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Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 5)

Jason

with Patrick R. Dolan (host), Kevin Ghouchandra, and Alexander Hurezeanu Broadcast Date: February 26, 2024 Writer: Patrick R. Dolan Producer: Jeremy Andriano “In this world, it’s kill or be killed.” So says the first character the player encounters in the Underground in the role-playing game, Undertale. But the player’s options turn out to be not so starkly simple. The Unarchived crew excavates thoughts and theories on narrative, compassion, genre, game mechanics, equity, and fandom that arise from exploring the depths of developer Toby Fox’s breakout title. All audio clips in the podcast quoted from Undertale. Sources and Resources: Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 5)

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Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 4)

Jason

Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games) with Jeremy Andriano (host), Jason Boyd, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Chelsea Russell Broadcast Date: January, 23, 2024 Writer: Jeremy Andriano Producer: Patrick R. Dolan Inscryption starts off as a rather creepy deck-building strategy game played in a log cabin, but becomes something much more strange and sinister as it progresses. Ultimately, the goal of playing Inscryption is to figure out what it truly is. Who is the player character? Who exactly is your opponent and why are some of your cards talking to you? Who made the game? What is the game’s real purpose? Sources and Resources: Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 4)

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Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 3)

Jason

Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) with Patrick R. Dolan (Host), Jeremy Andriano, Jason Boyd, and Alexander Hurezeanu Broadcast date: November 21, 2023 Writer: Patrick R. Dolan Producer: Patrick R. Dolan As the weather gets colder, join Patrick, Alexander, Jeremy, and Jason as they trudge through the windy mountains of Hideo Kojima’s latest title, Death Stranding, its unique gameplay, perplexing story, and the aesthetics of its auteur developer. All audio clips in the podcast quoted from Death Stranding. Sources and Resources: Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 3)

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Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 2)

Jason

Revisiting Resident Evil: Resident Evil (2002) (Capcom) with Noah Pedinelli (Host), Julia Froio, and Alex Hurezeanu Broadcast date: October 24, 2023 Writer: Noah Pedinelli Producer: Jeremy Andriano Capcom’s Resident Evil series is one of the most popular and beloved horror franchises in contemporary popular culture. In the 2002 remake of the first game, players take control of Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield in order to uncover the terrifying mysteries of the Spencer Mansion. The original Resident Evil established the survival horror genre and the series’ subsequent remakes continue to shape and define the genre today. All audio clips in the … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 2)

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Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 1)

Jason

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo) with Taryn Rollins (Host), Patrick Dolan, Alex Hurezaneau and Chelsea Russell Broadcast date: September 12, 2023 Writer: Taryn Rollins Producer: Patrick Dolan In Nintendo’s 2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the player controls an amnesia-inflicted Link in an expansive and beautifully designed open-world conceptualization of Hyrule. The Zelda universe’s narrative power resides in its world-design and exploration-driven story. As with other Zelda games, Breath of the Wild utilises flashbacks to tell the story of the past. However, unlike the other games, in Breath of the Wild the player … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 1)

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Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 3)

Jason

Elden Ring (FromSoftware) with Noah Pedinelli (host), Jeremy Andriano, and Alexander Hurezeanu Broadcast date: April 11th, 2023 Writer: Noah Pedinelli Producer: Jeremy Andriano 2022’s Elden Ring is the latest release from legendary Japanese game development studio From Software and the auteur game designer Hidetaka Miyazaki. His creations, from 2009’s Demon Souls through the Dark Souls Trilogy and beyond, are often defined by what is considered to be their punishing difficulty. However, in this episode we discuss whether Elden Ring’s stands out not for its difficult gameplay, but for its unique narrative delivery.  The player enters the game’s world at a … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 3)

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Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 2)

Jason

Nier: Automata (Platinum Games) with Kevin Ghouchadra (Host), Jeremy Andriano, and Alexander Hurezeanu  Broadcast date: March 14th, 2023 Writer: Kevin Ghouchandra Producer: Patrick Dolan  The last of humanity has fled to the moon to avoid extinction. Androids 2B and 9S, on the frontline of humanity’s resistance, fight the 14th Machine War, aiming to take back the earth from a robot army of mindless destruction…or at least that’s what they think. Just as the robots and androids repeatedly fight the same endless war over and over again, Nier: Automata’s story seems to ask the player to replay the same game again … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 2)

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Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 1)

Jason

Jonathan Blow’s The Witness with Jason Boyd (host), Jeremy Andriano, Patrick Dolan Broadcast date: 14 February, 2023 Writer: Jason Boyd Producer: Patrick Dolan In The Witness, the player wanders around a mysterious and gorgeous island solving increasingly complex line-drawing puzzles. But is that all there is to the game? What about the statues and audio logs that are to be found all over the island and the videos that can be watched in the theatre beneath the windmill? Is there a story or message in The Witness? All audio clips in the podcast quoted from The Witness (puzzle screens sound … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 1, Episode 1)

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Hades

Kevin Ghouchandra

http://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades/ Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creators: Creation technology: Microsoft XNA Publisher: Supergiant Games Date of original release: September, 17th 2020 (Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch, Steam) Platforms: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Playstation 5 Version used for entry: Nintendo Switch Ver 1.0.38233 Peripherals required: Speakers/Headphones Rating: ESRB T (Teen) Awards/Distinctions: B. LITERARY INFORMATION Related Literary Genre(s): Epic, Quest narratives, Classical Mythology and Literature Story/Plot Summary: Hades centers around Zagreus, son of Hades, the lord of the Underworld. (In classical mythology, Zagreus is said to be the son of Zeus by Persephone.) … Continue reading Hades

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DEVICE 6

Jason

https://simogo.com/work/device-6/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Simogo (https://simogo.com/) Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Simogo Date (of original release): 2013 (October 17) Platform(s): iOS Peripherals required/recommended: head/earphones (recommended) Rating: 12+ (Apple Store) Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: iOS (Air Pad 2) B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Puzzle, Exploration, Digital Narrative (Simogo says DEVICE 6 belongs to the genre of ‘Textual Thriller’). Time to complete: Approximately 3 hours, depending on one’s puzzle-solving skills. Replay required/useful?: As a linear story, a player will encounter all elements of the work in a single playthrough. Gameplay: Using the iPhone/iPad’s touch screen, the player … Continue reading DEVICE 6