99% Invisible

Hidden Levels

Arts EN ↓ 6 episodes

99% Invisible and WBUR’s Endless Thread team up for Hidden Levels, a six-part series about how video games left the arcade and started reshaping the real world. These stories go beyond high scores and consoles, tracing how a joystick became the bridge between people and machines, how a Chicago basketball game turned into a cultural phenomenon, and how the Army built its own first-person shooter to reach new recruits. Whether you are a lifelong gamer or have never picked up a controller, Hidden Levels uncovers how games have quietly changed culture, technology, and the way we see the world.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.siriusxm.com

Author

99% Invisible

Episodes

Segagaga 24.10.2025 40:38

One SEGA employee chronicles the company’s struggles the only way he knows how: by turning it into a game. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Press B to Touch Grass 21.10.2025 41:47

From blocky biomes to breathtaking open worlds, video games are teaching us new ways to see, build, and even save nature. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Machinima 17.10.2025 45:08

Back in the 90s, artists turned video games into movie sets, and their wildest ideas are finally hitting documentaries. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This Game Wants YOU 14.10.2025 44:09

Before Fortnite and Call of Duty ruled the scene, the US Army quietly shaped the early 2000s with a wildly popular, free shooter designed to excite young people about enlisting. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stick It to 'Em 10.10.2025 41:36

From airplanes to Pac-Man to the battlefield, the joystick has quietly shaped the way humans connect with machines. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mr. Boomshakalaka 07.10.2025 37:16

Step back into the ’90s, when dunks broke backboards, catchphrases caught fire, and one arcade game turned every kid into an NBA superstar. Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.