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You are evil, or A systemical approach to rethinking how evil works

People like to think of being evil as something extraordinary—we tend to think of it as extreme, or even supernatural. However, game designer and programmer Nicky Case, points out that social psychologists have repeatedly found the opposite to be true—people who we consider to be evil, are in fact incredibly ordinary. Case’s obsession with systems, which has come through in their various projects such as, Simulating The World (In Emoji) and Parable of the Polygons, is now helping us better understand the idea of evil. Case has been exploring the concept of “emergent evil” as part of their first collaboration with PBS Frontline. The basic principal of…

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Artists are turning to voxels to make the familiar feel new

On February 21, 1986, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda was first released in Japan. This week, to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary, series fans Scott Liniger and Mike McGee took to browser to release a complete 3D remake of the first game titled The Legend of Zelda: 30 Year Tribute. Unfortunately, Nintendo has since pulled the project, but what’s notable about it is how it used voxels to make the familiar world of a decades-old game feel new again. Short for “volumetric pixels,” voxels are an oft-forgotten method of rendering 3D worlds that have nonetheless been making a comeback as…

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New PBS Game/Show asks if Twitch is actually making us worse at games

We’re all in agreement that Twitch is a beautiful thing. The ability to display your skills while streaming games in front of a live audience on the Internet has proven endlessly entertaining. There’s no denying that.  But here’s the rub: what if all those eyes intensely glaring at their screens just waiting for you to fail actually makes you worse of games?  In this week’s episode, Jamin posits the pros and cons of playing in front of spectators. And while at times crowds bring out the best in us, it looks like we’re due for a large upswing in epic…

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New PBS Game/Show asks if the death of net neutrality will be bad for games

In one word: yes. It could be terrible!!! As you may know, the FCC is currently considering new legislation that could radically jeopardize the Internet we know and love. But you may not have considered the implications this would have on the medium of videogames. These days, games are pretty much inseparable from the Web. Simply put, games are sold, played, and streamed online. So what would happen to a community or service like League of Legends, PlayStation Network, or Steam if the Internet providers get their way and are allowed to throttle our access to specific domains? Watch the…