Month: February 2022

Pushing Buttons: why are games about mundane tasks so much fun?

In this week’s newsletter: farming, city planning, even golf – I admit I find games about unbelievably boring activities addictive Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Welcome to Pushing Buttons, the Guardian’s gaming newsletter. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every week, just pop your email in …

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OlliOlli World: the game that captures the vibrant soul of skateboarding culture

Radlandia, the skating game’s exuberant and diverse world, was created during the pandemic as a happier place to which its developers could escape In a skate park under the arches near London Bridge, a couple of game developers called John Ribbins and Simon Bennett are messing around in a half-pipe. (I do not join in …

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Belle review – anime that makes for an intriguing big-screen spectacle

This weird postmodern drama sees a lonely teenager join a virtual world where she becomes a hugely successful singer There’s some amazing big-screen spectacle in this weird postmodern emo photo-love drama from Japanese anime director Mamoru Hosoda, whose previous film Mirai elevated him to auteur status. Suzu, voiced by Kaho Nakamura, is a deeply unhappy …

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Tesla recalls 54,000 vehicles with ‘Full Self-Driving’ over ‘rolling stop’ feature

‘Rolling stop’ lets vehicles go through intersections with all-way stop signs at up to 5.6mph Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 cars and SUVs because their “Full Self-Driving” software lets them roll through stop signs. Documents posted on Tuesday by US safety regulators say Tesla will disable the feature with an over-the-internet software update. The “rolling …

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Wordle: New York Times buys viral game for seven-figure sum

Puzzle creator Josh Wardle ‘thrilled’ that newspaper is taking over internet sensation The New York Times has acquired the viral word game Wordle for an undisclosed seven-figure sum, the publisher announced on Monday. Created by a Reddit engineer and launched in October, Wordle gives players just six guesses to determine a five-letter word that changes …

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Like a bully in the school yard, Fox News sets its sights on the anti-work movement

Host Jesse Watters wasted no time in painting the Reddit thread’s moderator as a clumsy, ‘lazy’ caricature In 2013, the subreddit r/antiwork was born. “Unemployment for all, not just the rich!” read its tagline. America was experiencing a mood change at that time. Occupy: The Movie had just hit theaters, lodging the eponymous movement in …

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