Category: Higher Education & Scholarship

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Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 5)

Jason

with Alexander Hurezeanu (Host), Jason Boyd, Kevin Ghouchandra, Chelsea Russell Broadcast Date: 18 March, 2025 Writer: Alexander Hurezeanu (with Jason Boyd) Producer: Jeremy Andriano Disco Elysium is a unique role-playing game that blends thoughtful storytelling, detective work, and philosophical exploration. Set in a sprawling, crumbling city called Revachol, the player controls a hard-boiled detective who wakes up with amnesia and no memory of who he is. The game’s story revolves around solving a murder mystery, but its true focus is on the player character’s internal struggle and attempts to situate himself in the world of Elysium’s complex political, social, and … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 5)

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Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 4)

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (Host), Jeremy Andriano, Kevin Ghouchandra Broadcast Date: 12 February, 2025 Writer: Chelsea Russell Producer: Jeremy Andriano In this episode, the panel discusses Doki Doki Literature Club, a Japanese style visual novel that disguises itself as a cute, light-hearted dating sim—only to shatter expectations with its disturbing psychological horror elements. Beneath the surface of poetry clubs and school crushes lies a game that manipulates not only its characters but also the player, challenging ideas about narrative structure, player agency, and the boundaries of digital storytelling. Doki Doki Literature Club‘s use of meta-narrative techniques, fourth-wall-breaking glitches, and psychological horror … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 4)

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Unpacking

Jason

https://www.unpackinggame.com Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Witch Beam (https://witchbeam.com.au/) Creation Technology: Unity, Wwise (in-game audio), Aseprite (pixel art) Publisher: Humble Bundle Date (of original release): 2 November 2021 (Windows, Switch, Xbox), 10 May 2022 (Play Station 4/5), 24 August 2023 (iOS, Android) ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Platform(s): Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Play Station 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One Peripherals required: Keyboard/mouse (PC); speakers/headphones Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): visual novel; puzzle Time to complete: Main Story, 3.5 hours (From https://howlongtobeat.com/game/69666)  Replay required/useful?: No. A single attentive playthrough will reveal the full story. … Continue reading Unpacking

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‘Unarchived’ podcast panel at 2024 Humanities Podcasting Network Symposium

Jason

Members of the Playable Stories: Unarchived team (Jeremy Andriano, Jason Boyd, Patrick R. Dolan, Tanya Pobuda, Chelsea Russell) presented a panel on “Best Practices for Choosing Games (or Topics) for Episodes” as part of the Fourth Annual Humanities Podcast Network Symposium, “Best Practices,” held virtually on November 8th-9th, 2024. The team involved in the Unarchived podcast have a diverse range of interests and abilities when it comes to video games, and this can sometimes pose challenges when trying to select games for episodes and when trying to produce episodes: do enough team members have the necessary technology, the skillset, and/or … Continue reading ‘Unarchived’ podcast panel at 2024 Humanities Podcasting Network Symposium

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Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 2)

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (Host), Jeremy Andriano, and Patrick R. Dolan Broadcast Date: 28 October, 2024 Writer: Chelsea Russell Producer: Patrick R. Dolan A perfect game for a podcast episode during the spooky season, Supermassive Games’ 2022 addition to their Dark Pictures Anthology, The Devil in Me blends historical intrigue with an interactive, choice-based narrative and classic adventure game mechanics that let the player shape the outcome in unsettling ways. The Devil in Me is an emerging style of videogame that focuses on choice-based narratives and builds on traditions that can be traced to the LaserDisc games of the 1980s, like … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 2)

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

Venba

Jason

https://venbagame.com/ Entry by Leila Kazeminejad A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator(s): Visai Studios Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Visai Games Date of original release: 31 July 2023 ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, violence, use of tobacco Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5 (PS5), XBox Series, XBox One Peripherals required: Keyboard and mouse (PC), speakers/headphones Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: PC B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Visual Novel, Cooking Simulator/Puzzle. Time to complete: Approximately 2 hours (including all dialogue options in Chapter 3 and Chapter 7). Replay required/useful?: Not required. There are no other alternative plot lines or endings. Gameplay: Using the left … Continue reading Venba

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Unarchived podcastLeave a comment

Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 1)

Jason

with Jason Boyd (Host), Patrick R. Dolan, and Tanya Pobuda (special surprise cameo by Elio the Cat) Broadcast date: September 23, 2024 Writer: Jason Boyd Producer: Jeremy Andriano Myst is a first-person, point-and-click graphic exploration/adventure game with mystery and puzzle-solving elements designed by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller. It was originally released for the Macintosh in 1993, and was distributed on CD-ROM. Myst was marketed with the tagline, “The surrealistic adventure that will become your world.” It created a sensation when it was released in 1993, and went on to become the best selling PC game until surpassed by The … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 1)

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Gone Home

Jason

https://gonehome.com/ Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creators: The Fullbright Company (https://fullbrig.ht/) Creation technology: Unity Publisher: The Fullbright Company and Majesco Entertainment (PlayStation 4/Xbox One), Annapurna Interactive (Nintendo Switch/iOS) Date of original release: 15 August 2013 (Linux, Windows, OS X) Platforms: Linux, Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Google Play Version used for entry: Nintendo Switch Ver 1.0.4 Peripherals required: Speakers/ Headphones Rating: ESRB Mature 17+ Awards/Distinctions: B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Walking Simulator Time to complete: Main Story, 2 Hours; Completionist, 3 Hours (from How Long to Beat) Replay required/useful? A single attentive … Continue reading Gone Home

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‘Unarchived’ podcast featured on ‘Continuing Studies’ podcast episode

Jason

Playable Stories: Unarchived team members Jason Boyd and Patrick R. Dolan were guests on the Continuing Studies podcast broadcast on 16 September 2024. The episode, “Digital Narratives: Video Games in Literary Studies,” discusses the purpose of the Unarchived podcast and its relationship to the Playable Stories Archive. The Continuing Studies podcast explores the intersection of higher education and podcasting. Sponsored in part by the University Podcasters Network, this podcast delves into the uniqueness of university podcast production and podcast growth through the lens of seasoned podcasters across various higher education institutions. Listen to the episode. Continue reading ‘Unarchived’ podcast featured on ‘Continuing Studies’ podcast episode

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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)