A Playable Stories Archive Podcast

The Playable Stories Archive (https://storiesinplay.com/playable-stories-archive/) is a resource for teachers who are interested in learning about story-rich, critical, reflective, and persuasive digital games that can be included in literary, media, and cultural studies courses at the secondary and postsecondary levels.

Like some great but very long and challenging works of literature, some great videogames (for similar reasons) are hard to include in high school, college, or university courses that study digital storytelling. Playable Stories: Unarchived ensures that teachers and students can learn about these games along with the games covered in the Playable Stories Archive. The Unarchived podcast provides an opportunity to discuss these ‘unsuitable’ games in order to broaden the knowledge of teachers, students, and scholars about how storytelling in videogames is used to delight, move, persuade, and educate.

In September 2024, the work of the Unarchived podcast was featured on an episode of the Continuing Studies podcast.

In November 2024, members of the Unarchived team presented a panel at the Fourth Annual Humanities Podcasting Network Symposium.

Listen on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/unarchivedpodcast

Listen on Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unarchived-podcast

Contact: storiesinplay@gmail.com

Unarchived Contributors: 

• Jeremy Andriano, B.A. English and M.A. candidate, Communication and Culture, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)/York University (https://nerdsofacertainage.com/)
• Andrew Bailey, Ph.D., Art History and Visual Culture, York University; Knowledge Mobilization Officer & Postdoctoral Researcher, Archive/Counter-Archive (https://arbailey2297.github.io/)
• Jason Boyd, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of English, TMU (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaboyd/)
• Patrick R. Dolan, Ph.D., Communication and Culture, TMU/York University
• Kevin Ghouchandra, M.A., Literatures of Modernity, TMU
• Alexander Hurezeanu, Ph.D. candidate, Communication and Culture, TMU/York University
• Tanya Pobuda, Ph.D., Communication and Culture, TMU/York University (https://tanyapobudaphd.com/)
• Chelsea Russell, Ph.D. candidate, Communication and Culture, TMU/York University

Past Contributors:

• Noah Pedinelli, M.A., Literatures of Modernity, TMU
• Taryn Rollins, M.A., Literatures of Modernity, TMU

Opening and closing theme music: “Magic Escape Room” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. 

Season 4

Episode 2: Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital)

with Jeremy Andriano and Jason Boyd

Broadcast Date: December 5, 2025

Episode 1: Silent Hill f (NeoBards/Konami)

with Chelsea Russell, Jeremy Andriano, and Alex Hurezeanu

Broadcast Date: October 31, 2025

Season 3

Episode 6: Pools (Tensori, 2024)

with Chelsea Russell, Andrew Bailey, Jason Boyd, and Patrick R. Dolan

Broadcast Date: June 2, 2025

Episode 5: Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (ZA/UM, 2021)

with Alexander Hurezeanu, Jason Boyd, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast Date: March 18, 2025

Episode 4: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Team Salvato, 2017)

with Chelsea Russell, Jeremy Andriano, Kevin Ghouchandra

Broadcast Date: February 12, 2025

Episode 3: Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment, 2013-)

with Jason Boyd, Jeremy Andriano, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast Date: November 24, 2024

Episode 2: The Devil in Me (Supermassive Games, 2022)

with Chelsea Russell, Jeremy Andriano, and Patrick R. Dolan

Broadcast Date: October 28, 2024

Episode 1: Myst (Cyan, 1993-)

with Jason Boyd, Patrick R. Dolan, and Tanya Pobuda

Broadcast Date: September 23, 2024

Season 2

Episode 7: Book of Travels (Might and Delight, 2021-)

with Jason Boyd, Jeremy Andriano, Patrick R. Dolan, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast Date: July 15, 2024

Episode 6: Shadow of the Colossus (Bluepoint Games, 2018)

with Kevin Ghouchandra, Patrick R. Dolan, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast Date: March 19, 2024

Episode 5: Undertale (Toby Fox)

with Patrick R. Dolan, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast Date: February 26, 2024

Episode 4: Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)

with Jeremy Andriano, Jason Boyd, Kevin Ghouchandra, and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast Date: January 23, 2024

Episode 3: Death Stranding (Kojima Productions)

with Patrick R. Dolan, Jeremy Andriano, Jason Boyd, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast date: November 20, 2023

Episode 2: Revisiting Resident Evil: Resident Evil (2002) (Capcom)

with Noah Pedinelli, Julia Froio, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast date: October 24th, 2023

Episode 1: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

with Taryn Rollins, Patrick R. Dolan, Alexander Hurezaneau and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast date: September 12th, 2023

Season 1

Episode 3: Elden Ring (FromSoftware)

with Noah Pedinelli, Jeremy Andriano, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast date: April 11th, 2023

Episode 2: Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames)

with Kevin Ghouchandra, Jeremy Andriano, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast date: March 14th, 2023

Episode 1: Jonathan Blow’s The Witness

with Jason Boyd, Jeremy Andriano, Patrick R. Dolan

Broadcast date: February 14th, 2023