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.
Checkpoint Colin Kaepernick, Madden NFL 21 and the Football Future That Wasn’t By Ben Sailer • October 27th, 2020 After punting on social justice for years, Electronic Arts recently patched Colin Kaepernick back into Madden NFL 21. Don’t rush to pat them on the back.
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?”
Collision Detection Rigged Games By Ben Sailer • November 14th, 2018 If politicians treat electioneering like a tactical war game that was built to be hacked, Gerrymander lays their tactics bare with adorably dystopian puzzles.
Collision Detection The Inseparable Politics of Homo Machina By Ben Sailer • October 13th, 2018 Underneath this mobile game’s unassuming plot lies deep historical inspiration intricately connected to the social upheaval surrounding its source material.
Collision Detection Whether its NFL or RPG, A Party Trumps Its Players By Ben Sailer • August 30th, 2018 How communities and players lose sight of the people behind their beloved teams.
Feature Excerpt Remembering Doom on SNES By Ben Sailer • July 12th, 2018 Doom for the Super Nintendo was an incredible feat of technical trickery. It’s also my favorite game of all time that I never want to play again.
