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This Location From Call of Duty And STALKER Is Chilling In Real Life
Chernobyl, the infamous Ukrainian site of a horrific nuclear disaster in the ’80s, has appeared in FPSes like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and STALKER to powerful effect, but what happens when a gamer steps into the real life Zone? Things get downright chilling. And irradiated. Nick Rush-Cooper wrote about the experience of being there…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 19, 2014 -
Global Warming Could Give Us A Future Straight Out Of A Video Game
Earth has seen much better days, and science says it’s largely humanity’s fault. This week, the antarctic ice sheet’s eventual collapse was declared “unstoppable” by research teams. How might we survive unprecedented rises in sea level? No one’s sure, but games like BioShock and Brink may have the right idea. Scientists are estimating a 10…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 16, 2014 -
I’m A Man Who Plays As A Woman In Games, And I’m Definitely Not Alone
I self-identify as a straight male-bodied dude, but recently I’ve taken to playing as a female-bodied character in many games. It’s not something the majority of people do, but it’s also not uncommon. Oddly, however, men play as women far more than women play as men. Let’s break down why people choose the avatars they…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 15, 2014 -
I Met A Video Game Troll In Real Life And He Really Pissed Me Off
“Maybe I’m just a bad person,” he said. “Maybe I’m just a bad person.” That was the half-confession, half-boast of a self-professed video game troll I met in a bar. He’d just gotten done regaling a friend and me with tales of his preferred method of playing games: messing with people, sometimes even driving them…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 13, 2014 -
The Craziest MMO You’re Not Playing Is Even Crazier In Real Life
EVE Online is a mad melting pot of politics and $300,000 space ship battles, so what happens when it spills over into real life? RPS chronicled the insanity of EVE Fanfest in Iceland, which included a near-fight between the writer and EVE‘s most important player. It’s incredible, passion-fueled stuff. Read here
By Nathan Grayson Published May 8, 2014 -
Game of Thrones‘ Producers Aren’t Listening To You, And That’s A Problem
Game of Thrones has been dominating the headlines recently, and not necessarily for all the right reasons. The incredibly intricate fantasy saga is still a riveting watch every week, but it’s also been accused of excessive depictions of rape and a few other, more minor infractions. The show’s producers, however, make it general policy to…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 7, 2014 -
Why Is Swordfighting In So Many Video Games Terrible?
Swords are great and games are great, so why don’t two great things go great together? Video games let us hack ‘n’ slash, sure, but it’s often ultra-basic or even clunky. Why are games so good at giving us realistic guns, but not realistic swords? Let’s find out. Eurogamer decided to pit its pen against…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 6, 2014 -
Famous Game Creators Are Fighting For Internet Freedom
The Internet is in danger, everyone. That sounds like kind of a silly thing to say, but it’s true. While not yet set in stone, the FCC has made disconcerting plans to allow companies to divide this beautiful web of ours into potentially expensive tiers. Gaming stands to take a massive hit too. Here’s why.…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 2, 2014 -
Link(s) To The Past: Nintendo In Deep Trouble, Microsoft On Top
What was happening in the world of video game news this week one year ago? Well, Nintendo’s Wii U was off to a portentously slow start, the console wars looked markedly different, and the likes of Thief and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified aired their dirty developmental laundry. The Wii U—And Nintendo’s—Troubles Officially Begin Then: When…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 30, 2014 -
Patrick Stewart Predicts Humanity’s Future
Patrick Stewart’s been busy. Starring in movies like X-Men? Check. Broadway? Sure, why not. Palling around the planet with perennial BFF Ian McKellen? Absolutely. But once upon a time he was Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a role that’s become all the more relevant with lines beginning to blur between science fiction…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 29, 2014 -
A Married Couple Who Has Sex And Makes Games About It
The page is called TMI. We were bound to tackle sex eventually. Cara Ellison has written up a fantastic profile of a developer the gaming industry has no idea what to do with: married art game duo Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn, aka Tale of Tales. That doesn’t mean no one plays their games, however.…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 28, 2014 -
The Video Game Conference That Let Me Say Goodbye To A Departed Friend
There it is. The bench. That exact park bench. It’s one of the very first places where I said hello to a friend who would change the course of my entire life. And now I’m saying goodbye. Lost Levels is an annual “un-conference” that takes place outside in a park just up the street from…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 26, 2014 -
What If Tron Were Made By Musical Aliens?
Then you’d get FRACT OSC, a haunting exploration puzzle game where the entire world is a fully functional KORG-style synthesizer. I spent an hour playing the game and grilling its creator about the inner workings of this infernal music machine, and you can watch that below. There’s not really another game like it. Our own…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 23, 2014 -
I Don’t Get Cats, And Neither Does Science
Dogs are big, dumb, infinitely lovable obedience machines. Cats—love ’em, hate ’em, or spend half your day giggleweeping to Internet videos of them—are anything but. Why are they so willfully difficult? What’s going on in their heads? The short version: we don’t really know. Cats are weird. My cat has done everything from comfort me…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 22, 2014 -
Was PAX East’s Diversity Lounge A Success? I Asked People Who Went
Ubiquitous webcomic Penny Arcade‘s taken some rather poor stances on diversity in the past, leading some people (myself included) to avoid PAX altogether for the time being. However, PA is at least attempting to clean up its act, starting with a “Diversity Lounge” that debuted at PAX East. But did it help? Or did it…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 21, 2014 -
CultureHere’s What Happens When You Throw A Marshmallow Peep Out An Airlock
Ever wondered what would happen if a marshmallow Peep was exposed to the cold, uncaring, probably Easter-hating vacuum of space? Of course you have. Slate brings us this landmark moment in science straight from Texas A&M’s Physics and Engineering Festival. Experimenter Phil Plait noted that Peeps—with their puffy little bodies, dead eyes, and very nearly…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 16, 2014 -
Link(s) To The Past: Bethesda Says Bye To Skyrim, But Where’s Fallout 4?
What was happening in the world of video-game news this week one year ago? Well, Bethesda “moved on” from Skyrim, LA Noire‘s creator’s next game crashed and burned (or did it?), and EVE developer CCP had some grand news about World of Darkness. Haha… awwww. Bethesda ‘Moves On’ From Skyrim To Mysterious Next Game (Hint:…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 15, 2014 -
Finally, Someone Did A Statistical Analysis of Bob Ross’ Paintings
You want too much information? Well then, here you go. FiveThirtyEight ran all of Bob “Happy Little Trees” Ross‘ paintings through a giant calculator, and what they discovered is… enlightening. Unsurprisingly, 91% of his paintings contain trees, but did you know Ross refused to have any signs of humanity in his work? It’s actually really…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 14, 2014 -
Why I Didn’t Attend PAX This Weekend
PAX is a behemoth. A monolith. It’s nearly outgrown the ubiquitous webcomic that spawned it. It’s an incredibly popular event, where tens of thousands of video game fans come together to celebrate their favorite pastime. But I think the convention still has a lot more growing to do, and in some ways is growing in…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 12, 2014 -
Developers Discuss Next-Gen Growing Pains
It’s been six months since bouncing baby PS4s and Xbox Ones started landing on doorsteps, and things are still… transition-y. Titanfall runs great on Xbox 360, Borderlands is staying last-gen, and PS4 is getting a Last of Us port. What do you think? Are you optimistic, or are you regretting your purchase? Personally, I think…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 10, 2014
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