Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
A video-game bush can stop a tank because the game sees a box
The visible model and the shape used for collisions are separate. Developers often use simpler invisible geometry to decide what can pass through what, saving…
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A ladder slide turns waiting into a little performance
In games that let you slide down a ladder, the descent becomes one continuous motion instead of a repeated climbing cycle. The animation gives an ordinary…
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Rocket League arenas utilize completely uniform hitboxes
Many Rocket League cars use the same invisible rectangular hitbox despite their different shapes, so a sleek-looking car has no collision-box advantage over a…
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How a tiny team generated 18 quintillion planets
Procedural generation helped Hello Games create No Man’s Sky’s 18 quintillion planets without artists drawing each one by hand, letting a small team build a…
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Standard table tennis nets sit exactly six inches high
When the ball clips the tape and drops back onto your side, the net’s small height can make a near-win especially frustrating.
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Kairi translates to the ocean in Japanese
That makes Kairi the water figure in a naming motif that also links the other characters to sky and land.
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Blank cards in party games allow for horrible custom answers
Players can write their own answers on the blank cards, adding private in-jokes or outrageous responses that may win on shock value.
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Why friendly fire ends the mission
A shotgun blast from your co-op partner can end the mission fast: the team may abandon the objective to hunt down its own teammate.
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A Victorian game told losers to bite an inch off a poker
The instruction sounds like a dental disaster until you notice the wordplay. A nineteenth-century amusement book explains that the player should bite the air…
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Cyberpunk 2077 features extremely detailed facial cybernetics
You can customize the protagonist with glowing metal plates on their cheekbones, then send them to order noodles from a neon-lit street vendor.
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Tomb Raider's first hero looked too much like Indiana Jones
Toby Gard initially explored a male adventurer, but the resemblance to the famous film archaeologist pushed the team toward a more distinctive lead. Lara…
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The nearly impossible 29-point cribbage hand
A 29-point cribbage hand needs three fives and a jack, plus the fourth five turned up in the jack’s suit.
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A fan-made Half-Life mod became Counter-Strike
Minh Le and Jess Cliffe built it on Half-Life's engine in 1999; Valve later bought the rights and hired them.
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The joker that can only do three things
It can fill in a straight or flush, or remain an ace—but it can’t stand in for any other card.
Discover moreSudoku's Japanese name came after its American debut
The modern puzzle appeared as Number Place in a US puzzle magazine in 1979, credited to Howard Garns. Japanese publisher Nikoli later popularized it under the…
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Stardew Valley's Abigail talks about eating gifts that aren't food
Her generic response to liked gifts says she was hungry and calls the present delicious. That includes objects such as quartz, helping produce the running…
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Why the Zerg sound like wet squishes
The Zerg issue commands in gurgles, hisses, and squelches instead of words, so a match can sound like a bowl of macaroni being stirred.
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Why Kinect failed in small rooms
Its depth-sensing camera needed a large, unobstructed area to track players, making it impractical for many apartment dwellers.
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Sims babies grow into children instantly upon rapid aging
In The Sims, an infant bundled in a blanket can turn into a walking, talking child in seconds, marked by a burst of sparkling lights.
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Why you mash buttons while a chest opens
The chest-opening animation runs for a set amount of time, but players mash the buttons as if extra effort could force the lid open sooner.
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Crouching over a defeated player is the ultimate taunt
Repeatedly crouching over a defeated opponent is a classic gaming taunt—a quick way to rub in the loss.
Discover moreHalo 2 put Steve Vai on the other side of its guitar riffs
The virtuoso recorded guitar for the game's soundtrack, bringing a live rock performance into its science-fiction score. His playing gave the familiar Halo…
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Risk boards contain exactly forty-two distinct territories
The goal is to control all 42 territories by moving plastic armies across the map's borders.
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Elite Dangerous players turned a lift into a mining trap
In a reported 2021 scheme, experienced players carried newcomers far from familiar systems and pressured them to mine. Misleading advice about escape helped…
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