Game design is sedentary work. Generally its practitioners do their work with their butts planted securely in front of a computer in an office (be it home or away) as their muscles and verbal skills atrophy. Even game journalists are prone to this condition. Not so with Colin and Sarah Northway (pictured below), the husband and wife team behind NORTHWAY Games. Not only do they make really cool indie games, but they do it with just a laptop while traveling the world meeting indie developers of...
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills.
The Netherlands are a hotbed of indie game development, which seems appropriate for such a brilliant and eccentric little nation. Two man Dutch indie developer Vlambeer have found themselves in the news more often than most companies of their size, thanks to two great games and a third on the way.
The noble board game has stalwartly staved off elimination in the face of more technologically advanced video games for four decades. Try as they might, video games just can't seem to surpass them as an easy-to-use diversion for large groups of seated indoor people.
As advanced gaming systems continue to evolve, older classics like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) are one step closer to extinction. They're rotting in the basements of gamers. They're gathering dust at the local pawn shop. Or worse... being thrown out in the trash like a used up condom. But not everybody is getting rid of their NES—or more specifically, their NES controllers.
George Plimpton may be one of the most interesting Americans ever. Foremost a sports journalist, he was also a novelist, Fireworks Commissioner for New York City and host of Mouseterpiece Theater. Some of you may also recognize him as one of the men who tackled Robert F. Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. But most of you probably remember him as the pitchman for products like Pop Secret Popcorn and the Intellivision video game console. Actually, his most appreciated work would probably be a s...
The aging and maturity of video games as a medium has lead to some unfortunate consequences. One of these, perhaps drawn from the film industry, is the spate of remakes that has overtaken the game market over the last few years. It hasn't been as bad as the remakeorama trend in cinema, but developers have recognized the value in releasing the same thing they already made and making more money off it. Below, a roundup of some remakes of classic games released for XBLA recently, some fantastic,...
This is a simple twist on the classic mojito cocktail, but instead of rum, I used Vodka. Because I like mojitos on the sour side, I added extra lime juice compared to what a classic mojito recipe calls for (about a 1/4 cup more). This drink also calls for freshly made mint infused syrup (recipe follows) instead of confectioners sugar. The infused syrup has such a cooling, minty flavor that it cannot be substituted with confectioners' sugar even though some recipes use it. You can also double ...
These are classic stuffed mushrooms with a luxurious twist! This time I'm using Portabello mushrooms with fresh pesto, tomatoes, and a quail egg on top.
What do you do when you desperately need to put a parking garage into the bottom floor of your Victorian apartment building, but the city's Department of Planning says "No". The simple and expensive answer: Create an elaborate secret garage door. If you own a pretty building, it is well within the jurisdiction of the Landmark Commission to inform you that even though you own the piece of property, you cannot remodel it any way you want. Seems un-American. But in San Francisco, specifically th...
Designer Andrew Clifford Capener has made an alternative to the classic Scrabble board that celebrates the expression of typeface. It isn't in production yet, but Capener's set would offer tiles in a variety of different fonts:
The da Vinci robot has proven to be an endless source of amusement to surgeons everywhere; in Japan, it folds origami cranes, at the state of Washington's Swedish Medical Center, it flies paper airplanes and gives manicures. It's a battle of the hospitals—who can make their pricey pony perform the greatest trick?
The Android Megaminxer is mind-bogglingly elaborate, impressively combining multiple geeky mediums to solve an incredibly complex puzzle. ARM, the genius behind the stunt, uses LEGOs (a Mindstorms NXT kit to be exact) to build a robot responsible for the mechanics; they then employ an Android app as the brain, which solves a Rubik's Cube—oh wait, not a simple Rubik's (that would be too easy), but a Megaminx, which is a dodecahedron with 12 faces, each face containing 5 edges. Like the classic...
The classic Super Mario Bros is perhaps the most beloved video game on Earth. Almost daily, homages to Mario pop up on the web over and over and over again. Everybody loves the charming 2D world of Mario. But what would Mario look like in 3D… and moreover, what would Super Mario feel like as a First Person Shooter game?
Kudos to student Tim Wheatley, who came up with this incredibly nifty DIY animation using a bicycle wheel, cardboard cut-outs, and wire to create a magical reinvention of the classic zoetrope, Earth's earliest form of animation (it first surfaced in China around 180 AD!). Simply give it a spin, and the animation comes to life. Inspired to make your own? First, learn the basic principles of the zoetrope here or here. Next, take a little advice from Tim to add the "cyclo" element:
When images of a rumored Ikea cookbook surfaced through the blogger grapevine, foodie and graphic design fetishists alike grew ecstatic. The leaked images from the 140 page coffee-table baking book presented pristinely assembled, OCD patterns of ingredients and the resulting desserts for 30 classic Swedish baking recipes. Forsman & Bodenfors, the Swedish agency behind the project took a different approach to the typical organization of the standard baking cookbook.
OMG I'm soooo excited! I did a totally original loom video!!! My YouTube - Please subscribe! This stitch is usually done on needles only and I've never seen it on a loom...until Now! Yay!
When the much buzzed Facebook profile page redesign was released back in December, French artist and co-director of ad agency La Bande Originale Alexandre Oudin came up with an innovative way to maximize the visual possibilities of the page. His clever "hack" created a ripple effect of copycats across the web.
It looks like Sony is adding some cool features to their upcoming portable game system called NGP (Next Generation Portable).
Love this Rubik's Cube stamp with movable type Chinese characters by Shaun Chung. Chung laser-etched the characters from wood, and then adhered them to a regular Rubik's Cube to create verses from a traditional Chinese text.
Choosing the right axe for you There are many choices and factors when it comes to buying a new electric guitar. Price, style, quality and comfort are major players.
In every nerd, there is a 12-year-old boy just dying to get out. This week, we bring you the ultimate in indulging your inner kid.
Here's something that I use to boost the stove top type stuffing mix. With Thanksgiving approaching, I thought I'd share it. The mix is often as cheap as the croutons for stuffing and it already has pretty good seasoning so I don't mind using it. However, what it lacks is the vegetable content that good stuffing should have. What I do is add the classic veggies to hop up the mix. Ingredients1 box of stuffing mix1 tbl Butter2 rib Celery finely chopped1/3 Medium Yellow Onion finely chopped1 tsp...
Defined by Urban Dictionary, Nerdtastic: Something generally not cool, but to a nerd it's freakin' fantastic. Below, a collection of WonderHowTo's top 10 favorite, utterly nerdtastic Halloween costume tutorials. The clock's ticking, so if you don't have your costume yet, peruse below and get started!
Inspired by Jules Verne sea demons, Bea Szenfeld's “Sur la Plage” collection includes 12 pieces handcrafted with cardboard. The idea of unconventional material constraints is a classic art school "test", as well as a typical (and somewhat tired) formula for competitive design reality shows. However, Szenfeld's garments do transcend the material and would surely win any Project Runway challenge.
If Yo-Yos were the key to world domination, Jensen Kimmitt would be King. Kimmitt is Yo-Yo God. He literally killed at every competition this year.
Ginger ale is an American classic, particularly beloved by native Michiganders, home of the popular Vernors Ginger Ale.
Toy Story 3 has received rave reviews across the board. Curious, a couple of us here at WonderHowTo went to see it last night. We found it to be decent. Not fabulous. The opening was exhilarating. Full of action and humor and a thoroughly dynamic use of 3D, but the rest of the movie didn't exude the same energy. The story was sweet and touching, and the characters were as lovable as ever. However, I was looking for a little more action.
WAIT, !! before you think, "Oh NO not a poem :-( ",This poem was published in 1600 !! ! :-O Called "Pamphlet on palmistry , circa 1600 AD" A voice from the past !! One of the Few !!!., POEMThus he that nature rightly understands,May from each line imprinted on his hand,His future Fate and Fortune come to know,And what path it is his feet shall go,His secret inclinations he may see,And to what vice he shall addicted be;To th' End that when he looks into his handHe may upon his guard the better...
Via WonderHowTo World, CAKES! CAKES! CAKES!: Amy Sedaris is one multi-talented lady.
Amy Sedaris is one multi-talented lady. Nude-frosting-sprinkle model. Star and co-creator of beloved cult classic Strangers With Candy (see her in character as Jerri Blank below), sister of famed author David Sedaris, and best of all (in CAKES! CAKES! CAKES!' humble opinion): talented baker.
New Mexico native Amelia Coulter grew up amongst the rich creative community and natural beauty of Santa Fe. After attending SUNY Purchase as a sculpture major, Amelia settled in Brooklyn and decided to merge her love of patterns, architecture and design with her passion for food. Thus SUGARBUILT was born. Amelia seeks out the best ingredients available to create wonderful and unusual recipes. Starting with the basics of a tasty sugar cookie dough and royal icing, she transforms the classic c...
We've seen several examples of light graffiti on WonderHowTo (1, 2, 3), but this one is truly eerily beautiful. Australian photographer Denis Smith pushes the envelope with his project Ball of Light.
Hey San Francisco OLers, check it out! Farmers Market Happy Hour TONIGHT! Who: CUESA & San Francisco Chapter of United States Bartenders Guild
Yogi Bear in 3D Dot Heroes God I loved that cartoon. Who doesn't like that silly bear and his innocent child companion Boo Boo. It was so nice to see Yogi raise the young Boo Boo by himself in an unmarked cave in the privacy of the forest.
We surveyed the landscape and Farmville swag is almost as popular as the game itself. Here are the Top Ten Funniest Farmville T-Shirts with links to where you can buy them online.
Flavorwire has compiled an incredible collection of dance videos, featuring all the Hollywood greats, from Fred Astaire to John Travolta to the cast of Slumdog Millionaire.
Dream of traveling the legendary Tran-Siberian railway, but can never quite get a trip together? Well, now you can do it from the comfort of your living room. Google Maps offers a virtual journey of the 5,752 mile trek from Moscow to Vladivostok.
If you are looking to add excitement to the traditional abdominal crunch, consider rope climbers. In this exercise, the abs go through a similar range of motion as the classic ab crunch. However, two things make this exercise unique. The first is the "rope-pulling" motion. The second is the range of the upper back and shoulders. They come up a bit higher than in the crunch.
The gluteal muscles, or glutes, can be targeted with donkey kicks. This exercise is easy to perform and does not require any fancy equipment. The donkey kick is a classic "butt" exercise, and there are many variations of the original donkey kick. Instructions for the donkey kick exercise are listed below:
