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Category: Collision Detection

An engraving of a fierce Roman chariot race. The drivers lash at their horses while throngs of people look on.

The Mysteries of Motorsport

By Ben Sailer • May 6th, 2022

A melon farmer accidentally falls into a time warp and is commissioned to produce words on a popular videogame by the insatiable content overlords of Unwinnable Monthly LLC.

Collision Detection
A videogame screenshot shows several 16-bit characters engaged in a gunfight while paddling down a river in a canoe. Toppled stone ruins make up the scene behind them.

Harder Core Than Thou

By Ben Sailer • March 30th, 2022

Ben tries to figure out what defines games as hardcore and nearly goes insane.

Collision Detection
A blurry photo of a clock reading quarter-to-twelve. It looks as if the viewer is the one with blurred vision.

Pressing Pause

By Ben Sailer • March 2nd, 2022

Ben gets his year-end wrap-ups from various entertainment services and has an unexpected epiphany.

Collision Detection
A white plastic Sega Dreamcast videogame console. The large controller features a small LCD screen and four brightly colored buttons in red, yellow, blue and green.

Welcome to the Circus of Value

By Ben Sailer • February 2nd, 2022

Ben ponders the absurdity of inflated videogame software and hardware valuations on the used market and nearly has an existential crisis.

Collision Detection
Crowds of people mill around a bustling and colorful future metropolis.

Rethinking the Post-Apocalypse in Eastward

By Ben Sailer • December 3rd, 2021

Post-apocalyptic stories are often framed as tales of what happens after everything ends. Eastward instead shows how life moves on.

Collision Detection
A glowing red tunnel entrance leads into a fortress-like building.

Rethinking Retro Remakes With Tunnel B1

By Ben Sailer • November 5th, 2021

We’re in the middle of a retro shooter renaissance. Why not mine the forgotten past for ideas and inspiration?

Collision Detection
A teenager touches hands with a glowing monster who seems to be manifesting itself from the graffiti on the side of a building.

Escaping Isolation in Concrete Genie

By Ben Sailer • September 28th, 2021

Ben finds a surprisingly poignant message about the interconnectedness of commerce and community beneath the family-friendly veneer of the underappreciated painterly adventure Concrete Genie.

Collision Detection
Three cute cartoon characters – a green kappa, a calico cat, and a blue bison – stare excitedly into the distance with big grins on their faces.

The Terrifying Truth Vs. Some Free JRPG Mini Games

By Ben Sailer • August 25th, 2021

Ben finds a free game hidden on Google’s home page and slowly sinks into a pit of existential despair.

Collision Detection
A medieval castle hallway.

The Role-Playing Television Future of Tomorrow, Yesterday

By Ben Sailer • August 12th, 2021

VR, the hard way. The really hard way.

Collision Detection
Laika, a Soviet space dog the first animal to ever orbit the Earth.

Dos Vedanya, Kudryavka

By Ben Sailer • June 29th, 2021

Correcting the tragedy of the first dog in space.

Collision Detection
An array of NFL team logos.

Controlling the Future in Five Minutes or Less

By Ben Sailer • June 1st, 2021

Ben gets hooked on pretending to draft players for his favorite football team, and maybe, just maybe, learns something along the way. Or not.

Collision Detection
The start screen from Contra where two men stand back to back and look out menacingly.

On Cheat Codes and Disappearing Forever

By Ben Sailer • May 5th, 2021

Ben finds a book to a lost era, a time of sharks, genies, and rapid button combinations.

Collision Detection

Controlling the Narrative

By Ben Sailer • March 26th, 2021

Why the hell would anyone play two-player sports videogames by themselves?

Collision Detection
A futuristic city at night with skyscrapers.

Cyberpunkland and the Full Service Dystopia Simulator of Tomorrow, Today

By Ben Sailer • March 10th, 2021

A free dystopian browser-based game like Cyberpunkland should be a silly diversion. But considering recent events, it feels bizarrely prescient instead.

Collision Detection

In Videogames, Everybody’s Working for the Weekend

By Ben Sailer • January 26th, 2021

Work sucks, I know.

Collision Detection

Countering COVID-19 Disinformation in Five Minutes or Less with Go Viral!

By Ben Sailer • January 8th, 2021

Separating fact from fiction on the Internet and in the media is more difficult than ever. In the middle of a global pandemic, the consequences are potentially lethal. Could a simple browser game be part of the solution?

Collision Detection

On Videogames, Accessibility and the Winter From Hell

By Ben Sailer • December 10th, 2020

Videogames are more accessible than ever thanks to increased digitization. Facing what will be the harshest winter in a generation, this is a godsend that is easy to miss, but should not be taken for granted.

Collision Detection

We Can’t Afford to Log Off

By Ben Sailer • October 1st, 2020

Twitter isn’t just a time-wasting hellsite. It’s also the world’s worst multi-user dungeon.

Collision Detection

Baseball is Dead, Long Live Blaseball

By Ben Sailer • September 3rd, 2020

The only thing weirder than the satirical baseball sim Blaseball is actual professional baseball.

Collision Detection

Open Worlds, Open Minds

By Ben Sailer • August 7th, 2020

While Ben used to hate open-world games, now that life under lockdown has made his surroundings feel more compact than ever though, the promise of exploring their vast landscapes has taken on a different appeal.

Collision Detection

Between Progress and Pragmatism in Democratic Socialism Simulator

By Ben Sailer • July 9th, 2020

This game offers an opportunity to explore the policy possibilities of a progressive presidency in America. But underneath its colorful cartoon aesthetic lies a surprising degree of subversive power.

Collision Detection

Redefining the Race

By Ben Sailer • June 9th, 2020

The future of virtual and real-world racing are becoming increasingly intertwined. Could the two someday become one and the same?

Collision Detection

Finding Meaning in Animal Crossing’s Weird-Ass World

By Ben Sailer • May 7th, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has dominated social media since its release. This explainer might help you understand the appeal, or it might not explain anything at all.

Collision Detection

On GameStop and Contempt for Nostalgia

By Ben Sailer • April 13th, 2020

Ben thinks way too hard about his strained relationship with a struggling videogame retailer and learns about Swiss mercenaries along the way.

Collision Detection

Could the Decline of Violent Football Videogames Have Predicted the Future of Player Safety?

By Ben Sailer • March 10th, 2020

Football videogames in the early to mid-1990s reveled in over-the-top physical violence. Could the disappearance of that tendency be connected to changing public perception around the safety of the sport?

Collision Detection

What I Think About When I Think About Grandia

By Ben Sailer • February 10th, 2020

What can we learn about social activism from an aging 32-bit-era role-playing game? According to one writer who probably needs to get more sleep, maybe more than one might think.

Collision Detection

There’s No Such Thing as a Neutral War Story

By Ben Sailer • January 14th, 2020

Like literally every other piece of media, videogames don’t exist in a vacuum.

Collision Detection

Exploring Social Impact Journalism With Headliner: Novinews

By Ben Sailer • December 5th, 2019

Headliner: Novinews asks players to consider the social impact of sound journalistic best practice by offering questions that lead to more questions.

Collision Detection

How I Learned to Stop Worrying (And Love Being Horrified)

By Ben Sailer • November 11th, 2019

Ben hasn’t felt frightened by a game since playing the original Resident Evil two decades ago. However, a brisk run through Outlast changed that, and in the process, helped him rekindle a long-lost love for being scared shitless.

Collision Detection

Backing a Fake Basketball Underdog

By Ben Sailer • October 13th, 2019

It cannot be overstated exactly how bad NBA 2K has beaten NBA Live over the past two decades.

Collision Detection

How an 8-Bit Football Franchise is Still Kicking

By Ben Sailer • August 30th, 2019

A local competition helps Ben rediscover his love for Tecmo Super Bowl.

Collision Detection

Abe’s Oddysee, Ahead of Its Time

By Ben Sailer • August 14th, 2019

The PlayStation classic Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee offers poignant commentary on how to handle catastrophic circumstances that feel bigger than yourself.

Collision Detection

When Amazon Gamifies Hell, Who’s Gaming Who?

By Ben Sailer • July 3rd, 2019

Videogames placed in Amazon warehouses are allegedly intended to boost employee morale. However, reality may be less altruistic than the company’s PR spin.

Collision Detection

Dogs of War

By Ben Sailer • June 5th, 2019

Sure video game dogs make for great meme material, but good boys have been serving since World War I.

Collision Detection

How About a Refund?

By Ben Sailer • May 14th, 2019

Google’s talked about how great Stadia is, but how will it win over the average (heavily skeptical) consumer?

Collision Detection

Ace Combat 7 Wants the Context of War Without its Baggage

By Ben Sailer • April 10th, 2019

Even in an arcade game like Ace Combat 7, borrowing from real-world war narratives makes the whole “escapism” thing…awkward.

Collision Detection

Tidying Up the Old Videogame Collection

By Ben Sailer • March 13th, 2019

Sometimes, stuff’s just gotta go. Even if you loved it.

Collision Detection

Musical Play Without the Peripherals

By Ben Sailer • February 11th, 2019

Resynth goes beyond teaching muscle memory and challenges players much in the same way writing music does.

Collision Detection

At Least Videogame Advertising Has Grown Up

By Ben Sailer • January 11th, 2019

The days of shit-talking the competition are gone. Now videogame companies demand our attention by . . . just making better products.

Collision Detection

DDR Movie Marks a Positive Step

By Ben Sailer • November 26th, 2018

Why make a movie about Dance Dance Revolution? Maybe a better question to ask is, “Why would they make a movie about any other game at all?”

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