Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
A game's camera settings can change how your body tolerates it
Field of view, head bob, motion blur, and camera shake all affect the moving image a player watches while sitting still. Different players respond…
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Why giant mousepads hold your keyboard in place
Their extra surface keeps lightweight plastic keyboards from sliding when you type, not just gives your mouse more room.
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Dropping from heights is calculated by strict timers
Many game engines track how long a character is airborne instead of calculating their falling speed. If the timer passes a threshold, the character can die on…
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Screen input latency is heavily measured in frames
Input latency is the gap between a button press and the on-screen response; delays above 50 milliseconds can make a character feel like it's moving through…
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Old games turned a new color into a new enemy
A palette swap reuses an enemy's shape and animation while changing its colors. Designers can give the variant different strength or attacks without drawing a…
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Analog shoulder buttons measure precise pressure
Unlike digital buttons that register only on or off, analog triggers measure how hard you squeeze. That lets a game translate a partial press into gentler…
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A game mirror may render the room twice
To create a reflection, a game engine may render a second version of the room and characters from the mirror’s viewpoint, which can slow performance.
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Magnetic controller sticks remove a common source of drift
Conventional sticks often measure position with sliding electrical contacts that wear. Hall-effect sensors read a magnet's changing field instead, avoiding…
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Why ultrawide screens can wreck game interfaces
Some games are designed for standard screen ratios, so ultrawide users may see stretched visuals or health bars pushed to the edges of the screen.
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Digital platinum trophies demand endless grinding
A platinum trophy can demand tedious collection tasks—like gathering hundreds of hidden items across a game map—rather than exceptional skill.
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Old games hid unfinished distance behind fog
Drawing faraway scenery costs processing time, even when the details would be tiny. Fog let developers fade objects out before the limit of what a machine…
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Some controllers use speaker-like actuators to create touch
Instead of only spinning an off-center weight, they move an actuator back and forth with carefully shaped signals. Different vibration patterns can suggest a…
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How a save file can bring a game world down
As an RPG tracks more changes—even where dropped cups are left—the save file can grow so large that the game becomes unstable.
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Specular highlights make digital skin look sweaty
Overly strong specular highlights—the bright reflections on a surface—can make digital skin look slick and sweaty, even when a character hasn't been exercising.
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Modern game installations extract heavily zipped files
Game files arrive compressed and must be unpacked by your device during installation, which can take nearly as long as downloading them.
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Display panels prioritize response over pure colors
Monitors tuned for fast pixel response may trade color accuracy for speed, making images look washed out.
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Texture pop-in happens when memory loads too slowly
The game displays low-resolution placeholders until it can load the higher-resolution details, making buildings appear to sharpen into view.
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Genshin Impact localization teams reportedly went months without payment
Third-party localization teams reportedly went months without payment for their translation work, despite the game's global success.
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Star Citizen sells the dream of a spaceship before the finished universe
The project funds development through pledges that include digital ships and game access. A player's purchase can therefore support work that is still…
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Fallout 76 promised canvas and shipped plastic
Bethesda's collector's edition promised a canvas duffel bag but arrived with a cheaper nylon substitute. The company said it had run out of the proper fabric.
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Spore's anti-piracy software punished paying customers
EA’s SecuROM software limited how many times paying customers could install the game, while pirates stripped out the restriction and played without it.
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Hearthstone changed a demon without changing the card's job
In a 2019 art update, Succubus became Felstalker while keeping the same stats and effect. Blizzard's Dave Kosak described the changes as bringing older…
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How a video game put loot boxes before lawmakers
EA’s Star Wars shooter locked iconic heroes behind paywalls or long gameplay grinds. The backlash brought loot boxes before lawmakers debating whether they…
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Metal Gear Solid V gives its missions their own credits
Mission openings and endings repeatedly display Hideo Kojima's name alongside other credits. The presentation treats individual operations like episodes,…
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