Article

We talk to Harmonix creative director Josh Randall about its new sampling app VidRhythm, the roots of “video music,” and why automatic music fosters creativity.

James Dilks examines the trend of band and game names stretching beyond the realm of the English language, and explains why the name of indie hit VVVVVV makes perfect sense.

Meet Doug TenNapel, the brutally honest visionary behind legendary comedic platformer Earthworm Jim. He speaks to Patrick Cassels about the dangers of signing contracts, being a consultant on ABC show Push, Nevada, the proper use of comedy in games, and the superiority of good gameplay, above all, i

In our second boardgame column, Gus Mastrapa looks at how rolling the dice has changed from Monopoly and Risk to Catan and Troyes.

Jon Irwin explores the sensual anxiety of playing Ocarina for the first time.

Shanghai’s Coconut Island is one of few Chinese game studios vying for independence. Bryan Ma asks studio co-founder Wesley Bao about his ambitions, what barriers are found in Chinese industry, and how app stores circumvent them.

Jon Irwin experiences the tactile, analog joy of Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum’s many oddities and anachronisms. Leave modern day gizmos at the door and discover what it’s like to be roasted by an animatronic alien, to test your mettle with the “Three Trials of Terror, and why Marvin Yagoda’s

Christiaan Virant speaks to us about the Buddha Machine, a box resembling a toy radio which plays a variety of sound loops that has made waves across Europe and Asia. Virant describes designing the Buddha Machine with bandmate Zhang Jian, playing a “Buddha Boxing” session for a full day in Jerusalem

Why men are more likely to play as women in World of Warcraft, and how they behave differently when they do.

Kicking off our new project to document games from every country in the world, a Zambian game about the crying of goats.

Mathias Crawford in conversation with Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi on designing playgrounds, and why the physical world is enough.

In a country where there is no videogame industry, how do people get their games? We look at Blue Powders, an illicit videogame emporium in Lima, Peru.