Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
A bought costume can lose a cosplay contest before judging starts
Vienna Comic Con's rules require entrants to make a substantial share of their own costume and exclude unmodified store-bought outfits. Judges are assessing…
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Metaverse hype collided with skepticism after big studios scaled back promises on interactive worlds
As major studios scaled back plans for interactive worlds, skepticism grew about whether the metaverse could live up to its sweeping promises. Creators are…
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Battle royale genre continues mutating, adding monsters, crazy maps, and wild twists to survive attention
Sea monsters and lava-filled islands are among the twists; developers keep changing matches to hold players’ attention when competing games are only a click…
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Gamers Explode Over Delayed Launch: How One Studio’s Silence Sparked Weeks of Debate and Anger
With no update to explain the delay, fans filled forums with competing theories: some imagined the studio polishing the game, while others feared trouble. The…
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How speedrunners turned gaming into a charity powerhouse
At charity marathons, speedrunners use clever tricks to finish games as quickly as possible while viewers donate. These events have raised millions for charity.
Discover morePlayers now build functioning calculators, international art galleries, even governments inside sandbox games.
Fire up a sandbox game, and you don’t just see blocks—you see the seeds of entire universes. Within these pixelated expanses, players build sprawling art…
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In the '90s, games came with cheat codes — secret button combos that unlocked god-mode or unlimited ammo.
In the '90s, games came with cheat codes — secret button combos that unlocked god-mode or unlimited ammo. In multiplayer, cheats can give one player an unfair…
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In 1996, gamers cracked open 'Civilization II' and got hooked on the phrase, 'just one more turn.' The same progress-loop design appears in mobile strategy games, where turns are compressed into one-minute battles.
In 1996, gamers cracked open 'Civilization II' and got hooked on the phrase, 'just one more turn.' The same progress-loop design appears in mobile strategy…
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A taller avatar can change how you negotiate.
A taller avatar can change how you negotiate. In experiments on the Proteus effect, people assigned taller virtual bodies negotiated more assertively than…
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In online games, the ultimate trick doesn’t sit in the code, but in your mind: metagaming.
In online games, the ultimate trick doesn’t sit in the code, but in your mind: metagaming. In chess, noticing that an opponent rushes can shape your next…
Discover moreOnline multiplayer games convince us we’re adventurers, but really we’re just clicking like tired accountants doing math with swords.
In the world of MMORPGs, you’re the mighty hero—at least until you realize your epic quest mostly involves endless clicking, like an office worker with…
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