Category: Playable Stories Archive

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 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

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

Return of the Obra Dinn

Jason

https://obradinn.com/ Entry by Jason Boyd (revised 10 August 2024) A. Basic Information Creator: Lucas Pope (https://dukope.com/) Creation technology: Unity Publisher: 3909 LLC (Lucas Pope) Date (of original release): October 18, 2018 (PC: MacOS/Windows) Platform(s): PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox Peripherals required/recommended: Keyboard and mouse; speakers/headphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature 17+) Awards & Distinctions: Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) B. Game Information Game/eLit Genre(s): First Person Detective/Mystery; Environmental Narrative Game (Walking Simulator). Lucas Pope describes the game as “an insurance adventure with minimal colour.” Time to complete: 8-9 hours. Replay required/useful? If one plays with the goal of discovering … Continue reading Return of the Obra Dinn

Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Playable Stories Archive Entry Template

Jason

A. BASIC INFORMATION Title of Work Work website Creator(s) [Studio & Creative Team, with roles] Creator or Studio website Creation technology [software, eg. Unity] Publisher Date (of original release) Platform(s) Version used for entry [incl. OS version] Peripherals required (incl. speakers/headphones) Rating Awards/Distinctions B. LITERARY INFORMATION Related Literary Genre(s) Story/Plot Summary Suitability for Teaching C. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s) Gameplay [What kinds of activities does the player undertake? Including difficulty] Time to complete Replay required/useful? Walkthrough D. SOURCES AND RESOURCES Wikipedia entry Metacritic critic reviews URL [note that critic reviews for a single game are separated according to platform, so … Continue reading Playable Stories Archive Entry Template

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 (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) Peripherals required/recommended: Keyboard and mouse; head/earphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature, 17+) Awards/Distinctions: Eurogamer, Top 50 Games of 2017 (#22); Best Graphics, Game Informer, 2017 Adventure Game of the Year Awards Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) B. Game Information Game/eLit Genre(s): First Person Exploration; Environmental Narrative Game (Walking Simulator) Gameplay: Environmental exploration (including moving, reading, watching, listening, examining). The player uses the WASD … Continue reading Tacoma