Tag: video-games

Gameful Experiences, Unarchived podcastLeave a comment

Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital): Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 2

Jason

with Jeremy Andriano (Host) and Jason Boyd Broadcast date: 12 December 2025 Writer: Jeremy Andriano Producer: Jeremy Andriano Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital is an exploration-based adventure game set in a cozy, at times confusing, and often dangerous solar system that the player soon discovers only has 22 minutes left to exist. However, the player is stuck in a time loop, which results in their restarting those same 22 minutes over and over again. Will that be enough time for the player to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and perhaps save the solar system? In many ways, the … Continue reading Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital): Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 2

Unarchived podcastLeave a comment

Silent Hill f: Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 1

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (Host), Jeremy Andriano, and Alex Hurezeanu Broadcast date: 31 October 2025 Writer: Chelsea Russell Producer: Jeremy Andriano Silent Hill f, a psychologically dense entry in the Silent Hill series that relocates the franchise’s signature anxieties from late-20th-century New England to mid-20th-century Japan, exploring Showa-era expectations around purity, obedience, marriageability, and reputation though the life of its main character, High school student Shimizu Hinako. The game literalizes those pressures as floral, fibrous horror growing through a town and a teenage girl’s life, using social horror—bullying, communal shame, adult euphemisms—to make the supernatural feel like an extension of everyday … Continue reading Silent Hill f: Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 1

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Dredge

Jason

https://www.dredge.game/ Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Black Salt Games Studio website: https://www.blacksaltgames.com/ Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Team17 Date of original release: March 30, 2023 Platforms: Windows; macOS; PlayStation 4/5; Nintendo Switch; Xbox One; Xbox Series X/S; iOS; Android Peripherals required: Mouse/keyboard, game controller  ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: PlayStation 5 Version 1.4.0 B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Open world, exploration, role-playing, nautical/fishing, horror Time to complete: Main Story: 9.5 hours; Completionist: 19 hrs (https://howlongtobeat.com/game/94128)  Replay required/useful?: No. All quests conclude in the same way (assuming the player succeeds) and both endings can be … Continue reading Dredge

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Overboard!

Jason

https://www.inklestudios.com/overboard/ Entry by Jeremy Andriano A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator(s): Inkle (https://www.inklestudios.com/) Creation Technology: ink, Unity Publisher: Inkle Date of Original Release: June 2, 2021 Platform(s): Windows, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Peripherals Required: Mouse or Touchscreen-enabled device, Speakers or Headphones ESRB Rating: T (Teen) Awards & Distinctions:  Version Used for Entry: Apple iPad iOS, Version 1.4.2 b354ec B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Adventure, Visual Novel, Roguelike, Puzzle/Strategy Time to complete: Main story: 2.5 hours, according to https://howlongtobeat.com/game/93626, although this may be misleading. A single Overboard! playthrough can be completed in less than 20 minutes. However, it may take dozens of … Continue reading Overboard!

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

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)

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

The Stanley Parable and The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

Jason

https://www.stanleyparable.com/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. BASIC INFORMATION Note: The Stanley Parable was originally released by Davey Wreden on July 31, 2011 as a free modification for Half-Life 2. This entry describes the 2013 ‘remake’ as well as The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe, which is not an extension or DLC of the ‘remake,’ but a remaking of the remake in Unity, with additional content.  Creator(s): Studio website: http://www.galactic-cafe.com (but redirects to URL above) Creation technology: Source (remake); Unity (Ultra Deluxe) Publisher: Galactic Cafe Date of original release: October 17, 2013 (remake); April 27, 2022 (Ultra Deluxe) Platform(s): Windows; Mac OS … Continue reading The Stanley Parable and The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

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

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

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

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)