Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
One book can teach you to forge a legendary sword
Flipping through a dusty tome for two seconds grants you the lifelong expertise required to forge a legendary sword out of raw mythical energy.
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Fallout's two-headed deer can gore you twice
The irradiated wasteland is heavily populated by majestic stags that inexplicably sprouted a second, completely functioning head. They are generally peaceful…
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Removing objects from piles relies on binary logic
Taking turns grabbing matchsticks from a table seems entirely random until you learn math. This ancient mathematical strategy challenge involving removing…
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Zelda's lullaby is hidden backward in Skyward Sword
Composers are masters of doing half the work for double the emotional impact. The grand, sweeping orchestral theme of the flying adventure is literally just…
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Hangman rewards guessing vowels before consonants
Because English relies entirely on a handful of vocal sounds to glue words together, starting with A, E, or O is mathematically superior. You are essentially…
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Big Daddy’s terrifying design came from diving suits
Sometimes you don't need to invent a terrifying monster from scratch; you just need to look at Victorian-era plumbing. The lumbering, drill-wielding guardians…
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Cyberpunk 2077 was announced before development began
CD Projekt Red dropped an incredible cinematic trailer in 2013 that hyped up millions of people. The hilarious part? They hadn't actually programmed a single…
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The Triforce was almost a collection of microchips
The quintessential fantasy adventure was initially supposed to be a time-traveling sci-fi mess. Miyamoto planned for the protagonist to travel between the…
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Lara Croft was once Laura Cruz
The quintessential posh British aristocrat of gaming started out as a gritty Latina tomb robber. Eidos executives felt "Laura Cruz" wasn't relatable enough to…
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Guilty Gear Strive features a man carrying a massive anchor
One of the cast members casually swings around a chunk of solid steel that belongs on the front of a battleship. The sheer lack of respect for gravity or…
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Official Uno rules ban stacking Draw Twos
Despite what your chaotic childhood house rules dictated, the official rulebook firmly denies you the joy of chaining penalties to obliterate your friend's…
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Assassin’s Creed’s horses began as human models
Why bother animating a complex quadruped from scratch when you can just subject a digital man to horrific body horror? Because of extreme engine limitations…
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Rubik's cube corners display exactly three colors
Stop trying to mentally peel the stickers off. Every pointy edge piece physically connects three distinct colored faces that can never be separated. They will…
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Table tennis was once called gossima
Before someone wisely rebranded it to ping pong, this intense tabletop sport was marketed as 'gossima'. Unsurprisingly, absolutely nobody wanted to fiercely…
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Epic Games was once called Potomac Computer Systems
Before they were raking in billions from colorful battle royales, they sounded like a local IT repair shop. Tim Sweeney founded the company out of his…
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The video game that gave PlayStation its analog sticks
You can thank monkeys for your comfortable controller. In the mid-90s, the original PlayStation controller only had a D-pad. When developers started making…
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Street Fighter profiles include fighters’ blood types
Because obviously you need to know if Ryu is O-positive before you hit him with a flaming uppercut. Japanese culture heavily ties blood types to personality…
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Modern Warfare 2 spent four times more on marketing
Why pay programmers when you can pay Eminem? Infinity Ward developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on a respectable fifty million dollar budget. Activision…
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In games, even basic moves can require unlocking
A seasoned warrior is utterly incapable of performing a basic forward roll until they spend a magical point on a specialized menu screen.
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Euchre trump jacks outrank every single other played card
In a bizarre twist of hierarchy, the ace is not the supreme ruler of the trump suit. The jack steals the crown, becoming the unstoppable right bower. Even…
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Mahjong tiles are stacked entirely to be knocked down
The sheer tactile pleasure of vigorously shuffling thick heavy blocks across a table is the only reason casual players tolerate the rules. The loud clacking…
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Shrink wrap on packaging is environmentally catastrophic
A totally useless film of polyvinyl chloride that exists solely to prove an item is new. It cannot be recycled, releases toxic dioxins if burned, and…
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When foreign game cartridges literally wouldn’t fit
A very literal interpretation of border control. The physical outer casing of the cartridges differed by region, meaning foreign software literally wouldn't…
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Yakuza games put gangsters on the disco floor
The criminal underworld is secretly fueled by rhythm and neon lights. Hardened enforcers in sharply tailored suits will confidently step onto the dance floor…
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