Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Why Kinect was once called Project Natal
Corporate branding teams love picking exotic names for things that will eventually gather dust in your closet. The Kinect camera was originally codenamed…
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The heartbreaking story hidden in Super Mario Galaxy
Just in case you thought Mario games were all about cheerful jumping and saving princesses, the developers decided to hit you with unyielding existential…
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Why WoW’s monsters sound like one man
You'd think a game with thousands of terrifying beasts, demons, and dragons would require an army of vocal talent. But nope, it's mostly just Frank Welker.…
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Journey’s shimmering dunes are really a water effect
When you lack the technical infrastructure to make millions of grains of sand glitter realistically, you just steal the ocean instead. The breathtaking,…
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The Last of Us monster clicks came from one human voice
You might assume that the terrifying echolocation sounds of a parasitic mutant were heavily synthesized in a lab. In reality, the audio team just hired a very…
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Windows Pinball was an ad all along
You likely spent hundreds of hours staring at this exact digital table while supposedly working, completely unaware you were playing a demo. The iconic…
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Heavy Rain's impossible paper crane
The titular calling card of the cinematic serial killer is a beautifully folded paper crane, but if you attempt to copy the digital folds in reality, it is…
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Why Tomb Raider uses opera singers for screams
Because regular screaming simply lacks that sophisticated, high-altitude resonance, classical music was drafted into the action genre. The ambient shrieks of…
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StarCraft’s Zerg sounds came from pigs and rubber
Nothing says 'terrifying extraterrestrial swarm' quite like farmyard animals and latex contraceptives. The iconic, slimy sounds of the Zerg faction were…
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Dirt Rally recorded co-driver screams in a real rally car
Method acting apparently extends to digital co-drivers now. Instead of recording the pacenotes in a nice, comfortable studio, the audio director strapped a…
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Driveclub makes every raindrop count
Because crashing your luxury sports car wasn't stressful enough, this engine actively tries to drown your windshield. The simulation accurately calculates the…
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Why Assassin’s Creed shrank the Vatican
Historical accuracy is great until you realize actual buildings are incredibly boring to climb. The grand architecture of the Vatican had to be aggressively…
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BioShock's monsters groan like slowed-down animals
You thought that terrifying mechanical groan echoing through Rapture was a masterpiece of digital synthesis, didn't you? In reality, the developers just took…
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Crysis was too powerful for its creators' PCs
In a display of staggering technological arrogance, the engine was built to melt machines that literally did not exist yet. The developers coded the graphical…
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Why Max Payne dives like a John Woo hero
The ability to dramatically dive through the air in extreme slow motion while unloading dual pistols wasn't just a fun feature; it was a desperate love letter…
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In FEAR, enemies talk their way around you
Instead of relying on cheap scripted jumpscares, the engine gives the enemy squads actual vocal cords and tactical awareness. They will loudly shout out your…
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In Far Cry 2, dirty guns can jam mid-fight
In a bold move to make the player actively hate their own inventory, the physics engine heavily tracks dirt and rust. If you pick up a cheap rifle from the…
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Alien Isolation can hear you cough
Because a genetically perfect killing machine stalking you through a spaceship wasn't stressful enough, the developers weaponized your own living room. The…
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FIFA has thousands of lines ready for your worst misses
Just in case you needed more ways to be mocked for missing a wide-open net, the engine is armed to the teeth with judgment. The dynamic audio system…
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God of War never cuts away from its camera shot
To ensure you feel deeply, uncomfortably intimate with a furious Spartan, the entire game engine was rigged to never cut away. From the main menu to the final…
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In Watch Dogs 2, a parking mistake can bring the police
The artificial intelligence in this simulation is so aggressively annoying that it mimics real-world neighborhood watch programs. If you casually bump a…
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Angry Birds soundscape consists primarily of awkward grunts
Before mobile gaming became a billion-dollar corporate behemoth, it was just a few developers making embarrassing noises into a cheap microphone. The distinct…
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Ratchet & Clank hides loading screens with flashy portals
The stunning visual of instantly warping across dimensional space into an entirely new galaxy is secretly just a very aggressive magician's trick. The…
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Hitman's barcode scans as an adult toy
The sinister biometric identification tattooed onto the back of the most dangerous digital assassin alive has a secret. If you take an actual commercial…
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