Articles

Chopping Block: May 2nd 2026

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Chopping Block: May 2nd 2026

Gold Mine Simulator, Manifold Garden, Resistance: Fall of Man

2 May 2026

Chopping Block

Metro 2033: Ammo Currency

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Metro 2033: Ammo Currency

Metro 2033 remains one of the more distinctive post-apocalyptic shooters I've played, blending survival horror, stealth, and excellent worldbuilding into a remarkably cohesive package. While some technical shortcomings persist, its immersive sound design, atmospheric presentation, and unique military-grade ammunition economy help it stand apart from other first-person shooters.

29 April 2026

Games.design

News Update: April 2026

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News Update: April 2026

News Update: April 2026

24 April 2026

News

Golem Mancer - Music

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Golem Mancer - Music

This article explores plans for Golem Mancer's audio systems, from delayed sound effects and camera shakes that emphasize the immense scale of golems to an ambitious dynamic soundtrack. Inspired by Breath of the Wild, the proposed music system would layer instruments and motifs based on the player's chosen golem types, creating a unique soundtrack for every formation while presenting significant composition and implementation challenges.

21 April 2026

Golem Mancer

Sniper Elite 3: Noise Cover

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Sniper Elite 3: Noise Cover

Sniper Elite III blends tactical sniping, stealth mechanics, and open sandbox level design into a rewarding World War II shooter. We analyses the game's implementation of noise cover that enables stealthy long-range engagements.

18 April 2026

Games.design

Limbo

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Limbo

Limbo is a minimalist puzzle-platformer that combines atmospheric black-and-white visuals, subtle storytelling, and clever environmental puzzles into a memorable experience. We look at the game's design, presentation, and achievements while exploring how its distinctive film-grain and vignette effects can be recreated using Unity's Rendering Pipeline and 'Volume' post-processing system.

13 April 2026

Games.design

I, Billionaire

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I, Billionaire

Many of todays fashionable technologies are sold as inevitable steps toward a better future, yet their development is often driven by vanity, profit, and wishful thinking rather than necessity. From self-driving cars and Martian colonies to neural implants, AI, and bio-hacking. These projects frequently ignore practical limitations and social consequences. Science fiction may inspire innovation, but it also provides cautionary examples that todays tech evangelists seem determined to overlook.

8 April 2026

Pond-erings

5 Games If They Traded Dev's

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5 Games If They Traded Dev's

Frostpunk --- Metro 2033Assassin's Creed --- DishonoredBioShock --- Surviving MarsMegaquarium --- Power Wash SimulatorHardspace Shipbreaker --- Factorio

31 March 2026

Pond-erings

News Update: March 2026

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News Update: March 2026

News Update: March 2026

30 March 2026

News

Alien: Earth

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Alien: Earth

Rather than dissecting why Alien: Earth failed, this article rebuilds it into something closer to the franchises strengths. By removing the hybrid android storyline, refocusing the narrative on the Maginot crew, and restructuring the series around the capture and containment of its alien specimens, the result is a more cohesive survival-horror mystery. Through parallel timelines, corporate intrigue, and a stronger emphasis on the creatures themselves, this reimagining aims to transform a muddled first season into a proper Alien story.

20 March 2026

Pond-erings

Chopping Block: March 12th 2026

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Chopping Block: March 12th 2026

Maneater, The Thaumaturge, White Shadows

12 March 2026

Chopping Block

Star Wars: Strong with the Force, Weak with the Logic

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Star Wars: Strong with the Force, Weak with the Logic

The Star Wars original trilogy remains a landmark of science-fiction cinema, yet decades of scrutiny highlight numerous narrative inconsistencies. A New Hope contains questionable tactical decisions and character motivations, while The Empire Strikes Back features implausible space physics, navigation gaps, and convoluted Imperial plans. Return of the Jedi introduces further tactical improbabilities in the rescue of Han Solo. Despite these flaws, the trilogys enduring influence and storytelling strength remain undisputed.

7 March 2026

Whole Plots

The Deadlands Game Design Document

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The Deadlands Game Design Document

Manage an armored truck as it travels around the zombie ravaged wilderness. In this 2D pixel art side-scroller that blends rogue lite and RTS elements in a race against the clock. Modify the truck and its multiple trailer cars, manage supplies and resources while completing missions for communities of survivors. On the roads and muddy back trails you'll need to frequently stop to deal with obstacles, breakdowns, or to salvage wreaks. But the moment the player stops zombies attracted by the noise, will attack from all sides. The player can array their truck crew with all manner of weapons and position them around and atop the truck trailers to defend while others clear obstacles or effect repairs.

2 March 2026

The Deadlands

News Update: February 2026

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News Update: February 2026

News Update: February 2026

26 February 2026

News

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Undead pirates, cursed Aztec gold, and an immortal monkey are easy enough to accept. The real fantasy in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is Jack Sparrows waterproof flintlock, a sinking dinghy that somehow keeps sailing, and a jail cell that seems to ignore engineering altogether. This deep dive picks apart the films most delightfully absurd moments while celebrating exactly why Gore Verbinskis supernatural swashbuckler remains such a wildly entertaining adventure.

21 February 2026

Whole Plots

Chopping Block: February 13, 2026

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Chopping Block: February 13, 2026

Boxes: Lost Fragments, Factorio: Krastorio 2 Mod, and The Plane Effect

13 February 2026

Chopping Block

Little Nightmares - Terror

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Little Nightmares - Terror

Dripping with dread and wrapped in the groaning steel hull of The Maw, Little Nightmares is a masterclass in atmospheric horror. Through distorted soundscapes, unsettling environmental storytelling, and the tiny silhouette of Six against monstrous adults, Tarsier Studios crafts a nightmare that lingers long after the credits roll. This isnt horror built on gore or jump scares, but tension, scale, and the suffocating feeling that something is always waiting just out of sight.

6 February 2026

Games.design

Jurassic World Rebirth

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Jurassic World Rebirth

Jurassic World Rebirth had all the right ingredientsdinosaurs, intrigue, a high-stakes missionbut somewhere along the way, it lost the plot. Beneath the spectacle is a story that almost works, if only it were given room to breathe. So instead of just tearing it down, I took a different approach: rebuild it. This is a ground-up rewrite, keeping what works, cutting what doesnt, and shaping the film into something that mightve lived up to its potential.

3 February 2026

Pond-erings

News Update: January 2026

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News Update: January 2026

News Update: January 2026

29 January 2026

News

Chopping Block: January 26th 2026

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Chopping Block: January 26th 2026

Dread Dawn, Magic Archer, and The Strange City

26 January 2026

Chopping Block