🎮 Razzle dazzle
Making games more accessible, thrashing to dwarf metal, and more.
Mornin’. I was watching one of my all-time favorite movies, Stripes, recently when I realized that it was 42 years ago today that it premiered in theaters.
The film stars comedian Bill Murray, who is better known for taking on gophers in Caddyshack and fighting spirits in Ghostbusters. In Stripes, he’s a fired taxi driver who joins the U.S. Army for kicks.
The graduation scene alone is worth the watch. For nothing else, you at least find out why the chicken crossed the road. “That’s the fact, Jack!”
—Marques Edge, Eric Alt, Andrew Nusca
Buffed/Nerfed
What’s up and down in the world rn.
Buffed: In-flight entertainment. During a 12-hour flight from Athens to Singapore, an airplane passenger used a pocket projector on an overhead bin to show the 2000 movie The Patriot. Genius? We think so. But we would have queued up Stripes, obvi.
Nerfed: Spider-Man spinoffs. The movie, named El Muerto and set to star Bad Bunny, is no longer on Sony’s release calendar. A summer without you for real.
Buffed: Cleaning house. A new car, new digs, or a massive donation to a favorite charity? Nope! The first thing this Colorado retiree plans to do with his $3.8 million winnings is buy a new vacuum.
Buffed: Tofu sales. A vegan landlord has banned tenants in a Brooklyn building from cooking meat and fish. Quirky? Sure. Illegal? No. But not much sizzle for $5,750 a month, if you ask us.
Nerfed: Hair loss. From the department of “weird science,” new research finds that the protein that allows hair to grow out of moles (we know, we know) can help pump up hair growth on a thinning scalp. What a world. —ME
Cheat Code: How to make games accessible “for everyone”
Change the game.
Picture the layout of a controller. What comes to mind first? A pair of analog sticks? A four-button setup? Shoulder or rear buttons?
It should come as no surprise that improvements in the comfort and performance of a game controller are a perpetual focus for the companies that make them. But you might not realize that their evolving designs are also trying to improve inclusivity and accessibility so that more players with disabilities can join in the fun.
Contributing writer Joey Held investigates how controllers have developed to more deeply immerse players and broaden access.
Extractor: Did you know Dwarf Metal was a thing?
Investigations of interest.
Ever since Led Zeppelin sang about the “hammer of the gods,” heavy metal has always been attracted to mythic warriors and grand spectacle.
So it is really a surprise that there’s now a whole sub-genre built around the squat, bearded mythological miners from folklore, MMORPGs, fantasy novels, and epic films?
Executive editor Eric Alt raised a glass of mead and praised the proud name of Durin the Deathless with Wind Rose frontman Francesco Cavalieri, all the way learning more about the genre’s surprising roots (Italy?), its heavily-armed mosh pits, and, of course, its troll fighting.
Mixtape Monday
Monday blues? How about Monday rhythm and blues—plus so much more as we celebrate Black Music Month.
With assistance from members of Activision Blizzard King’s Black Employee Network, today’s playlist is promised to get you moving, grooving, and bobbing your head as you cruise into the start of your work week.
Let’s go:
Ruffin, “Satellite.” You’ll be busy playing air piano to the opening riff before the vocals hit: “…laying in bed with somewhere to go.” If that doesn’t scream Monday morning, we don’t know what does. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Tiereney Ulmer, QA functional tester, Activision)
Leon Bridges, “If It Feels Good.” If ever there were a song to get you dancing in the morning, “then it must be” this one. Bridges’ soulful vocals get you from the jump. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Amy Dixon, software engineer, Blizzard)
Prince, “Diamonds and Pearls.” The epic title track of the Purple One’s 13th studio album but the first backed by The New Power Generation. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Mike Perry, military talent sourcing manager, Activision Blizzard)
Killer Mike & André 3000, “Scientists & Engineers.” Is Killer Mike the scientist or the engineer on this track? We’re not sure, but with “three stacks” he spits lyrics alongside hypnotic vocals from Future and Eryn Allen Kane. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Max Levasseur, talent sourcer, Activision Blizzard)
Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” This Carole King tune has nearly 200 cover versions. But let’s be real: None compare to the 1967 original, a powerfully soulful rendition by the Queen of Soul. Put some R-E-S-P-E-C-T on her name. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Missy Smith, associate learning specialist, Blizzard)
Enjoy the week! —ME
Wormhole
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