Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
FEAR's terrifying radio chatter was made by developers
To create the illusion of a highly trained, coordinated military death squad, the developers just acted incredibly unprofessional in a recording booth. The…
Discover more
Gran Turismo uses real weather data for its skies
Why paint a nice looking digital cloud when you can violently over-engineer the atmosphere? The simulation literally queries actual historical meteorological…
Discover more
Why Spider-Man games leave out the Chrysler Building
You might assume a flawless digital recreation of Manhattan would include the most recognizable art deco spire in the skyline, but copyright lawyers disagree.…
Discover more
Splinter Cell's goggles would ruin your night vision
Those iconic three glowing green dots look incredibly intimidating in the dark, but physically make absolutely no sense. If you were to wear a lens that emits…
Discover more
Forza scans real racetracks down to the millimeter
Because merely approximating a curve is an insult to gearheads, the development team hauls military-grade laser scanners to actual racetracks. They…
Discover more
Uncharted 2's train ride is secretly a loop
The illusion of a high-speed, linear journey is entirely built on a lie of geographical geometry. Because rendering a straight line of terrain forever would…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Football Manager can make weather part of the match
When managing spreadsheets of athletic statistics isn't engaging enough, the engine decides to become a meteorologist. The game actively simulates real-world…
Discover more
Gears of War makes reloading a timing game
Pressing a button to refill your gun is apparently too easy for a post-apocalyptic soldier. The engine forces you to play a tiny, high-stakes rhythm minigame…
Discover more
SOCOM made players shout commands at soldiers
Before voice recognition was accurately integrated into our phones, it was shoved into a plastic headset specifically to command digital soldiers. You had to…
Discover more
Spider-Man can't swing without buildings
Gone are the days when digital superheroes could just shoot sticky string into the infinite abyss of the sky and somehow swing from it. The engine actually…
Discover more
How Hitman simulates hundreds of panicking people
Rendering massive crowds used to require cardboard cutouts that didn't move. Now, the engine actively calculates the individual panic pathways, sightlines,…
Discover more
The game that copied Los Angeles street by street
Why hire a dedicated level designer when you can just aggressively plagiarize urban planning? The developers utilized commercial satellite imagery and…
Discover more
Spec Ops uses loading screens to judge you
Most software uses the loading screen to give you helpful tips on how to throw a grenade. This engine decides to use those precious seconds to launch deeply…
Discover more
Vintage arcade cabinets had built-in ashtrays
Before gaming became a sanitized hobby confined to glowing bedrooms, it was heavily fueled by nicotine and dim lighting. Original commercial cabinets…
Discover more
In Death Stranding, your urine grows mushrooms
Leave it to an auteur director to turn bodily functions into an integral piece of the ecosystem. If you force the protagonist to relieve himself in the barren…
Discover more
World of Warcraft turned logging off into a reward
If you want to force a hardcore addict to stop playing, just trick their brain into thinking taking a break is an optimal power move. In the beta of World of…
Discover more
GLaDOS is voiced by an opera singer
Ellen McLain, the voice behind the passive-aggressive, murderous AI, is an opera singer. That's why the robotic singing at the end of the credits is so…
Discover more
Mario’s voice actor also plays a Skyrim dragon
Imagine realizing the same vocal cords that shout joyful Italian stereotypes are also responsible for the deep, booming philosophical musings of Paarthurnax.…
Discover more
Death Stranding turns bodily fluids into weapons
When fighting invisible tar ghosts, the hero relies entirely on his own bodily fluids. His sweat, blood, and excrement are weaponized into usable grenades.…
Discover more
The princess of Hyrule may share a voice with villains
The elegant, gentle princess of Hyrule is often voiced by actresses who spend their weekends screaming about blood and destruction in mature dubs. It really…
Discover more
Final Fantasy XV made its food almost photorealistic
The visual artists dedicated an obscene amount of processing power exclusively to making the camp meals look delicious. A single plate of digital eggs has as…
Discover more
Why Western fans called her Aeris
For years, Western fans cried over the tragic demise of 'Aeris,' completely unaware that her name was supposed to be Aerith. A single exhausted translator…
Discover more
In Yakuza, gunshot wounds yield to an energy drink
Got shot in the chest by a rival syndicate enforcer? Just chug a 'Staminan Royale.' In the Japanese criminal underworld, severe internal bleeding and…
Discover more
Half-Life headcrabs are canonically roasted and eaten
Those terrifying alien parasites that latch onto your skull and turn you into a flesh-eating zombie? The human resistance literally cooks and eats them. When…
Discover more