Category: Gameful Experiences

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 6)

Jason

with Kevin Ghouchandra (Host), Patrick R. Dolan, and Alex Hurezeanu Broadcast date: March 19, 2024 Writer: Kevin Ghouchandra Producer: Jeremy Andriano Shadow of the Colossus (2005; remade in 2018) is often cited as a seminal game that has gone on to influence many, many others. The quiet, picturesque landscape of the Forbidden Lands is the backdrop for the cruelty, loneliness, and death that pervades Wander’s journey as they locate and destroy the colossi, sixteen massive beings spread across the land. Join members of the Unarchived podcast team as they explore how a simple game premise provides so much depth.  All … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 2, Episode 6)

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

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)

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

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)

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

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)

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

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)

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

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

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

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 Version used for entry: iOS (Air Pad 2) Peripherals required: head/earphones Rating: 12+ (Apple Store) Awards/Distinctions: B. LITERARY INFORMATION Related Literary Genre(s): Psychological Suspense/Thriller, Dystopian Fiction, Metafiction Story/Plot Summary:  Player249 (the player) uses DEVICE 4 (their iPad) to control Anna, a woman who has been kidnapped and brought to a mysterious island. Player249 helps Anna explore the island with the goal of trying to learn about HAT, the organization that has brought her to the … Continue reading DEVICE 6

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

The Return of the Obra Dinn

Jason

https://obradinn.com/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. Basic Information Creator(s): Lucas Pope Creator website: https://dukope.com/ Publisher: 3909 (Lucas Pope) Date (of original release): October 18, 2018 (PC: MacOS/Windows) Platform(s): PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) Creation technology: Unity Peripherals required: Keyboard and mouse; speakers/headphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature 17+) Awards & Distinctions: 2019 Independent Games Festival: Grand Prize & Excellence in Narrative; 2019 BAFTA Games Awards: Game Design & Artistic Achievement; 2018 The Game Awards: Best Art Direction; 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards: Best Narrative. B. Literary Information Related Literary Genre(s): Mystery/Detective Fiction, Sea Adventure, … Continue reading The Return of the Obra Dinn

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

Tacoma

Jason

https://tacoma.game/ Entry composed by Jason Boyd A. Basic Information Creator(s): Fullbright (studio); Kate Craig and Lexie Mason-Davis (3D Art); Tynan Wales and Nina Freeman (Design); Noel Clark and Janel Dewis (Animation); Hannah Bown, Brett Douville, Leon Hartwig (Programming); Patrick Balthrop (Sound) [taken from first credits screen at the conclusion of the game] Website: https://fullbrig.ht/ Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Fullbright Date (of original release): 2017 (August 2) Platform(s): Windows, MacOS, Linux, XBox One; PlayStation 4 (May 8, 2018) Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) Peripherals required: Keyboard and mouse; head/earphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature, 17+) Awards/Distinctions: Eurogamer, Top 50 … Continue reading Tacoma

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & ScholarshipLeave a comment

“What’s Making Them Run Away?”: The Nintendo DS and the Casual Revolution

ashmorenicholas

Jesper Juul argues in A Casual Revolution that “The stereotype of a casual player is the inverted image of the hardcore player: this player has a preference for positive and pleasant fictions, has played few video games, is willing to commit little time and few resources toward playing video games, and dislikes difficult games” (8). Juul goes on to relate modern casual video games to arcade games from the 1980s, such as Pac-Man, and ultimately posits that the Nintendo Wii played the biggest role in ushering in this casual ‘reinvention’ of gaming that exists today (2). Steven E. Jones and … Continue reading “What’s Making Them Run Away?”: The Nintendo DS and the Casual Revolution