with Jason Boyd (Host), Jeremy Andriano, Kevin Ghouchandra, Chelsea Russell

Broadcast Date: 24 November, 2024

Writer: Jason Boyd

Producer; Jeremy Andriano

In this episode, the panel discusses Don’t Starve, Klei [rhymes with ‘play’] Entertainment’s quirky contribution to the survival game genre, first released in 2013. The game is an open-ended experience with a narrative arc and setting that has been developed in the years since its release through a variety of paratextual elements and game expansions. This evolving narrative arc, coupled with the game’s roguelike repetitions and open setting, provide a great “touchstone” for exploring emergent, play-driven storytelling in games, and a great example of world-building and lore that has been iterated upon over time. What can Don’t Starve tell us about open narratives, collaborative storytelling, and staving off hunger and insanity in the dark woods?

All audio clips in the podcast quoted from the Don’t Starve series.

Sources and Resources:

• Klei Entertainment: https://www.klei.com/
• Don’t Starve website: https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve
• Don’t Starve animations (trailers)
• Don’t Starve: “Insanity!”
• Don’t Starve Wiki: https://dontstarve.wiki.gg/
• BiddoBams. “Who is Wagstaff? What Does He Want?” YouTube, 12 July 2024.
• “Edward Gorey Biography.” Edward Gorey House.
• Gorey, Edward. The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Simon and Schuster, 1963.
• Hergenrader, Trent. “Game Spaces: Videogames as Story-Generating Systems for Creative Writers.” Creative Writing in the Digital Age: Theory, Practice, and Pedagogy, edited by Michael Dean Clark et al., Kindle Edition, Bloomsbury, 2015, pp. 45–60.
• Institute of Physics. “Maxwell’s equations.”
• Miyamoto, Shigeru, Eiji Aonuma, and Akira Himekawa. The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. Dark Horse Comics, 2013.
• Rose, Mike. “Don’t Starve: A Tim Burton take on Minecraft.” Game Developer, 2 September 2012.
• Schreier, Jason. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made. Harper Collins, 2017. 

Survival Games mentioned in this episode:

• 11 Bit Studios. Frostpunk. 2018.
• 11 Bit Studios. This War of Mine. 2014.
• Beam Team Games. Stranded Deep. 2020-22.
• Bohemia Interactive.  Day Z. 2018.
• Capcom. Resident Evil series. 1996-.
• ConcernedApe. Stardew Valley. 2016.
• Hinterland Studio. The Long Dark. 2017-. 
• The Indie Stone. Project Zomboid. 2014-.
• Mojang. Minecraft. 2011.
• Redbeet Interactive. Raft. Axolot Games, 2022. 
• Re-Logic. Terraria. 505 Games, 2011. 
• Smartly Dressed Games. Unturned. 505 Games, 2017. 
• Toyama, Keiichiro. Silent Hill series. Konami. 1999-.
• Unicube. Sheltered. Team17, 2016. 
• USC Game Innovation Lab. Walden, a game. USC Games, 2017.
• Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Subnautica. 2018.