In an industry that strives for cutting edge realism, it's easy to forget that breaking away from reality is what caused games to endure in the first place. Mario, who had more powers than any real plumber, was the one to lead the way.

In this edition of our (irregular) Origin Stories series, Indie developer Alex Neuse talks about the genesis of the Bit.Trip series and Bit.Trip Runner, his "severely retro" design aesthetic, coming up with the idea for Canabalt before Canabalt, and much more.

Video Blips for March 5, 2010. The awesomely retro Bit.Trip Runner trailer, Street Fighter 4 on the iPhone, a creepy look at the ghosts of Metro 2033, and more.

News Blips for February 18, 2010. Highlights from the D.I.C.E. summit including Ultima creator Richard Garriott's next project, God of War designer David Jaffe's new game, and an update on Epic Mickey, Capcom is having a big sale on PSN, and more.

The immediacy of the modern world breeds a different kind of laziness among gamers: lack of patience.

Games need innovation, sure, but can gamers agree on what that means?

In the '80s, achievements came with prizes, like this Pitfall Explorer's Club patch

An opinionated look back at the best and worst in the week in news.

The current state of videogame preservation.