games & graphics
Why is tech illustration stuck on repeat?
You may not have heard of “Corporate Memphis,” but you’ve almost certainly seen it. The illustration style can be found in the trendiest direct-to-consumer subway ads, within the app you use to split restaurant tabs or on the 404 page that attempts to counter your frustration with cutesiness. In fact, Corporate Memphis has become so synonymous with tech marketing that some illustrators simply know it as the “tech aesthetic.”
But Corporate Memphis has also become a victim of its own success. The once-whimsical, fresh style now feels safe and antiseptic. More conspicuous iterations of it get roasted online, if they get noticed at all; one popular tweet asks, “Why does every website landing page look like this now?” Illustrators are just as often tired of Corporate Memphis, but tech companies continue to commission it.
Text Memes Are Taking Over Instagram
Fueled by Gen Z, text-heavy meme posts, often paired with nonsensically unrelated pictures, are turning the photo and video app into a destination for written expression.
Roleplaying a Communist Cop in the Ruins of Revolution
Disco Elysium is the roleplaying game as interactive novel, a sustained exercise in eschewing the flashy graphics of big-budget games in favor of dense prose. This prose appears in a dedicated window on the right side of the screen, a box that appears every time you converse with a character or interact with an object in the world.
%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fdev.lareviewofbooks.org%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2021%252F07%252Fdiscoelysium.png&w=1920&q=75)
Source: Roleplaying a Communist Cop in the Ruins of Revolution
Why Bored Ape Avatars Are Taking Over Twitter
Bored Ape Yacht Club, which launched in April, is a strange combination of gated online community, stock-shareholding group, and art-appreciation society.
We Need a New Term for Video Games
We’re seeing a ton of new games, and many of them blur the lines between video games and other types of activities.
Virtual Reality Is the Rich White Kid of Technology
For decades, VR has failed to live up to expectations. Yet somehow, it keeps receiving more chances and more resources.
Zoom launches Live Game Night Poker with FlowPlay
Your Zoom meetings could get more fun as FlowPlay launches the free Live Game Night Poker on the Zoom platform.
A Framework for the Metaverse — Matthew Ball
We need to think of the Metaverse as a sort of successor state to the mobile internet. And while consumers will have core devices and platforms through which they interact with the Metaverse, the Metaverse depends on so much more. There’s a reason we don’t say Facebook or Google is an internet. They are destinations and ecosystems on or in the internet, each accessible via a browser or smartphone that can also access the vast rest of the internet. Similarly, Fortnite and Roblox feel like the Metaverse because they embody so many technologies and trends into a single experience that, like the iPhone, is tangible and feels different from everything that came before. But they do not constitute the Metaverse.
Activision Blizzard Sued Over ‘Frat Boy’ Culture, Harassment
Video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc., maker of games including World of Warcraft and Diablo, fosters a “frat boy” culture in which female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and retaliation, according to a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Source: Activision Blizzard Sued Over ‘Frat Boy’ Culture, Harassment (1)
Why Netflix’s push into video games doesn’t make sense
The announcement that Netflix will begin offering video games on its streaming service is rife with red flags. With subscriber growth hitting headwinds in 2021 after a COVID-19-led surge in 2020, Netflix recently made a splashy announcement that it was hiring a gaming executive, Oculus and EA alumnus Mike Verdu , to build up the company’s newly minted interactive division.
Source: Why Netflix’s push into video games doesn’t make sense
Inside ‘reality shifting,’ the trend where TikTokers claim they can enter the world of Harry Potter
For most Harry Potter fans, the only way to stroll through Diagon Alley is to visit the reproduction in Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park. Kristin Dattoo wouldn’t need to make the trip from her native Ontario, however. Instead, the 19-year-old would just shift her consciousness.
Source: Inside ‘reality shifting,’ the trend where TikTokers claim they can enter the world of Harry Potter
When the Game Is Over, Where Do Our Avatars Go?
The player characters from childhood video games were conceived in glory. Where are they now?
How Warner Bros. is using ‘Space Jam’ to get into the NFT business
Ever since the NFT phenomenon took off several months ago, it’s been all about exclusivity and the value that exclusivity drives—i.e., a lot of money. Digital artists like Beeple have auctioned off NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, of their artwork for tens of millions of dollars at auction houses like Christie’s.
Source: How Warner Bros. is using ‘Space Jam’ to get into the NFT business
No cults, no politics, no ghouls: how China censors the video game world
China’s video game market is the world’s biggest. International developers want in on it – but its rules on what is acceptable are growing increasingly harsh. Is it worth the compromise?
Source: No cults, no politics, no ghouls: how China censors the video game world
Emoji Use At Work? Survey Says — Thumbs Up!
If you’ve ever hesitated to add a smiley face or a thumbs-up to an email, a new survey from Adobe may put you at ease. The software company, which conducts regular surveys on emoji use, found that the whimsical icons can make people feel more connected and more receptive to new tasks. They allow people to quickly share ideas. They make group decisions more efficient and can even reduce the need for meetings and calls.
Neurocracy is future fiction in the form of Wikipedia
How Half-Life and Deus Ex laid the foundation for a Wikipedia-style murder mystery game In 2048, Wikipedia doesn’t exist. Without enough donations and too many copyright claims, it has to shut down. In 2049, a new substitute rises: Omnipedia, built in the spirit of its predecessor as a free encyclopedia for all.
Source: Neurocracy is future fiction in the form of Wikipedia
Hello, Content Creators. Silicon Valley’s Investors Want to Meet You.
The online influencer culture is starting to draw serious interest from big venture capital firms. But the real money could be in digital tools, not the personalities.
Source: Hello, Content Creators. Silicon Valley’s Investors Want to Meet You.
What Is the Metaverse?
Crypto people say they’re building it. Gamers might already be living in it. The art world is cashing in on it. Web veterans are trying to save it. But what is it?
Source: What Is the Metaverse?
Video Games Are a Labor Disaster
Video game workers are not treated poorly because it’s so hard to make a game. The causation might actually run in the other direction: It might be hard to make a video game because the people who make them are treated so poorly.
Source: Video Games Are a Labor Disaster
Microsoft’s cloud vision might just change gaming forever
Microsoft says it’s working with device manufacturers to build Game Pass directly into smart TVs, so the subscription service can be accessible with just a controller, no extra hardware required. Even more ambitious are the company’s plans to build its own streaming devices, perhaps similar to Google’s Chromecast or the Apple TV, that could also enable access to Game Pass with just a controller.
Source: Microsoft’s cloud vision might just change gaming forever