Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Jak and Daxter: a quest for orbs and insults
While Jak quests to reverse a dark curse, much of the adventure involves gathering glowing, egg-shaped objects as Daxter heckles him from his shoulder.
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Frogger reverses its own rules halfway across the screen
On the road, moving objects are things to avoid. At the river, logs become the moving platforms you must land on to survive. The same act—stepping into the…
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How RollerCoaster Tycoon players trapped their guests
Players built elaborate mazes, removed the exits, and charged guests $10 to use the bathroom.
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Water surface tension ruins cardboard pieces instantly
A spill wicks into the exposed, porous edges through capillary action. As the paper fibers absorb water and swell, the piece can warp or split.
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Cortana's name echoes a legendary sword
Halo's AI belongs to a naming tradition that also gave Bungie's Marathon the AI Durandal. Cortana is associated with the sword-name family that includes…
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Minecraft's fire monsters have a very ordinary weakness
Blazes can withstand fire and lava, but contact with water damages them. That contrast gives a familiar substance a surprising role against a supernatural…
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Why Half-Life 2 players throw toilets
The gravity gun let players pick up and launch objects, turning a toilet ripped from a wall into an improvised weapon against a shielded guard.
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Perfect Pac-Man ends at a broken level
The original arcade game's perfect score is 3,333,360 points. Reaching it means collecting every available point through the playable levels and into level…
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The Nintendo DS gave developers a second place to put the interface
One screen could show the action while the other held a map, inventory, or touch controls. That separated looking at the world from manipulating part of it.…
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World maps leave uncharted areas entirely black
In games with fog of war, the map stays black until your character explores an area on foot.
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Table tennis paddle rubber dictates ball spin velocity
The grippy rubber lets the ball catch and deform against the paddle, creating spin that can send it swerving off course.
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Why game controllers grew more buttons
Controllers went from three primary inputs to six as games demanded more than basic jumps.
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Pictionary began with a waiter's awful sketches
His friends laughed at his crude drawings, giving the young waiter the idea for a game built around guessing sketches.
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Ocarina of Time turns a pause menu into Link's equipment room
The menu includes a model of Link alongside his gear, making inventory management part of the character's presentation. Changing equipment is more than…
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Polyhedral sets implement stark neon colors for visibility
The bright facets make the numbers easier to read at a glance, so you can tell whether you rolled a three without squinting.
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Pikachu was inspired by a squirrel, not a mouse
Designer Nishida drew inspiration from squirrels, giving Pikachu its rounded cheeks and lightning-bolt tail. The franchise nevertheless classifies it as a…
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Why movie hair survives being stuffed under a helmet
In movie logic, a helmet vacuums up a flowing mane, then releases it perfectly styled.
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Yakuza Like a Dragon features fully functioning claw machines
Even during a tense crime-syndicate betrayal, you can duck into an arcade and spend in-game currency trying to win a plush bird.
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Penhold grips fundamentally alter table tennis attacks
The grip changes the wrist angle, making sharp attacks possible but often limiting reach on the backhand side.
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Why Parker Brothers rejected Monopoly at first
Parker Brothers initially rejected Monopoly because the games took too long and the rules were confusing, but eventually agreed to publish it.
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Halo's plasma pistol can curve shots toward targets
A fully charged plasma-pistol shot homes in on a target, curving through the air and stripping its shields.
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How Hitman speedrunners break stealth in seconds
Instead of elaborate disguises, some Hitman speedrunners bounce remote explosives off civilians to trigger physics glitches that launch their target across…
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Simple wooden bows outclass modern firearms
The comparison hinges on how far the bow is drawn back, but without a specified bow, arrow, or measure of damage, it doesn’t establish that a wooden bow…
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Carpal tunnel can numb your fingers while sparing your pinkie
The median nerve travels through a narrow passage in the wrist. When squeezed there, it can produce tingling or numbness in the thumb, index finger, middle…
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