War Stories: How Diablo was almost a turn-based strategy game
Produced by Justin Wolfson, edited by Jeremy Smolik. Click here for transcript. The year 1997 means a lot of things to me—it's not only the year I met my wife, but it's also the year wherein I sacrificed hundreds of evenings and nights to Diablo, the newly released grandpappy of loot lottery games. No game…
This ‘Stay Calm’ Video Series Is Great for Expectant Moms
Photo: AePatt Journey (Shutterstock)Pregnancy can be a time of joy and fear, excitement and stress—sometimes all at once. There are more resources online for pregnant women than ever before, but sometimes it’s nice to actually see and hear someone else’s experiences, especially during a time when we’re all so physically isolated. That’s why Very Well…
NASA video reveals haunting beauty of sunsets on other planets
This composite image shows a sunset view from the International Space Station in April 2016. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams snapped the series of photos that went into making this look at the sun reflecting on the ocean with an accompaniment of clouds. NASA We're all familiar with the glorious glow of sunset on Earth, but…
Boomshakalaka: How the original NBA Jam caught fire through chaos
Directed by Justin Wolfson, edited by Aulistar Mark and Jeremy Smolik. Click here for transcript. How did NBA Jam overcome a rocky launch and become one of the arcade era's all-time biggest hits? How did its developers move past a serious "digitization" screw-up? And where's the legendary original version featuring Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey,…
VIDEO: What Is Contact Tracing And How Does It Stop The...
NPR YouTube You may have never heard the phrase "contact tracing" before. Now it's a part of the daily conversation about the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has said contact tracing is key to halting the spread of the disease. It's not a new…
Generating Game of Thrones characters in Skyrim’s character creator
Directed by Joe Pickard, edited by Brady Jackson. Click here for transcript. Getting creative with the character creator in RPGs is kind of like the game before the game—so much so that often I'll spend more time there than I do actually playing through an RPG's tutorial section. Finding just the right jaw line, just…
VIDEO: How The Novel Coronavirus Hijacks Our Defenses
KQED YouTube One way the novel coronavirus can make humans very sick happens deep inside our lungs — a deadly dance between the virus and our immune systems run amok. KQED's Deep Look video team put together a primer to help explain how that happens. Viruses hijack human cells Viruses are simply genetic material wrapped…
An extended interview with Homeworld designer Rob Cunningham
Video shot by Justin Wolfson, edited by Aulistar Mark. Transcript coming soon. You guys have been very vocal in your feedback (thanks to everyone who's taken the time to e-mail!), and we've heard you: you want more War Stories extended interviews, and we're gonna give them to you. So we're happy to present our extended…
This is when and how the pandemic will end video
Relaxing the coronavirus lockdown won't happen overnight, but science and technology will be the key to getting us out the other side.
An extended interview with Crash Bandicoot designer Andy Gavin
Video shot by Sean Dacanay, edited by Jeremy Smolik. Transcript is still processing and should be ready within the next 24 hours. A few weeks back (which at this point seems like a trillion years ago) we published our "War Stories" interview with Naughty Dog's Andy Gavin, wherein he spilled some fascinating details on the…
