Fatal1ty

The Joy of Public Pwning

Fatal1ty pwns me in front of a hundred str4ng3rs

Illustration by Rey Ortega

Johnathan Wendel, aka “Fatal1ty,” is the best gamer in the world. Ever since he took third in the 1999 Cyberathlete Professional League tournament at age 19, he’s established a Tiger Woods-like dominance of first-person shooters, winning 13 international tournaments and banking more than $300,000 in prize money.

I figure I can take him.

Brass, Flesh and a Genius Grant [Podcast]

Danny Snelson and I follow Murlo's solo game, a cartridge milled for a grandmother and a MacArthur that names a game, to ask who gets to be the genius.

A figure lies in a luminous simulated swamp cave of moss, roots and pale water

MoMA’s lobby becomes a living swamp for five months

Jakob Kudsk Steensen’s Berl-Berl returns as Wetland, a real-time simulation that trades the total view for an insect’s, Oct. 12 to March 7.

A commuter in a hard hat and safety vest confronts the player on a subway car in Moves of the Diamond Hand

Outland Game Night goes public with Cosmo D on Oct. 13

Brian Droitcour's playthrough-lecture series at Onassis ONX opens its doors for the first time, with Lawra Suits Clark playing games in progress.

A hand-drawn black-and-white scene from TOEM 2, with the round-headed photographer character amid detailed doodled scenery

The camera is still the only verb in TOEM 2

Something We Made's black-and-white sequel arrives Sept. 29 on Switch, PS5, and Steam.

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Brass, Flesh and a Genius Grant [Podcast]

MoMA’s lobby becomes a living swamp for five months

Outland Game Night goes public with Cosmo D on Oct. 13

The camera is still the only verb in TOEM 2