Like the first line of a novel or the opening of a film, the design of a threshold sets the theme and draws you in, according to Sam Jacob, one of the speakers at Making an Entrance: fresh thinking in threshold design, an Architects Journal webinar. Supported by INTRAsystems, the event took in everything from the wider concept of the threshold to the details of specifying entrance matting.Speakers presented case studies that explored these important gateway spaces. Jacob kicked off proceedings with a lively presentation that referenced Daphne Du Maurier and the work of Saul Bass, as well as work by his own studio. For Jacob, the entrance is a really important place where you move from one world into another world. He clearly seizes the opportunities this presents with gusto, such as the utilisation of Somerset Houses architecture for the exhibition The Horror Show! with an archway appropriated to evoke a gaping mouth to dramatise the moment of crossing the threshold.For a new threshold at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the practice sought to make an entrance that talked about the values of the V&A, said Jacob. This included a new glass entrance door and ceramics in the toilets in reference to the museums glass and ceramics collections respectively. The ceramics included terrazzo made from crushed, discarded Jasperware a nod to the museums strong connection to Wedgwood and digitally printed tiles using figures from the ceramics collection. The result, said Jacob, achieves a kind of cultural resonance even in the most functional parts of the V&A.AdvertisementMorrow + Lorraines reworked and extended entrance to Alder Castle, part of a Cat A refurbishment of the eight-storey, 1990s office building, presented the practice with many challenges. The building overlooks the London Wall a scheduled monument and is close to the Grade I-listed St Anne & St Agnes church in the City of London. As well as improving the entrance, the practice addressed the underwhelming approach via a bridge over the Wall and adjacent public realm.The resulting design, presented by associate Sarah Matheou and architect Radostina Stoyanova, was an opportunity to create something very meaningful and remarkable, said Stoyanova. As part of the extension, the massing is brought forward to the bridge midpoint with a single-storey canopy that both marks the entrance and amplifies the contrasting spacious volume of the new reception beyond. Care was taken to follow the existing strong datum lines and to create a more delicate transition with the immediate environs, with an information point halfway across the bridge, and improved landscaping.We wanted it to look as if it had always been embedded within the fabric of the existing building, said Matheou.The Part M challenge of navigating the level changes to the gardens was a particular issue. The final design provides a 1:21 slope, and outward opening automatic opening doors.Joanna Warda, a senior interior designer at tp bennett, presented the practices ongoing 7,500m2 refurbishment of The Langfield, which will transform two end-of-life commercial offices close to Victoria Station. The retrofit will move the entrance to the left of the building down a wide portal and walkway to enable the practice to activate the whole frontage of the building, and allow us to create a pocket garden, says Warda. In combination with a public caf and distinctive walkway soffit, this will increase the buildings presence and public offering.Advertisementtp bennett plans to retain as much structure as possible, with the exception of a part of the faade that has been condemned. Warda talked about the practices use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to inform its specifications, along with its ADLib specification resource, which enable it to fully understand a products environmental, health and social impacts. She recommended asking hard questions and getting familiar with EPD terminology. The plan is for ADLib to become an open source platform later this year.Aaron Dixon, specification consultant at INTRAsystems, set out some of the practicalities of specifying entrance matting which, he says, plays a crucial role in keeping an entrance safe and tidy. This is generally used in three zones external matting, primary internal matting and secondary walk-off area. In terms of amount, while British Standard and WELL standards are 2.1m and 3m respectively, INTRAsystems rule of thumb is 4m, with matting depths up to a maximum of 21mm. Environmental performance is increasingly relevant Dixon has noticed that design teams now want to see EPDs for entrance matting, which the manufacturer has for all its products.He set out the circular credentials of the INTRAform DM ecoSwitch product, which has a replaceable insert system that avoids replacing the aluminium profile system. As well as its practical functions, matting can also contribute to the wider design aesthetic, whether through the use of different colours or configuration, such as chevron patterns. This can give a much more dynamic, creative look and feel to an entrance, he said. Different shapes are also available in the INTRAshape range.While thresholds clearly offer great creative potential, they also present plenty of technical challenges. Jacob talked about their very demanding nature and the logistical difficulty of incorporating necessary equipment and cabling without it becoming a total mess.Achieving certifications for bespoke elements was also challenging. Working with existing buildings can present extra difficulties, especially for Part M compliance. Dixon identified the challenges of weather draught lobbies are a big help in counteracting cold air. And on a maintenance level, as entrance matting is designed to collect dirt, its important that clients understand that it will need regular cleaning.The panelAaron Dixon specification consultant, INTRAsystemsSam Jacob founder, Sam Jacob StudioSarah Matheou associate, Morrow + LorraineRadostina Stoyanova architect, Morrow + LorraineJoanna Warda senior interior designer, tp bennettHattie Hartman (chair) sustainability editor, The Architects Journal

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OpinionApril 2, 20255 min readPsychologys Groupthink Helps Explain the Signal Chat FiascoAt the heart of the Trump administrations Signal scandal lies the familiar psychological pitfall of groupthinkBy Dan Vergano U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on March 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Waltz, Vance, and Hegseth have faced criticism for communicating their plans and rationale for bombing Yemen via the encrypted messaging app Signal. Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesKilling civilians. Endangering pilots. Gross negligence. Breaking the law. Take your pick which Signal group chat calamity is worse for the Trump administration. Listing all the scandals is almost as challenging as finding an explanation for them. But at its heart sits a familiar, dangerous, flawed peril of political psychology: groupthink.In March, Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, messaged over the cellphone chat app Signal their plans and rationale for bombing Yemen. They unintentionally included the editor of the Atlantic in this phone chat, and shared timing, details and targets of the bombing with him. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the classified plans had been shared, but the Atlantic released the transcript of the chat, proving him wrong. A subsequent Senate hearing further confirmed that the leak had happened. A federal judge has now ordered the preservation of these records, which seem destined to be part of a court case that will keep the scandal in the news.The political psychology of the cabinet members decision to bomb Yemen fits a familiar pattern. In the initial March 11 chat, Vance argued the bombing was inconsistent with Trumps messaging on letting Europe fight its own wars. But those objections were quickly shut down by presidential adviser Stephen Miller saying As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, ending any foreign policy debate or consideration of the objections. Agree, said Hegseth. His next message came a day later, tabulating the F-18s, Strike Drones and timing of the attacks.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.First of all, this conversation should not be happening by Signal chat, says Colgate Universitys Danielle Lupton, author of Reputation for Resolve: How Leaders Signal Determination in International Politics, an expert on civilian-military communications. In political psychology, what we are seeing here is most often described as groupthink, says Lupton. First described by Yale psychologist Irving Janis in 1972, groupthink leads to premature decisions, often bad ones, spurred by conformity within groups where any one person feels that disagreement is impossible.Most famously in the 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco, groupthink led advisors to suppress private doubts that might have stopped the botched CIA-sponsored invasion of Cuba that nearly capsized the Kennedy administration. Similar group dynamics were seen in failures by presidential advisors in the Watergate scandal in 1972, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Groupthink likewise explains why the recollection of presidential consigliere Miller was enough to make a decision and end debate in the Signal chat scandal. Dissent simply isnt permitted when groupthink is operating.Groupthink might also explain why no one thought to ask why J.G., the initials of Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, were in their conversation. Or why a principals groupwhich normally holds war planning in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, where personal cellphones are bannedviolated basic security rules by chatting about attack details on their phones. Thats despite many of the people in the chat, including Vance, Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, having military backgrounds that would have included yearly secrecy training. The Pentagon this month posted an advisory against using Signal, NPR reported.The White House sees this differently, with President Donald Trump claiming the bombing plans were not classified, and calling complaints over the Signal chat screwup a witch hunt. (Fair to say, this is wrong: Its dumbfounding to even contemplate an argument that this would not be classified, national security attorney Mark Zaid told Task & Purpose in response to the leak. Leaking drone warfare details, not even battle plans, to a journalist netted one defense analyst 45 months in prison in 2021.)More recent scholarship has emphasized the political psychology at work in groupthink failures in government, rather than personal psychology, where appealing to voters or avoiding political losses explains group dynamics. That fits the Signal chat discussion, more focused on political messaging of the Yemen bombing than its wisdom. Lets make sure our messaging is tight here, said Vance at one point. Hegseth says, this leaks, and we look indecisive, at another, to justify the decision.Was it a wise decision? Trumps team called it highly successful. But its unlikely that Yemens Houthi militia will stop firing missiles at ships in the Red Sea over the bombing, says Dartmouths Jason Lyall, author of Divided Armies: Inequality and Battlefield Performance in Modern War. The U.S. has only bombed Yemen more since the Signal chat attacks. These strikes serve very little purpose other than signaling that the administration is doing something; its mostly theater, a privileging of kinetic action over meaningful diplomacy that might resolve the issue, Lyall says, by e-mail.Trust is the deeper psychological question at play in the Signal chat scandal, added Lupton, the international politics scholar. Trust is really fragile. And it can take just one event to really erode, she says. On the trust front, the released Signal chat should alarm the European allies of the U.S., as it is filled with attacks on their reliability and capabilities. I just hate bailing out Europe again, says Vance at one point. I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. Its PATHETIC, says Hegseth, a few minutes later.Such language explains why Europe is now planning for military self-sufficiency in five years, undermining U.S. efforts since the end of World War II to prevent militarization there. The U.S. famously heads a global Five Eyes intelligence sharing organization with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. Its unclear why these nations would share any intelligence with a nation whose leadership invites random reporters into bombing meetings, setting a new watchword for sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior, in the words of Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.Domestically, theres already a recruiting crisis in the U.S. military, with nearly one quarter of soldiers leaving after their first two-year enlistment. How will those soldiers, and their families, react to learning that secrecy rules might apply to them but not to political figures? Or to news that those politicians might mistakenly endanger their lives without paying any price? The attorney general has indicated the Signal chat would not be investigated as an Espionage Act violation, and the administration has wishfully declared case closed on the scandal.Accountability is the only way to restore trust after such a fiasco, said Lupton. Otherwise, the geopolitical and domestic repercussions of the Signal chat scandal will only worsen over time, she says. Everyone on that group text should be fired, or resign, and thats clearly not happening.A dubious decision made after truncated debate on an insecure platform: It isnt groupthink to look over the scandal and agree with Luptons indictment.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

April 1, 2025Unpacking the Mystery of Squirting: What Science Really SaysA mysterious and often debated aspect of human sexuality colloquially known as squirting sparks controversy. This episode explores what research reveals. Photo illustration: Scientific American; Image: Getty ImagesSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyRachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman. Just a heads-up, todays episode is about human sexuality. We talk about sex, sometimes using slang terms but without any profanity. Id probably give this episode a PG-13 rating. So if you usually listen with kids, maybe give this one a solo trial run to make sure youre comfortable with the questions it may raise. And if you just really dont like hearing people talk about sex, then this episode isnt for you! No hard feelings, well see you on Friday.Now that thats out of the way: the human body is capable of doing some pretty incredible thingsincluding things we dont yet understand. But few physical phenomena inspire as much speculation or debate as the one colloquially known as squirting.My guest today is Wendy Zukerman, host of the hit podcast Science Vs. You may remember her from her previous appearance on Science Quickly back in August. If not, Ill refresh your memory: we talked about anal sex. Shes back today to tell us how Science Vs tackled the surprisingly controversial science of squirting.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Wendy, welcome back to the show! Its so great to have you.Wendy Zukerman: Oh, thank you so much for having me!Feltman: So the last time you were on Science Quickly, you were talking about your deep dive into the science of anal sexthe very neglected science of anal sex. Tell me about your latest sexual-health research endeavor.Zukerman: I know! Rachel, I wanted to tell the audience: We cover other issues, you know [laughs]?Feltman: [Laughs] Science Vs is a great, extremely varied show, and you are ...Zukerman: [Laughs] We have a new season ...Feltman: Back here today to talk about more sex stuff [laughs].Zukerman: Exactly. While this season is gonna cover ADHD, fluoride, methamphetamine, creatine, I am here to talk about the first episode of this season, which is on squirting.Feltman: Incredible. So there may be listeners who are like, Whats that?Zukerman: Great question.Feltman: So [laughs] yeah, what is it?Zukerman: Well, yes, so it is this rather mysterious phenomena where folks who have a vagina, sometimes when theyre extremely aroused, about to orgasm, at the moment of orgasm, a large amount of fluid will gush out of them. And its this big mystery around: What is this fluid? Where is it coming from? Is it coming from the vagina, the urethra? Is it pee? Is it female ejaculate?And for many years on the Internet you see these sort of fights playing out, and they often have this kind of political-ish tone to it, where often sort of feminist websites will argue, It is not pee; we have a special ejaculate, and then you have these kind of other websites that are sayingyou know, theyre kind of downplaying the squirt and saying, you know, No, it is just pee. And then in the middle of that, you have a lot of people being angry.And so we just wanted to say, like, this is ridiculous. Were in 2025. How can a physiological phenomena, how can this thing cause so much drama and be so politicized? What is this liquid? We should be able to know [laughs]. We have very sophisticated science. We should be able to determine what this liquid is.Feltman: Absolutely. So what did you know about the concept going into making this episode?Zukerman: So I have squirted, just sort of at the beginning of my sexual encounters. And for me, when it happened, I really thought it was pee.Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: I was quite certain. I wasnt devastated or anything; I was just like, Oh, bodies are weird, but I dont wanna be cleaning the sheets every time that this happens, so Im gonna kind of train my body not to do that, and I was able to.Nowadays it sort of has this very powerful element. Its part of porn, and it has these exciting elements to it, and its sort of a real accomplishment that you have squirted. But I guess, still, to a lot of folks who do it, and we did this large survey of our listenerswho has squirted and how many times and how they felt about itand you still see this sort of real confusion around how people feel about it, which is often tied to this idea of: What exactly is this liquid? And so I was just very curious myself where people were getting their evidence from here and what we could know about it.Feltman: Yeah, well, I definitely wanna get into the survey itself, but first, with your episode on anal sex, you really found collaborators who were also mystified at the lack of research and who helped you, you know, make this very scientific. Were you able to do the same thing for squirting?Zukerman: Yeah, so with squirting we actually do have some data that has really probed this question of: What is that fluid? Theres still a lot missing in the dataso we have sort of a bunch of small studies that have been well-done, and so in this case, while our survey was really helpful to sort of capture how many folks this is happening to and how they feel about it, we were able to look at the peer-reviewed literature this time to really see whats going on here.Feltman: Well, what is going on? What [laughs]?Zukerman: Okay, so let me tell you about one of the studies that we found. It was done by a French gynecologist, and we spoke to him, Samuel Salama. It was very funnywhen I was chatting to him, I sort of asked him, Why did you do a study on squirting? And as youll hear, its very well-thought-out, and he started, hes likeI was gonna do a French accent, but I, I wont, save the listeners that; one accent will be enough. And he started going, Its an interesting phenomena. At the time we really didnt know what the fluid was. And I was like, Come on, Sam. Why did you do the study on squirting? And he says, Okay, okay, okay. When I was younger And Im like, Thank you. He said he had a lover, she squirted. They were both so curious what was going on. They tried to find out. They tried to ask friends and doctors, and no one gave them a credible explanation.And so years later hes studying sexology, he has a clinic that he can use that can really get to the bottom of this. I think he was askedeveryone needs to do a research project as part of his studies. And he says, Great, nows the opportunity. And so what he does is he gets seven what he called systematic squirters, which meant that these were folks who could squirt every single time they got aroused. Cause for some people it sort of happens every now and then, but if hes going to the trouble to do the experiment, he wants to make sure that these folks are gonna squirt when they need to squirt.So he gets the women to come into the lab, and whats really cool is that he does an ultrasound of their pelvis and bladder at various points of this squirting adventure. So first, he gets them to go to the bathroom and then ultrasounds their pelvis and bladder. And so he can see that after theyve gone to the bathroom, the bladder is empty. Thats what should happen. And then he says, Okay, go into this very sort of sterile-looking room in the clinic and go forth.But what he did, which was very insightful, is he said, Before you squirt, at the peak of arousal, get me to come back inIm gonna ultrasound your bladder again.Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: And sowhich I just imagine what it would be like for these folks to hold on to that aroused state while you get [an] ultrasound of your bladder [laughs]. And then the ultrasounds done, and then he says, Okay ...Feltman: Get back to it.Zukerman: Get to it. Now you can squirt. And he walks out of the room again. Then they squirt. He comes back into the roomyou can hear him on the tape, and hes sort of describing, This liquid is everywhere. Cause in some cases it can be quite a lot of fluid coming out; the world record for squirt is 1.35 literswhich dont make me translate that into gallons [laughs].Feltman: [Laughs] No, thats a lot, though.Zukerman: Its a lot of liquid. Its a lot of liquid. Think about ...Feltman: Yeah, Americans know that a big bottle of soda is 2 liters, so we have a frame of reference [laughs].Zukerman: Yes, okayI thought so!So then he does another ultrasound of the bladder after the squirt is done, and what is really curious is that he saw that at the peak of arousal, before they had squirtedso remember: their bladders were empty cause theyd peed ...Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: Before this whole process begins. Then he ultrasounds their bladder at peak of arousal, and he can see the bladder has filled up again.Feltman: Hmm.Zukerman: Yes, which is very curious and very interesting for anyone who has had the experience of going to the bathroom before a sexual activity, having sex, and then peeing straight after and wondering, Thats so crazyI just peed 15 minutes ago.But this is a very interesting phenomenon, and another study that got two folks, a straight couple, to have sex in an MRI, also noticed that the woman, their bladders filled up during arousal.Feltman: Hmm.Zukerman: So it must be something about, you know, heart rates going, bloods moving around, processes are moving faster. Were not exactly sure why this happens. Butso bladder fills up. Then the squirt happens. Rachel, you wanna guess whats going on with the bladder?Feltman: I would guess that it empties, probably.Zukerman: It did.Feltman: Yeah [laughs].Zukerman: The bladder was empty, telling us that the liquid was coming from the bladder.Feltman: Right.Zukerman: Yes. And Sam also looked at the chemicals inside the squirt cause he had all the liquid there, and he could see various chemicals that we tend to find in urine, so urea, uric acid, things like this. Other studies have found this as well, when theyve looked at the chemicals in squirt.Feltman: Mm.Zukerman: Its sometimesone study found that it was quite diluted.Feltman: Right, I was gonna say, it would make sense for it to be pretty dilute if the bladders sort of quickly filling up again.Zukerman: It would, although when I asked Sam about this, he said sometimes its dilute and sometimes its not ...Feltman: Mm.Zukerman: And soand he actually had a photo of the squirt, and it looked like yellow pee.Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: Maybe not the most concentrate pee one has ever produced, but it definitely did not look like water to me ...Feltman: Got it, yeah.Zukerman: And so from that studyits only seven women, but theres some very curious research that we also talk about in the episode thats also suggesting that the bulk of this fluid is coming from the bladder.Feltman: Right, so that mystery solved, but you also created this big survey that I think you said thousands of people responded to, so tell me a little bit about that.Zukerman: Although mystery solved, there is a tiny bit more mystery, which explains why you have this battle online. Because although the bulk of the fluid is coming from urine, in some cases there is a little bit of this sort of other substance ...Feltman: Mm.Zukerman: That ends up in squirt, which comes from the female prostate. And we discuss at lengththeres a lot of sort of mystery, controversy around this gland. But bothif you have a penis, a vagina, you do have sort of this prostate gland, although it looks quite different. And so that is where the bulk of this fight comes from, is thatsort of this idea that, Okay, the bulk of squirt might be pee, but theres a little bit that comes from the female prostate and that therefore makes it different. And so, in our episode, we sort of discuss what on earth the female prostate is, some interesting new findings in that area, and whether that does sort of change the substance.At that point that becomes a sort of philosophical argument ...Feltman: Yeah.Zukerman: You know, is this an Arnold Palmer situation? Is it a Shirley Temple? Is it a Manhattan with a dirty olive juice? You know, we had many chats around the office about: What does, what does this mean? Is it changing it? Is it not? And I think that just depends on your perspective. But to go back to the survey, and I think that is where sort of thatit all kind of comes to the fore, is that because we do see this patternand so our survey found this, but other research has as wellthat for those who tend to think its pee, they generally feel more negative about squirting ...Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: Which makes perfect sense. If you feel like you have just peed all over your partner or peed all over your bed, thats not necessarily a great thing, whereas if you feel like you have just ejaculated over your partner, well, you just had a sexy time. And so, in our survey, 45 percent of those with vaginas had squirted at least once in their lifetime. Other surveys show this as well. So that is a huge number of folks this is happening to. It tells us that this is a normal physiological process; you dont just get almost, you know, one and two of us. And I think you could feel good about it no matter what that substance is.Feltman: Yeah, were there any other surprising takeaways in the survey?Zukerman: The really interesting finding that I would loveI know science funding is in a tough spot right now, but perhaps in future days: so squirting is always talked about [as] a phenomena that just happens if you have a vagina. And theres sort of been this assumption that if you have a penis, you do not squirt because you ejaculate insteadthats the fluid coming out of you during sexy times. Because theres a lot of mysteries around the physiological process, we just thought wed ask people with penises, Have you squirted, too?We found that it was something like 7.6 percent of folks with penises said they squirted, too. And we explicitly said, you know, Were not talking about ejaculate ...Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zukerman: Cum, this kind of thing. And that, we asked around to urologists about what they thought of this, and some were quite skeptical it would be that high, some thought maybe because, you know, we know that theres some mechanisms around the penis that if you are erect, you really shouldnt be able to pee because it sort of blocks off that process, which isthank you, evolution; you dont want someone peeing inside you. Theres a lot of variation in the human spirit out there, and so sometimes that mechanism doesnt work that well, and so it makes sense thatyou know, one researcher we spoke to said its possible that after a penis ejaculates, maybe if they then continue to be aroused, maybe then what comes out next is a bit more like pee. We really dont know. There was one case study in the literature that we found of someone with a penis who did squirtso this was sort of, like, a verified, singular case study of a man squirting. And then we have our survey, but thats all we know.Feltman: Yeah, well, a lot still to learn. Thank you so much for coming on to talk about this with us. Im really excited to listen to the whole episode on Science Vs.Zukerman: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.Feltman: Thats all for todays show. You can check out an extended version of this episode over on our YouTube channel. And dont forget to check out Science Vs for an even deeper dive on the subject of squirting.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman. See you next time!

The Last of Us Part 2 game director has no problem with PC mods, even if that means Shrek EllieSpore blimey.Image credit: Dreamworks/Naughty Dog/Eurogamer News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on April 2, 2025 Naughty Dog has shared a few thoughts about modding ahead of The Last of Us Part 2's PC debut.As we all know, PC gamers love a mod or two. Often within moments of a PC release, we are soon being met with the likes of Shrek and Thomas the Tank Engine taking centre stage, be it in a horror flavoured series like Resident Evil or the space bound Starfield.But, what do developers think of mods in their games? Well, in the case of The Last of Us Part 2 Remasters game director Matthew Gallant, he is all for them and appreciates mods can make an experience more "comfortable" for players. Additionally, he understands that with games, unlike with films or books, "there's kind of like a gradient of authorship within the medium".Xbox currently has more first-party games coming to PlayStation 5 this year than Sony.Watch on YouTubeSpeaking with GameInformer, Gallant said The Last of Us Part 2's PC release will open up "the game in a way that wasn't previously possible". He added it will be "an interesting journey to see what players do with the game now that it's kind of on this very, open-ended ecosystem" which means Naughty Dog will have "a lot less control" over it."But I feel like, in general, where we're at is wanting to meet players where they are. Were interested to see what players modify in the game. And, I think, [Naughty Dog head of techTravis McIntosh] said this in an earlier interview - sometimes that's a clue to us to say, 'Oh, we should have thought of that. Oh, that's an interesting option,' that sort of thing," Gallant said."But that's maybe the kind of the balance between, like, 'Yes, we're very, concerned about creating a player experience'. You coming along with a story. And we really want to tell you that story in the best way possible. But we're okay if telling that story in the best way possible means you're tweaking a bunch of things to make it the right experience for you."The developer said simply, if players need to make some changes that allow them "to have a good, comfortable time", then the team supports them.When further asked if this frame of mind would still apply if players decided to turn The Last of Us Part 2's Ellie into Shrek, Gallant said the team just enjoys seeing the community engage with titles "in whatever way that expresses themselves in terms of funny edits or whatever is going to open up this game on PC". So, if that means Shrek Ellie, I guess that means Shrek Ellie."I think part of what's interesting with games as a medium is that we actually don't have total complete authorship in the way that someone writing a book or directing a movie there's kind of like a gradient of authorship within the medium," the game director explained."Games are pretty extreme, where the player [brings] a lot of themselves to the experience and how they play and the experience they have where they choose to go, completes the story that's told through the medium of video games. I'm maybe stretching the metaphor a little bit here, but that's kind of where my head goes to people taking any of our games and appreciating it or engaging with it in some way that maybe to us is strange, or to us is, maybe we wouldn't want to do that We're just thrilled the players love these games or want to engage with them at the end of the day." Image credit: Naughty DogThe Last of Us Part 2 will release on PC tomorrow, 3rd April, and is officially Steam Deck Verified. You can check out the various PC specs and whatnot here for The Last of Us Part 2 here.Elsewhere in The Last of Us news, earlier this week it was reported that another "PS5 special edition" for the series is on the way.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereHelldivers 2 has been one of the biggest success stories for Sony since its launch at the beginning of 2024. It has been a massive hit on both PS5 and PC, and its become such an icon in so short time that Sony is even working on a movie. While the game is beloved, there has been some controversies, including a period of time where HD2 was receiving a lot of criticism online. In a new interview, the Helldivers 2 CEO has discussed how millions of Call of Duty players helped contribute to Arrowheads summer of pain.Millions of Call of Duty players contributed to Helldivers 2 summer of painHelldivers 2 CEO, Shams Jorjani, recently conducted an interview with The Game Business Christropher Dring. During this interview, the CEO discussed the summer of pain in 2024 where HD2s user score fell to 19%, and how Arrowhead managed to flip the negativity to an approval rating of 94%.According to the CEO, a lot of the problems stemmed from Arrowhead facing a barrage of so many different voices from a variety of gaming audiences. This included millions of Call of Duty players, who Helldivers 2 was not designed for and intended to attract.Per Insider Gaming, Shams Jorjani said, We did not make Helldivers forsix million Call of Duty players. We absolutely didnt. But six million Call of Duty players bought our game.The problem with so many Call of Duty players buying the game is that, as a demographic, they are interested in different things compared to, say, the audience that comes from Escape From Tarkov or Arma, which were some of [Arrowheads] more influential games, according to Jorjani.The CEO elaborated, The summer of pain, or whatever we want to call it, was painful in part because it was hard for us to reconcile how to stay true to the studio fundamentals, while dealing with the business realities of havingso many different voices screaming at us.While Helldivers 2 did suffer a bit during the summer from controversial balance changes, the good news is that the game is in a much better state right now. There are a couple of issues that need to be fixed such as the Autocannon and Eruptor, but these are bugs rather than misguided design choices.For more Helldivers 2, check out our guide to thebest warbonds ranked, along with thebest stratagemsandbest throwables. We have also a guide to thebest weapons, and, if youre coming back to HD2 for the first time in a long while, we have a bunch oftips and tricksto help you get reaccustomed to the battlefield.Helldivers 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5Genre(s):Action, Shooter, Third Person8VideoGamerRelated TopicsHelldivers 2 Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereThe Fortnite creator is reportedly working on another live event. This will be a season-ending event which will come out at the end of Chapter 6 Season 2. With the season ending in early May, we expect the event to be released in less than four weeks. While its currently unclear, it appears that each season of the current chapter will have a live event, just like Chapter 5 did.In this article, we will take a look at whats waiting for us at the end of Season 2. The next Fortnite season was already leaked, and thanks to it, we already have a good idea of what the upcoming event will be about.The next Fortnite live event will come at the end of Season 2The first season of Chapter 6 concluded with a smaller live event. The event featured a fight between Daigo and Shotgun X, two prominent storyline characters. While the event only lasted for approximately two minutes, it teased Season 2 additions, as well as the Mortal Kombat collaboration. Due to this, we expect the next one to hint at the upcoming Star Wars season.The release date of the next Fortnite event hasnt been leaked yet. However, judging by past events, it should be released in late April. More specifically, Epic generally releases smaller live events in the final week of the season. Since the current season ends on May 2, a likely date of the event is Saturday, April 26.The last Fortnite event had a fight between Daigo and Shogun X. Image by VideoGamerThe next Fortnite update is scheduled for April 8, followed by an April 22 update, which will be the last in the season. Both of these updates will be big, and we expect one of them to contain event files and more information about it. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

When a historic house speaks, smart designers know to listen. So what exactly did architect Peter Pennoyer and interior designer Ashley Avrea Cathey hear from this century-old Hollywood Regency grand dame in Dallass tony Highland Park enclave? Tantalizingly whispered sweet somethings of restrained glamour and easy elegance, with gentle touches of whimsy and fantasy thrown in too.From these whispers, the duo developed an aesthetic narrativeone as much about soigne soirees as fun family dinnersthat would celebrate the houses past while simultaneously improving upon its design to help it best serve its present-day owners: a husband and wife who love to entertain both formally and more casually, and their three young children.This family knew that we love working on old houses, says Pennoyer, explaining what drew the preservation-minded homeowners to his Manhattan-based firm. We love making them the best they can be and also changing them, weaving our design eye through, but in a subtle way. Cathey echoes Pennoyers point of view on the need for a designer to have a light hand, also noting the leading role the homeowners can take. She says she never wants the work of her firm, Dallass Avrea and Company, to be overly apparent: Our mantra is always to be the best version of what our clients vision is.Pennoyer added gentle vaults to the sides of the entry gallerys plastered ceiling, which Cathey then had lacquered, commissioning glomis artist Miriam Ellner to decorate the glass panels of the central lantern. Its floral pattern recreates, in miniature, the print on the Fromental wallpaper seen in the stair hall behind. The artwork hanging on the wallover a Jamb console and between vintage sconces from 1stDibsis by Jay Shinn.Art: Jay Shinn/Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TXThe sweeping curve of steps Pennoyer designed sits in a slightly different place than the original, much more pedestrian, staircase. Theyre now a sculptural object that floats in front of these huge windows, the architect says, noting that in a historic home, its wonderful when you can do something new but it fits better with whats there.

Buggy Game?Canceled Disco Elysium spin-off X7 would have been about Cuno and Cunoesse going on the run with a box of locusts, allegedly leaked internal presentation suggestsAssuming this turns out to be the real thing, it sounds like someone read themselves some Animal Farm.Image credit: ZA/UM/VG247 News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on April 2, 2025 Right, hello. Remember the Disco Elysium spin-off game codenamed Project X7, which was in the works at ZA/UM before it was canned early last year - at the same time folks working on it were let go as part of some layoffs?Well, what looks like an internal presentation discussing and demoing several elements of that cancelled game has now allegedly leaked, and it claims that what we'd likely have been in for if the game had released was a single-player adventure starring Cuno and Cunoesse as dual protagonists. Oh, and a box of locusts.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The alleged presentation was uploaded to YouTube by Disco Elysium content creator/community member Jamrock Hobo on April 1, though it doesn't appear to be a joke. "Internal presentation of ZA/UMs Disco Elysium sequel 'Locust City An Elysium Story'," they wrote in the description, "It was made nine months before the project was cancelled. This was sent to me with the request to upload it, so I guess thats what Ill be doing. The things you find in your inbox huh."So far, so very in-line with the weird and concerning series of messes both involving ZA/UM and would-be Disco successor studios that've sadly been a regular occurence since the original game came out all those years ago. This allegedly leaked presentation runs for 15 minutes and judging by the date on the computer screen in the video, was seemingly given on May 10, 2023.Assuming it does turn out to be legitimate, we get a picture of how various elements of the game were coming togetherat that point in development, with various devs chatting through stuff like the narrative - that part appears to be delivered by ex-ZA/UM writer and current Summer Eternal member Dora Klindžić -, the art, and a vertical slice the team has put together.The cliff notes are that you'd be playing as both Cuno and Cunoesse, the two kids Harry and Kim famously meet in a certain yard containing a dead body, with the ability to switch between the two and oversee their separate sets of thoughts, but a shared inventory and task list. Everything looks a lot like the original Disco, including the thought cabinet, which looks to have been split in half between the two characters, with some new skills specific to Cuno and Cunoesse swapped in.As for the plot, it looks like we'd have been in for five acts, with things kicking into gear in act two via the two trying to flee by train following the opening act murder of Cuno's father, and four or five different endings you could end up with. Throught all of this, Cuno carries around a cardboard box of locusts - the titular Locust City - which would have served as a very Animal Farm-sounding allegory for his personal journey, as the state of the locust civilisation changed to match Cuno's situation and choices.VG247 has reached out to ZA/UM for comment on this story.Do you think running around with a box of locusts as Martinaise's foremost swearing merchants would have made a fun Disco spin-off? Let us know below.