Culture
31 CommentsBreath of the Wild players can’t stand its motion control puzzles
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a fantastic game by all accounts. But to many players, what’s keeping the Nintendo Switch launch title from true perfection — dog-petting aside — are those dang motion control-heavy Shrine puzzles.
One of the core objectives in Breath of the Wild is traveling around the world in search of Shrines, mini-dungeons that require players to solve a single puzzle before they can get out. Sometimes these puzzles rely on logic or Link’s magical skill set. Others, unfortunately, require some very, very precise usage of the Joy-Con controllers’ motion control capabilities.
Although different shrines force players to tilt their controllers in unique ways, there’s one in particular that’s invoking their ire. An early game shrine, called Myahm Agana,...
Culture
7 CommentsBreath of the Wild players get creative with fast travel
We’re already starting to see some impressive The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild speedruns. A tweet from one player shows that the best is still to come, though, if this amazing travel trick is anything to go off.
Venick409, a prolific member of the speedrunning community, shared a clip of Link using one of his special powers to fast travel. It’s not just a really clever idea, but it’s also stunning to watch it in action.
A glimpse into the future of BotW speedruns. pic.twitter.com/2a7dFRaXEN— Venick (@Venick409) March 8, 2017
Here’s the breakdown: Link uses the stasis rune to stop time on a gigantic boulder. After hitting it once to give it some momentum, he stops time on it again — then proceeds to charge up with a hammer, striking the boulder a couple of times before...
Culture
17 CommentsHBO just made 110,000 Game of Thrones fans watch a block of ice melt for no reason
HBO may have managed to anger more than 100,000 Game of Thrones fans today.
The network announced this morning that it would be revealing the premiere date for Game of Thrones’ seventh season during a Facebook Live stream at 2 p.m. ET today. At precisely that time, thousands of people tuned in, assuming it would be a quick announcement and hoping for a trailer.
Instead, they were greeted with an interactive challenge. In order to get the premiere date, they would have to type the word “FIRE” into the comment section and hit enter. Doing so would cause a flame to appear on screen and melt the block of ice the premiere date was trapped in.
Julia Alexander/Polygon
Unfortunately, this went on for just under 20 minutes ... before HBO shut down the stream entirely,...
Culture
32 CommentsBreath of the Wild would be a perfect game if you could just pet the dogs
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched last week to stellar reviews from critics. Fans continue to praise the game, now that they have their hands on the Switch and it — but some players are lodging a complaint so major, it threatens to ruin the whole experience.
The issue concerns dogs, which Breath of the Wild has in spades. Upon discovering that Link can feed the adorable canines living in this game’s version of Hyrule, many players were ecstatic.
THERES A HUGE FRIENDLY DOG IN BREATH OF THE WILD AND NOW IM CRYING— breath of the bitch (@brochizou) March 4, 2017
A DOG STARTED FOLLOWING ME IN BREATH OF THE WILD PLEASE GIVE THIS GAME GOTY— void ✨ (@meteoreffects) March 5, 2017
It's a dog at a horse stable in Breath of the Wild. There must be a cat somewhere in...
Culture
5 CommentsGet Out has inspired the newest internet challenge
Comedian Jordan Peele’s new socio-political horror movie, Get Out, has caught the attention of movie-goers and critics, but it has also inspired the newest online challenge.
[Warning: The following will contain spoilers.]
Get Out follows a black man, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), who goes to his white girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents house for the weekend. When Chris arrives, he’s confronted with a couple who try to prove just how normal and cool they are with their daughter’s interracial relationship. Rose’s dad, played by Bradley Whitford, is quick to proclaim he would have voted for Obama a third time if he could. As the movie goes on, Chris meets a couple of other black individuals who work on her parents’ estate, including a housekeeper named Walter.
As Chris quickly finds...
Opinion
5 CommentsTwitch introduces its own Twitter-like feed, but it needs to learn from Twitter’s mistakes
Twitch’s newest social feature, Pulse, is essentially a Facebook or Twitter feed tailored exclusively for the company’s millions of streamers and viewers.
But like Twitter quickly realized — and has not been able to solve in the 11 years it has been around — having a platform that thrives on being able to interact with whoever you want, and essentially say whatever you want, will result in harassment that must be addressed.
Solving a known problem
The Pulse feature is described by Twitch as, “a place where streamers can post and engage with all of their followers and the greater Twitch community right from the Twitch front page,” essentially promoting a more intimate, ongoing connection between talent and fans.
If the concept seems similar, that’s because it’s the same way Twitter...
Movies
5 CommentsLogan’s action scenes are intense, but recording the audio is surprisingly silly
Making movies can be a ridiculous process, and one of Hugh Jackman’s recent tweets show just how silly it can be to finish up a superhero film like the rather excellent Logan.
Many people may assume that acting is an organic process. You react to the scene, look at other people around you and try to convey the emotional reality of what’s going on in the story. But it can be surprising to learn just how little usable audio is recorded when each scene is filmed, and how much has to be recorded after the fact.
Which is why Hugh Jackman, like most actors in this sort of movie, has to spend a lot of time in the studio grunting and yelling into a microphone while pantomiming the action that’s going on in the scene. You really have to give it your all to get a performance that sounds...
Culture
3 CommentsBreath of the Wild’s true star is the maraca-shaking Hestu
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild marks the first new console adventure for Link, Zelda and several other fan favorites in several years. But it’s a new character that’s threatening to steal the spotlight, and his name is Hestu.
The adorable tree-like friend, a member of the Korok species, makes a fantastic first impression. Link first encounters Hestu on the way to meet Lady Impa, just a few hours into the game’s main quest. He’s hard to miss, and after their first interaction, he’s impossible to forget.
Allegra Frank/Polygon
Hestu’s got a catchphrase.
Hestu’s trademark cry is “Sha-lah-kah,” and it’s an adorably joyous greeting. He’s a musical dude with a thing for maracas, but as charming and chatty as he is, it turns out that he’s not so popular with...
Culture
4 CommentsZelda: Breath of the Wild players are taking part in an amazing ‘shield-surf’ challenge
A little over a month ago, Reddit user Naiko32 posted a challenge to the Nintendo Switch subreddit. He had taken a screenshot from one of the many trailers for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The image featured Link running up a massive, precarious, very narrow wooden bridge.
Naiko32’s challenge was simple: On Breath of the Wild’s launch day, March 3, find that bridge and use Link’s shield to surf down it.
Nintendo via Naiko32/Reddit
Well, that day has arrived, and Reddit user Sylverstone14 has reminded the Switch subreddit of this great challenge. The community has rallied around it, providing a map to the location of the bridge and asking those participating to upload videos of themselves pulling off the task. So far, sadly, no one has gotten to that...
Culture
16 CommentsSony, Microsoft and, of course, Arby’s congratulate Nintendo on the Switch
After months of waiting, the Nintendo Switch is finally out today and just about everyone is celebrating. Even Nintendo’s biggest competitors.
In a show of good corporate sportsmanship, Sony and Microsoft sent out congratulatory messages to Nintendo on the release of the Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Both companies congratulated Nintendo in a number of regions, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Xbox’s Phil Spencer also tweeted out his kind remarks, calling it “always great when Nintendo innovates in gaming.”
.@NintendoAmerica It's not every day you get to throw the #Switch on a new console. Congrats! #NintendoSwitch @Nintendo pic.twitter.com/d0JNCCM6Wd— Xbox (@Xbox) March 3, 2017
@NintendoAmerica Congrats on your launch of another...
Opinion
25 CommentsJim Sterling was sued for making fun of a game, and it was a bad idea
Game critic Jim Sterling and the somewhat infamous game developer James Romine of Digital Homicide have exchanged legal blows since 2014. They fought over damage to Romine’s reputation allegedly inflicted by Sterling’s videos about the studio’s work, otherwise known as libel or defamation. The result was anti-climactic: The parties settled and the case was dismissed with prejudice in federal court on Feb. 21.
Many are lauding this as a victory for Sterling and free speech. However, from a legal perspective, a settlement is hardly a conclusive outcome on the merits of the case.
There are still pearls of wisdom we can glean from the matter. From the perspective of a video game attorney, going to court is rarely, if ever, the optimal outcome. Settlement, and in turn identifying the...
Culture
3 CommentsHere’s a video of Hearthstone’s game director rapping and I am sorry
Throughout its history, Hearthstone has built up a tradition of announcing new content with songs. The Whispers of the Old Gods reveal, for example, featured a creepy tune, while One Night in Karazhan had a showy, disco-inspired track.
But when the latest expansion, Journey to Un’Goro, was announced earlier this week, some fans noticed that its cinematic trailer did not feature a song. Reddit poster shadowthiefo was so bothered that they started a petition on the Hearthstone subreddit demanding a Journey to Un’Goro song.
Hearthstone game director Ben Brode is never one to turn down the demands of the community. And so today he responded with the video above: a three minute hip-hop song seemingly recorded in his house with earbuds in.
It’s ... it’s something.
Polygon has reached out to...
Culture
1 CommentFrom Best Picture winners to Ryan Gosling whispering, the Oscar’s best memes
Last night’s 89th annual Academy Awards turned out to be one of the most memorable in recent years thanks to a major award flub and Ryan Gosling, both of which have earned official meme status online.
There were many strange moments during last night’s telecast, which ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted, but these two seem to have stuck out the most. The first occurred when Kimmel brought a group of actual tourists to the Dolby Theater in Hollywood to take in the award show ceremony for themselves. Multiple tourists were brought to the front of the theater and introduced to a number of actors, including Denzel Washington and Ryan Gosling.
When Gosling got up to say hello to a fan, Vickie from Chicago, the internet managed to capture this fantastic moment. In the actual video...
Culture
24 CommentsWhat really happened during the La La Land/Moonlight Best Picture mix-up
The most memorable moment from last night’s Oscars — perhaps of the last decade when it comes to the award ceremony — was the mixup surrounding the Best Picture Winner.
Bonnie and Clyde’s Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty took the stage to announce the winner and after what appeared to be some playing around, which turned out to be actual confusion, Dunaway and Beatty called out La La Land’s name. It would have been fine, of course, if La La Land had actually won, but Moonlight was the actual recipient of the award. The chaos led to this fantastic moment featuring La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz clambering to reach the microphone on stage and announce the mishap.
El resumen del día: "This is not a joke, Moonlight has won Best Picture" #Oscars pic.twitter.com/OMMK04U2Mu— Emmanuel...