Extra Credits

President Trump wrote an executive order asking for clarification on section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. But what does that mean? What is CDA 230? And more importantly, why should people in the games industry care? CDA 230 is often referred to as the 26 words that formed the internet & grants Platform Immunity. That's the stipulation that provides platforms & users can't be held liable for what other people put out on the internet. It also is what grants platforms the power of the ban hammer.

You ever just feel swamped by the number of game titles out there? Sometimes it's easy to miss gems in the tidal wave of games on every storefront. We explore the 5 biggest reasons why you might not have found your favorite game. From localization issues, to niche storefronts like itch.io or dmm.com, to different cultural taboos, there's a lot to navigate! What is your favorite overlooked game or platform?

Portal has a lot of science fiction elements from selective matter destroyers, hard light bridges, and cake. But the core gameplay is focused on a very simple principle in physics: momentum. Manipulating momentum is key to solving all of the problems Glados sets out in the game, so you can contribute to Apature Science the best you can. But what if the portals in Portal actually destroyed every principle of energy we know of today?

Destiny is a fun looter shooter but in order to balance the game, each of it's three main environments are treated more or less the same. The Moon, Venus and Mars have more or less the same gravity and movement variables. So what would need to happen in order for that to be true in on their real-life counterparts? Maybe there really is a wizard in that moon.

Bioshock Infinite takes us through Columbia where things aren't exactly right... And then we find Elizabeth who can tear rifts in reality. Booker, catch! But... how stable is this plot on real world physics? Strangely, Bioshock Infinite gets a lot right on the underlying quantum mechanics of the world. And it gets one very important thing wrong.

The last of our mini series of science in video games, we turn to one of the classics with full life consequences. One of the most ingenious & famous guns of Half Life is the gravity gun, a weapon that doesn't fire bullets but makes it so you can pull items to Gordon Freeman, or launch them into the stratosphere. But... how would that actually work on a science level? Dr. Erin Macdonald helps break down the science with gravitons, quantum gravitational fields and words that feel more comfortable in a scifi novel than actual science.

Abraham's love of games started by sneaking down to play Wolfenstein 3D and thanks to the encouragement of his mother, he was able to follow his passions. And when his mother became sick, he was able to find a lot of comfort in games which led to thinking: "could games be helpful & theraputic to others too?" Fast forward to the future, where now he works at Children's Hospital Colorado as a Gaming Technology Specialist.

You might remember Jane McGonigal from our earlier episode about games helping the world & she was kind enough to share more of her story! Back in 2009 she hit her head and got a concussion. But unfortunately, the concussion didn't heal quickly and Jane was forced to deal with Post Concussion Syndrome. This made it difficult to remember things, difficult to read or write, and frequent headaches. To make matters worse, it was difficult to express these symptoms to friends & family. But Jane McGonigal ended up using that trauma to create a game to help herself, and other people also suffering: Superbetter.