Article
Public play yanks videogames into the real world
The troubles and joys of getting people outdoors.
Tag: street games
News
This building-side Frogger is the arcade of the gods
As this 22-story-tall Frogger clone in São Paulo proves, major metropolitan areas are quickly becoming skyscraper arcades. Street Crosser, a game with a social cause, joins that giant game of Tetris played over Philly a few weeks ago as the two latest examples of god-sized videogames. But this installation isn’t merely touting that Brazilians love big buildings and games. The creators at Noobware, a Spanish game studio, say the game is an attempt to raise awareness of the high number of traffic deaths in São Paulo, having you play as little old ladies crossing busy interstates instead of the customary…
News
The Playground Society brings street games to Instagram
The Playground Society has to be one of the noblest, most jubilant societies ever. Their mission is to use mobile technology to foster a sense of playfulness in people’s daily lives, and I don’t think they’re talking about catching a round of Flappy Bird at the stop sign. Rather, by following @PlaygroundSociety on Instagram, you receive open-ended game missions: you’re free to interpret them any way you like. For instance, “stacking” would be your cue to stack whatever is in your immediate vicinity (the only thing around me right now are tables and chairs, but stacking them would probably get…
News
Tetris on the side of a skyscraper? Tetris on the side of a skyscraper
As part of a celebration of tech in Philadelphia on April 4th, the city is hosting a colossal game of Tetris on the side of a staggering piece of architecture. The Cira Centre, which stretches 29 stories into the night sky, will be lit up with familiar falling tetriminos. Those famous squares, L-pieces, and frustrating “z” and “s” pieces that you never know which way to flip will cascade down the structure, which is outfitted with 1,500 LEDs. The whole thing is programmed by a professor at Drexel University, who last year did something similar with Pong. This around time…
News
The Sims evacuate Facebook, Chernobyl in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and GTA’s radio stations are on Spotify
First off, the New York Review of Books blog considers the connection between Tarkovsky’s Stalker, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series, and Chernobyl. And for extra credit, read our interview with an artist who raided the Zone! “So there I sat in my parents’ living room, playing the game with my mom, showing the game to my dad and brothers and sister. I think I’ve never heard my dad laugh so long and so hard.” — Adriaan de Jongh, creator of Fingle, the iPad game about evocative hand rubbing, on play-testing without a girlfriend. DayZ creator Dean Hall is seriously one of the busiest game makers I’ve ever…
News
So long LucasArts, Jet Li endorses pro gaming, and Facebook phone humor
Long-time film critic and videogame antagonist Roger Ebert passed away. Our condolences to his family. (More on him later!) Jet Li can kick your ass and beat you in videogames. Life is so not fair. Two parties have settled their Killer Instinct trademark feud. Bring on the remake, and the Sabrewulf 30-hit combos! Carmen Sandiego was a cruel and unusual game show for kids. And it had terrible, terrible doo wop. Did you know the creator of the arcade classic Crystal Castles was a classically-trained pianist? Watch him go all Tschaikovsky around the twenty-nine minute mark. What does a…
Interview
Tiny Games has a game for every occasion: drinking at the bar, break-ups, and possibly funerals
The app Tiny Games has hundreds of spontantious games for you to play literally anywhere. We talked to Margaret Robertson about the most inappropriate places to play silly games, and why that might not be as bad as you think.