on November 5th; It's amazing what you can learn about new media while waiting in line at your local bagel shop! The polished, intuitive interfaces that the Obama campaign gives supporters to engage with that data -- from the iPhone app to MyBarackObama to Vote for Change -- may well make it the first campaign to truly master the modern art of interfaces. And the White House might be their prize for it; and a fair amount more.

John McCain's campaign release of the online game "Pork Invaders," as a Facebook application, wasn't a game changer but a prelude of future message strategy. Video games will be added to the multitude of political channels that a political campaign must have a presence on. Microsoft has now announced what could become the "YouTube" of video games -- Xbox LIVE Community Games.