With a Terrible Fate (With a Terrible Fate)
Explorez tous les épisodes de With a Terrible Fate
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| 25 Jul 2021 | Into the Mindscape | 01:31:24 | |
Diving into the depths of the human psyche is something the progenitors of psychoanalysis could have only dreamed of. Yet, games such as Persona 5, Silent Hill, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice enable us to do just that—at least within the domain of play and fiction. Join us for a discussion for a ride through various formations of mindscapes. Further, Aaron addresses reader commentary on his new Returnal analysis and Stefan celebrates the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy X by reminiscing (or trying to) about one of its most romantic scenes.
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| 11 Jul 2021 | EarthBound’s Flavor Text (with Max Gorynski) | 01:09:47 | |
The flavor text of EarthBound tells a story you might have missed. This week, Aaron and Dan chat with fellow video game analyst Max Gorynski about the new article in his ongoing analysis series, A Comprehensive Theory of EarthBound. Later on, we discuss Nintendo's announcement of the Switch OLED model, the value of hard copies, and the transformative potential of treating video-game-story analysis as a metagame.
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| 14 Jun 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 11: ”The Value of Effort” | 00:12:48 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: a deep dive into the game mechanics of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire that gave birth to the modern Pokémon metagame—and a study of how those mechanics unexpectedly enhanced the heart of the series' storytelling. | |||
| 19 Sep 2021 | Announcing a Change in the Podcast | 00:16:48 | |
This week, we come to you with an update about the future trajectory of With a Terrible Fate's podcast endeavors. In summary, we're going to be working to retool our audio material around deep-dives into our written analytical content, as well as longer, less frequent explorations of the most fascinating topics concerning video games as a storytelling medium. At the same time, Stefan will be stepping away to launch a new podcast focused more broadly on video game studies and culture; he'll continue to be involved with With a Terrible Fate as an analyst, and we're already looking forward to his first article. Listen in for all the details, and we're looking forward to more conversations with you in the weeks and months to come.
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| 14 Jul 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 14: ”What Dreams May Come” | 00:10:40 | |
This week on Pokémon Phi Rose: five-time Pokémon world champion Dan Hughes reflects on Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and contemplates what might have been if he'd taken a different path and adopted a different dream. | |||
| 01 Aug 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 15: ”Welcome to Sinnoh” | 00:13:47 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: an introduction to Generation 4 of Pokémon (Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum), the value of taking your childhood passions seriously as you grow up, and the surprising perspective of falling in love with a game as an adult only because you chose not to play it in your childhood. | |||
| 22 Aug 2021 | Scarlet Nexus | 01:33:22 | |
What happens when the cosmic proportions of a Bandai Namco JRPG collide with the intimate, personal storytelling of deep character study? Join us this week as Aaron begins an analysis of Scarlet Nexus, the "brain punk" video game that's equal parts psychology of the self and psychology of the Other. In side quests, Stefan continues his Yakuza: Like a Dragon diary, Dan reflects on what the Japanese language illuminates about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Aaron considers the dynamics of gaming in the company of "uninvited onlookers." (Correction: three characters not mentioned in the conversation can use a Brain Field, but one is unable to maintain his sanity thereafter and the other two can only use one when working in tandem with one another, so the point about the set of characters to which Brain Fields are available stands.)
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| 18 Apr 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 7: ”The World of Johto” | 00:10:42 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: how Game Freak's approach to mythological storytelling created a world that simultaneously felt old and new to players of Pokémon Gold and Silver. | |||
| 15 Dec 2023 | What Do We Do When We Talk About Games? | 01:40:49 | |
This week on With a Terrible Fate's podcast about the study and culture of video-game storytelling, we take a reflective look at the good, bad, and ugly of what it means to talk about games. Where does lore analysis end and literary interpretation begin, and how can streamed "book clubs" of games help create good-faith homes for a positive mode of analysis among common fans and thinkers? How might a game award show need to look different than film awards by virtue of differences in the medium? How can bad-faith internet personalities take advantage of the personal, experiential nature of games to lower standards of evidence in discussions with real stakes? What the heck do avatars have to do with the aesthetics of agency in gameplay? Buckle up: it's an overloaded podcast this week where we tackle all these questions and more! | |||
| 13 Oct 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 17: ”What’s That On Your Shoulder?” | 00:20:03 | |
This Friday the 13th of October on Pokémon Rose: from MissingNo. and a skeletal Kabutops to Drifloon and Gengar, take our hand on the spookiest day of the year and wander with us through the pokégraveyard. Stay on the lookout: if we're unlucky enough, we may just be visited by the origins of ghost stories, Ghost Pokémon, and the spooky folklore that wove its DNA into the Pokémon series and early-2000s internet gaming culture alike. | |||
| 05 Dec 2023 | Awards, Holiday Gaming, and Demos! | 01:07:36 | |
With the last month of the year upon us, join the With a Terrible Fate podcast for December-themed game reflections! From the culture developing around the Game Awards, to analyzing what counts as a "holiday gaming experience," to reflecting on evolving standards around game demos, spoilers, and recommendations, this episode is stuffed with plenty of gifts for the literate gamer. | |||
| 03 Apr 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 5: ”A New Beginning” | 00:09:58 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: a discussion of how Pokémon Gold and Silver set the standard for a Pokémon sequel. | |||
| 06 Jun 2021 | Mass Effect Revisited | 01:11:24 | |
It's been nearly a decade since the original Mass Effect Trilogy ended, and now veterans and new players alike are experiencing the story of Commander Shepard and the Reapers. In this episode, we discuss what it's like to go back to a series after so long, how distance can add a new perspective to your understanding of a game, and how the controversial ending to Mass Effect 3 comes off today. In our side quests, we discuss Ubisoft's acknowledgement of politics in Far Cry 6, how developers try to recreate games as they were years ago, and the extent to which our mode of engagement changes based on how many games we play at a single time.
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| 14 Nov 2023 | Products & Artworks; JRPGs & Ghostbusters | 01:09:06 | |
Welcome to the latest incarnation of With a Terrible Fate's podcast: unstructured, organic conversations about current gaming experiences, how they inform our understanding of the world, and how they relate to the broader language of video-game storytelling! In this inaugural episode, Dan Hughes and Aaron Suduiko discuss their recent adventures in the Tales and Pokémon series, and they wrestle with the difference between series that lose touch with their identity through productization and series that enhance our experience through robust, thematically grounded networks of content. There's even a bit of GOTY talk, so you may walk away with some new—or very, very old—game recommendations to add to your own list! | |||
| 16 May 2021 | Kingdom Hearts as Digital Disneyland (with Anh-Thu Nguyen) | 01:15:25 | |
Join With a Terrible Fate for a special podcast episode fully dedicated to explorations into the Kingdom Hearts series. To many, Kingdom Hearts might initially appear to be a curious amalgamation. Its infamously complicated plot aside, the series stands out for its integration of original characters and Final Fantasy characters with the worlds and characters of Disney. In this episode, we discuss the work of our guest, media and video-game studies graduate student Anh-Thu Nguyen, who argues that Kingdom Hearts employs a tourist gaze by letting players explore a digital Disneyland. We also join Dan Hughes in a discussion of his latest article on With a Terrible Fate, Understanding Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II: a study in one of the most puzzling lines from the game's finale, which Dan believes sheds light on the game's themes of player agency and the plight of NPCs. We discuss the article itself, his philosophy of Kingdom Hearts, his analytical method, questions from his readership, and his plans for follow-up articles in the future. (Spoiler warning for the Kingdom Hearts series.)
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| 12 Sep 2021 | Silent Souls | 01:02:28 | |
What does it take to put two great video game series together in a successful mashup? Join us this week in a free-wheeling exploration of the concept of "Silent Souls": a hypothetical mashup of Dark Souls and Silent Hill, inspired by a provocative internet image of a Catarina Knight sitting by the rest stop James Sunderland visits at the beginning of Silent Hill 2. In our side quests, we ponder Dontnod's new home office program and Aaron's experiences with the wonderful gamers of PAX West 2021.
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| 10 Apr 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 6: ”The Partner Pokémon” | 00:09:14 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: how the explosion of available Pokémon in Pokémon Gold and Silver led to the innovation of a special Trainer/Pokémon bond that continues to this day. | |||
| 18 Apr 2024 | Fairy Tales, Fantasies, and Fourth Walls | 01:32:19 | |
This week, With a Terrible Fate's podcast is a romp ranging from adaptation to serialized storytelling to metafiction. We kick off discussing Lies of P in the contexts of Pinocchio, Miyazaki-inspired games, and philosophically-minded stories as Aaron nears the conclusion of his first playthrough. (He's since wrapped this up, so stay tuned for overall first impressions!) Later, Dan presents his latest views on how to read the eras and progress of Final Fantasy as a series, inspired by his latest journeys through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI, and in conversation with Aaron's current work on the Tales of series in Tales of Praxis. Finally, we both wrestle with the relationship between a game's fourth wall, metafictional storytelling, and how to involve a player without disenfranchising the story's characters—as well as how our views in this area have changed over the years. Mind the spoilers for the whole Final Fantasy series, the Tales of series, Lies of P, BioShock, The Stanley Parable, NieR, and Undertale! Check out With a Terrible Fate's publications on many of the games in this discussion, such as: Final Fantasy, Tales of, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Code Vein, BioShock, The Stanley Parable, NieR, and Undertale. | |||
| 22 Aug 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 16: ”The Legend of Arceus” | 00:15:42 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: an exposition of mythopoeia, a study of the Pokémon world's perennial quest for meaning and explanation in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and how mechanics of exploration, Pokémania, and myth equip players to confront one burning question: "How do we dream in a shapeless void?" Credit to Qumu Music for the music in this episode. | |||
| 11 Oct 2024 | Celebrating & Analyzing Zelda's Character Ahead of Echoes of Wisdom | 01:21:53 | |
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is here! In preparation for diving into a brand-new, Zelda-centric Zelda adventure, join Dan and Aaron—neither of whom had started this new journey at the time of recording—as they return to their roots as Zelda fans and analysts, exploring the range of representations and symbolisms Princess Zelda has borne throughout the years. How can Nintendo's stance toward spin-offs and experimentation inform our approach to Echoes of Wisdom? What do Zelda's transformations across decades of games reveal about the essence of her character and the virtues undergirding Zelda's universe? What can the evolving dimensions of Zelda and Link's relationship with each other, Ganondorf, and the player illuminate about the good and bad aspects of control? Listen in and find out! Spoilers for: Mulholland Drive, I Think You Should Leave, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, A Link Between Worlds, and Tears of the Kingdom. References: Hughes, Dan (2017). "Does The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Belong in the Video Game Canon?" With a Terrible Fate. ——— (2015). "Link the Gaijin: The Outsider God and the Hero in The Legend of Zelda." With a Terrible Fate. Suduiko, Aaron (2015). A Comprehensive Theory of Majora's Mask. With a Terrible Fate. ——— (2020). "The Horror of Code Vein is You." With a Terrible Fate. ——— (2023). "Tales of the Abyss, Kabbalah, and Gaming as a Spiritual Act." With a Terrible Fate. | |||
| 15 Sep 2024 | Can Normative Inquiry Become Gaming's Next "Lore Analysis"? | 01:52:01 | |
The With a Terrible Fate podcast is back with a vengeance! On the heels of Aaron's relocation to Los Angeles for his PhD, we've settled into a new weekly recording time and are excited to share more regularly scheduled conversations about the storytelling of video games with you, our dear listeners. First on the docket is a follow-up to the conversation of our last episode, which discussed the normative and metanormative content of games that tell rich, spiritually and intellectually rewarding stories far beyond the constraints of what popular culture typically has in mind when it mentions "morality in gaming." Now, we take a step back to ask whether the tools of game design could be used to actually require and motivate gamers to engage with these philosophical levels of inquiry when they wouldn't otherwise do so. Miyazaki's games trained a generation of unsuspecting gamers to become sophisticated anthropologists and historians of lore; what could come of turning these same mechanics to the domain of values and their sources? Mind the spoilers for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, Mass Effect 3, the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, Spec Ops, and Undertale. Also note some spoiler-free discussion of the Ultima series and Baldur's Gate 3. Citations: Hughes, Dan, "The Gwyn Moment," With a Terrible Fate, 4/14/22. Suduiko, Aaron, "Why You Must Play Tales of Hearts R 389 Times," With a Terrible Fate, 6/5/24. Williams, Bernard, "A Critique of Utilitarianism," in Utilitarianism: for and against, Cambridge University Press, 1973. | |||
| 21 Jun 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 12: ”What Team Aqua Did” | 00:09:57 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: studying how the enemy teams of Pokémon developed from mobsters into a trenchant lesson on the limitations of personal dreams. | |||
| 13 Mar 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 2: ”Smell Ya Later” | 00:11:32 | |
What makes for a compelling rival, and how do video games bridge the gap between fictional characters and real-life rivals? In the second episode of Pokémon Rose, join Dan in a study of how the Pokémon model of friendship and competition has evolved from Blue to Nemona. | |||
| 27 Jun 2021 | Returnal | 01:08:02 | |
Our main story today is about Returnal, one of the few PS5 flagship titles at the moment and part of the recent resurgence of "roguelikes," commonly understood as games that feature mechanics setting avatars back to near the beginning of the game and largely resetting their progress every time they die. We analyze Returnal as a multiply psychological game that boldly meshes genres and ultimately refuses to let us go.
Sounds from zapsplat.com | |||
| 04 Jul 2021 | Reading Circle: Johan Huizinga – Homo Ludens | 01:21:40 | |
What is play? What are its functions and why do so merrily do it? One of the most influential books to address these questions is Homo Ludens by the Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga. In our brand new reading circle, we discuss the first section of Huizinga's renowned engagement with the intricacies of play. Later on, we discuss and analyze one of the most prominent PS5 games at the moment: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
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| 24 Mar 2021 | Trailer | 00:00:58 | |
It has been a hard secret to keep, but now we can finally lift the veil and present to you: the With a Terrible Fate podcast! Starting in May 2021, you can tune in on our weekly conversations about game studies, gaming culture, and the significance of storytelling in video games. Feel free to hit the 'subscribe' button. And if you want to help us get this project off the ground, you can support us on Patreon and/or spread the word on social media. We would be eternally grateful! | |||
| 06 Mar 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 1: ”I Choose You” | 00:09:11 | |
How do the iconic words "I choose you" define Pokémon, and how do they inform the relationship between a player and his starter Pokémon? In this first episode of Pokémon Rose, join Dan in reflecting on how Pokémon teams subvert the typical JRPG party experience. | |||
| 30 May 2021 | What We Owe to Ourselves and Avatars (with Daniel Muñoz) | 01:20:11 | |
Philosopher Daniel Muñoz begins his "Wronging Oneself" with the following anecdote: "Earlier today, without asking permission, I took a bike belonging to someone in my neighborhood and rode it to work. I later noticed that this same person, who works in my office, was looking tired. So I pinched their arm, opened their mouth, and poured hot coffee inside. As if that weren’t enough, I took some cash from their wallet to buy my lunch, and I even spent my break thumbing through their private emails. Before you reach for any moral sanctions: this 'neighbor' of mine was me." The question of whether we owe anything to ourselves is surprisingly controversial in philosophy because it seems as though we stand in a different relationship to ourselves than we do to other people. It also has potentially interesting implications for ethics in video games: fictionally, what do we, as players, owe to avatars—those characters whose actions we determine, through whose eyes we see the worlds of video games? In this week's episode, Aaron sits down with Daniel Muñoz, a moral philosopher and one of Aaron's mentors and friends, to discuss the many insights that philosophy, ethics, and video-game storytelling have for one another—including how these analytical tool kits may open the way to an understanding of The Last of Us Part II that others have missed. Later, in a side quest, Stefan shares a new article by Sky LaRell Anderson and Karen Schrier analyzing the concept of accessibility in video games, as well as the ways in which game design and game journalism approach disabilities in gaming. (Spoiler warning for The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.)
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| 20 Jun 2021 | Playing the Pandemic (with Dr. Arno Görgen) | 01:13:00 | |
Video games return to the topic of pandemics time and time again. The Resident Evil series continues to indulge in close-up outbreak scenarios; The Walking Dead has brought players to tears at the emotional impact of loss; creative twists like Plague Inc. introduced the role of a pathogen on a quest to conquer the world; the infamous Corrupted Blood Incident in World of Warcraft even accidentally simulated a raging pandemic. With our guest, the cultural historian Dr. Arno Görgen, we discuss the constructions of pandemics in video-game stories and how they relate to our current real-world situation. Later, Dan and Stefan's side quests merge to ponder E3 2021, Take Two‘s diversity panel, and the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins demo.
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| 18 Apr 2022 | Director’s Commentary: The Gwyn Moment | 00:49:12 | |
Join Aaron and Dan in a behind-the-scenes look at "The Gwyn Moment," a reflection on how Dan's experience with the first Dark Souls led him to think about video-game storytelling, Miyazaki, and his own life differently. Topics include: why it can be hard to take good video-game recommendations from friends; how gamers get motivated to care about the lore of a world; using Gwyn as a cipher to understand Miyazaki's other works; the community's ever-fraught relationship with Dark Souls 2; how memorable moments in games can radically change our views about the games—and ourselves. Want to dig further into the storytelling of Elden Ring? Attend With a Terrible Fate's PAX East 2022 panel on April 21st, in person or virtually! Find all the details you need to know here. (Spoilers for the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Demon's Souls, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and BioShock.)
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| 29 Jun 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 13: ”A Tale of Two Rivals” | 00:13:37 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: the story of how Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire turned the series' rivalry paradigm on its head through a new kind of character—and a new kind of role for the player. | |||
| 04 May 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 8: ”Return to Kanto” | 00:13:31 | |
What happens when a video game's sequel takes you back to a world you'd thought you left behind—a world that's kept moving without you? Find out in this week's episode of Pokémon Rose, studying the return to Kanto in Pokémon Gold and Silver. | |||
| 18 Apr 2022 | Director’s Commentary: How Elden Ring Turns Its Player into an Outer God | 00:50:25 | |
Join Aaron and Dan in a behind-the-scenes look at the argument that the player of Elden Ring is an Outer God, not a Tarnished. Discussion topics include: why Elden Ring's endings are puzzling in the first place; what we can learn about Elden Ring from Miyazaki's other work; how Elden Ring uses lore differently than Dark Souls; why the Golden Order is a paradox, and how the player's ability to resolve it spells new opportunities for video-game storytelling. Want to dig further into the storytelling of Elden Ring? Attend With a Terrible Fate's PAX East 2022 panel on April 21st, in person or virtually! Find all the details you need to know here. (Spoilers for Elden Ring, the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.)
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| 03 Oct 2024 | PS5 Pro and Technologies of Storytelling | 01:09:09 | |
What is the value of a PlayStation 5 Pro, and which console technologies beget innovations in video-game storytelling? Especially with the advent of a 30th-anniversary PS5 Pro, the time is right to dive into a conversation surveying some memorable moments in tech-grounded narrative innovations from the PS1 onward. What difference do graphics and load time really make to interactive stories? Where do gimmicks end and innovation begin in inventions like motion-controlled peripherals and VR? How might trends in game development reveal ideals like "immersion" and a player's sense of "entitlement to the world" underlying which new technologies make it to market and which don't? As players, what creative ways can we discover to experience new design standards in our favorite series, even in the absence of a new console? Listen in and find out! Be on the lookout for Kingdom Hearts III spoilers, as well as structural spoilers for the layout of story in Black Myth: Wu Kong. (And please forgive Aaron's Tales-addled mind misnaming the Eikons and Titan in Final Fantasy XVI!) References
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| 23 May 2021 | Glitches | 01:19:19 | |
Falling through the floor, stalked by a burly viking, or plagued by boss self-destruction? Listen in as we discuss the good, the bad, the ugly, and the hilarious of glitches, trading stories and trying to determine what, if anything, makes glitches different from much more mundane divergences from authorial intent. In our side quests, we share our impressions of the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium and admire the "immersive" engagement with literary and performative arts in Final Fantasy IX.
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| 31 Oct 2023 | A Very Special Halloween Gaming Podcast | 01:16:54 | |
On the spookiest day of the year, join With a Terrible Fate in a free-wheeling conversation about the past, present, and future magic of horror storytelling in video games. In a brand-new podcast episode, Dan Hughes and Aaron Suduiko haunt you with reflections on the good, bad, and ugly of scary interactive stories, including:
Don't be afraid, and buckle up for new podcast content in the near future! Works cited:
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| 22 May 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 9: ”Is Celebi Real?” | 00:11:14 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: a time-travel episode in more ways than one, exploring the legendary intersection between a unique Pokémon and a real-life Pokéchallenge. | |||
| 07 Feb 2024 | Video Game Analysts' Journey Across Japan | 01:26:28 | |
On the latest episode of With a Terrible Fate's podcast, Dan Hughes and Aaron Suduiko fire up the mics two weeks after their vacation in Japan to share stories from their journey and reflect on how their latest adventure through the cultural progenitor of so many video games has informed how they think about the medium! From stumbling upon the mythological origin of the Triforce to witnessing the inseparability of politics from religion in temple and shrine tours, this episode has something for every thoughtful gamer. Later on, Dan shares his first impressions of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Aaron offers a spoiler-free reflection on his playthrough of Inscryption, which he finished in the early morning hours ahead of the recording! Happy Belated New Year, and welcome to the 2024 edition of With a Terrible Fate's audio home for the literary gamer. | |||
| 04 Jul 2024 | INSCRYPTION, Game Mothers, and Gaming Rituals | 01:10:27 | |
***WARNING: THIS EPISODE IS HAUNTED!*** The characters in the first game we discussed were haunting our podcasting software, so please excuse some small technical difficulties throughout the episode and a rather abrupt kickoff on account of a lost introduction. We jump directly into spoilers for Inscryption, a game that ought to be played without spoilers, so we strongly recommend only listening to this episode after playing! (Or, skip ahead to 45:30 to pass over this discussion.) In a belated installment of the With a Terrible Fate podcast, Aaron and Dan travel back in time to Mother's Day 2024 in a discussion ranging from the horrifying, to the metafictional, to the maternal, to the personal. We kick things off (0:00:00) with a long-overdue debrief of Inscryption following Dan's completion of it and agree that it's something you simply have to discover for yourself—as well as being something that you absolutely must discuss with others who have experienced it! Later (0:45:30), we contemplate portraits of some memorable mothers from our gaming lives. Finally (0:52:54), we wrap things up with an exploration of how single-player gaming can include a range of rich, intersecting, real-life ritual practices, which can equip us to game more mindfully if only we can attend to those rituals in our conscious mind. Be warned (again!) for thorough spoilers of Inscryption, along with some smaller structural spoilers for elements of (in the motherhood section) Tales of Eternia, Tales of Hearts R, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Scarlet Nexus, Returnal, God of War & Ragnorok, and (in the ritual section) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, along with some reprised spoilers for Inscryption. Works Referenced
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| 08 Jun 2024 | Lies of P, Philosophical Catalysts, and Charitable Replays | 01:39:10 | |
On this episode of the With a Terrible Fate podcast, we celebrate Dan's birthday with a conversation ranging from becoming a real boy to becoming a... real old man! We begin with a postgame analysis of Lies of P in which it takes Aaron and Dan a hilariously long time to uncover that, contrary to their first impression based on each other's perspective, they'd actually chosen different endings to the story! This lays the foundation for a discussion of how games' content can prompt philosophical dialogues between their players, revealing a wealth of hidden depth that makes Lies of P well worth the time of the thoughtful gamer—especially if she comes to it with a background in the oeuvre of Hidetaka Miyazaki. Later, we turn to Dan's birthday as a context for revisiting formative childhood games we hated and striving to read them anew through the principle of charity, a core tenet of With a Terrible Fate's ethos. We articulate practical methods for approaching games from this perspective, including the distinction between asking what a game is "capital 'A' About" and what a game is "capital 'S' Saying." When we apply these methods to some of those first games that left a bad taste in our mouths, we argue, we have the opportunity not just to discover new value in an old game, but also to recontextualize our entire gaming history in the bargain. Whether you're seeking new ways to evaluate the game you just finished or new values in the games you've been seething over for decades, this episode has something for you! Works Referenced
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| 13 Apr 2024 | PAX East 2024, Second-Chance Games, and Perilous Platinums | 01:49:32 | |
This week on With a Terrible Fate's podcast, we celebrate the communities, black sheep, and arduous challenges of gaming! We begin with Aaron breaking down With a Terrible Fate's lecture on bosses at PAX East last month, along with broader reflections on everything from cosplays to upcoming indie games you won't want to miss. All the talk of bosses leads us to Dark Souls II, one of the subjects of the lecture, inviting a broader discussion of why games which you or a fandom didn't initially enjoy can oftentimes be the most rewarding "new game plus" experiences. Then, with Dark Souls on the brain, we consider what may be the "Dark Souls" of platinum trophy experiences: Dan's journey to get the platinum on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, what it means to the game, and how we find value in achievements more broadly. Finally, we round things out with a discussion of our current gaming adventures, including Dan's experience of Japanese history in Rise of the Rōnin and Aaron's Chekhovian madness on the way to the climax of Tales of Xillia. Be on the lookout for spoilers regarding the Dark Souls series, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, Rise of the Rōnin, Nioh, and Tales of Xillia. Articles Cited: • With a Terrible Fate at PAX East 2018: "How Games are Changing Serialized Storytelling" • Aaron Suduiko: "The Language of Trophies in Final Fantasy VII Remake"
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| 15 Aug 2021 | Playable Leitmotifs (with Laila Carter) | 01:16:41 | |
Iconic musical themes from games such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, or Undertale are deeply ingrained into the minds of any avid gamer. This week, With a Terrible Fate video game analyst Laila Carter joins us for an exploration of how these and many other leitmotifs frame, complement, constitute, or even subvert video game stories.
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| 21 Nov 2023 | Ludic Gymnastics | 01:05:42 | |
Do you find yourself bouncing back and forth between multiple games, or running a few different playthroughs at the same time to support different mindsets or moments throughout your day? Take a listen to this latest podcast episode, in which Dan and Aaron explore the many reasons for which we might bounce gymnastically between multiple games, and the many consequences (good and bad!) this might have for our playthroughs. From seres like Persona 5 and Tales of Arise featuring multiple explorations of the same characters, to games like Tales of Graces f and Ni no Kuni II offering timely pictures of modern struggles, to motivations like "reading," "grinding," and "bedtime routine" guiding our game curation, this conversation offers something for every sort of gaming moment—just as games themselves do! | |||
| 23 Feb 2024 | How to Get to Know a Video-Game Character | 01:07:55 | |
On this special edition of the With a Terrible Fate podcast just ahead of analyst Dan Hughes' wedding, Dan and Aaron wrestle with the marvelously multifaceted problem of how we can best come to understand the nature of characters in our favorite video games. What draws us to specific protagonists in party-based games? How can game-based conflict actually help us to better appreciate the characters that have been cast as bosses? How do game attributes like player choice and ludicrously long playtimes make it possible to know and support characters in ways unavailable to the heroes of books and film? What light can our favorite games shed on key moments in our lives, such as a wedding? Listen in to answer all these questions and more! Articles Cited: • Dan Hughes, "Understanding Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II" • Aaron Suduiko, "The Philosophical Justification for FromSoftware's DLC" | |||
| 02 May 2021 | Pressing Start | 01:26:14 | |
Welcome to the inaugural episode of With a Terrible Fate's podcast exploring the storytelling of video games from every angle. We press start on this very first episode, introducing ourselves, the publication, and the concept of the podcast. Further, we ponder the review discourse surrounding Returnal, the personal and cultural significance of NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 as a work of literature, and the implications of an economic shift towards "games as a service."
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| 18 Jul 2021 | What to expect from Steam Deck | 01:24:30 | |
A new challenger joins the market for hybrid handheld gaming: Valve‘s Steam Deck. This week, we discuss whether the Steam Deck may change where and how the stories PC games will be experienced—and what lessons the Switch can teach us to guide our thinking. Later, we contemplate recent rumors revolving around Netflix's supposed plans to stream video games, and a copy of Super Mario 64 that is more valuable than most homes.
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| 13 Jun 2021 | Too Long to Beat | 01:34:44 | |
However one might spin it, video games often require a substantial time commitment, usually much more so than other storytelling media. Eventually, a player might lose interest, feel overwhelmed, or simply get disconnected from her own role in the story. In this week's main story, grounded in the first half of Aaron Suduiko's new "Final Fantasy VII Remake is the Template for 'Grown-Up' JRPGs," we discuss three ways in which long games can alienate players. In our side quests, Dan reviews Resident Evil Village, Stefan constructively criticizes the PS5's mute button, and Aaron argues that Final Fantasy VII Remake's narrative structure overcomes the problems we discussed in our main story—the second half of his new article.
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| 15 Feb 2024 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Infinite Narrative Lessons | 01:26:42 | |
This week on With a Terrible Fate's podcast on the storytelling of video games, we kick things off with a discussion of Dan's recent journeys through Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, only to discover the game as a surprisingly illuminating throughline for a rich diversity of reflections on the structures of serial video-game stories, the interpretation and analysis of our personal experiences within video games, and the evolving culture of expectations around major upcoming releases! Listen in for a conversation exploring the gamification of The Odyssey, the methodology behind interpreting a playthrough, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's lessons about demos, and maybe even a lesson from Assassin's Creed III, 12 years later. Articles Cited:
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| 27 Mar 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 4: ”From You, 25 Years Ago” | 00:10:32 | |
On this special episode of Pokémon Rose: a reflection on the meaning of the original Pokémon anime to gamers and '90s kids, on the occasion of Ash's final episode in the anime. | |||
| 20 Mar 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 3: ”We Succeeded” | 00:13:46 | |
Where did Mewtwo come from, and what does he have to do with the implicit storytelling for which Pokémon has become famous? Journey back with us to the original postgame in this week's episode of Pokémon Rose. | |||
| 19 Sep 2021 | Director‘s Commentary: The Path to Necron in Final Fantasy IX | 01:01:42 | |
In the inaugural issue of a new type of With a Terrible Fate audio content, join Aaron and Dan for a deep dive into the publication's most recent analysis, "Critical Review: The Path to Necron in Final Fantasy IX." Discussion topics include: what video games can learn from theater; the good, bad, and ugly of games that "break the fourth wall"; how complex stories like FFIX's can be rendered coherent and compelling; FFIX's place in the shadow of FFX; what FFIX's endgame can teach us about the endgame of Final Fantasy VII Remake. (Spoilers for Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Bioshock.) | |||
| 25 Mar 2024 | First Thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | 01:18:11 | |
This week on With a Terrible Fate's podcast, Aaron and Dan take a deep breath and dive into their very first, unfiltered, spoiler-rich thoughts about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Save this episode until you've finished the main scenario and are ready to dig into its microscopic and macrocosmic implications! We're already eagerly planning new analyses centered on this latest addition to the Final Fantasy VII corpus, consistent with the spirit and approach of The Legacy of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Ahead of the Rebirth roundtable, we also anticipate With a Terrible Fate's lecture at PAX East 2024, which took place this past weekend! (The podcast was produced ahead of the convention.) We were overjoyed to engage a wonderful audience of hundreds of thoughtful, passionate gamers on the topic of bosses' interactive and narrative content over the course of almost three hours, and we're delighted to welcome many of these newcomers into the broader With a Terrible Fate community. Unfortunately, we encountered some unexpected recording issues and only walked away with partial footage from the lecture, but we're excited to share as much as we can with the entirety of our audience in one form or another in the near future. Stay tuned! | |||
| 29 May 2023 | Pokémon Rose Episode 10: ”Change in the Hoenn Region” | 00:10:34 | |
This week on Pokémon Rose: a study in what it's like as a gamer to feel as though the new entries in a beloved video-game series were no longer being made for you—and foreshadowing of how, and why, you would ultimately return to that series. | |||
| 28 Feb 2023 | Pokémon Rose: A New Retrospective Audio Series | 00:09:30 | |
Today, on Pokémon Day 2023, With a Terrible Fate is proud to introduce a new, weekly audio series by seriesrunner and video game analyst Dan Hughes: Pokémon Rose: A Nostalgic Look Back! Tune in to this introductory episode to learn what the series is about, and how Pokémon can be a cipher to our past, present, and future as gamers—and as people. References
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| 15 Jul 2024 | The Moral, Immersive, and Esoteric of Video Games | 01:25:15 | |
On this week's episode of With a Terrible Fate's podcast, join Aaron and Dan in a treacherous, invigorating relitigation of domains of video-game discourse with a reputation for being too messy and inert to matter to the ordinary gamer. The two main bugaboos on the agenda are "morality" and "immersion" in gaming. What does it mean for games to have moral content, and how can this content actually help to illuminate the many reasons we have for playing games rather than leading us into often distracting conversations about whether playing games at all is "good" or "bad"? And how might "immersion" distract us from the rich experiences games give us by dynamically playing with the distance between player and avatar, and telling stories about the changes in that distance? Listen in to find out! Along the way, we alight on topics ranging from the value of video-game adaptations into television to the potential of games to provide players with mystic and esoteric experiences. We even make time to consider Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree, and we break down how to read the philosophical debate over our emotional reactions to works of fiction—featuring exegesis of work from Aaron's undergraduate thesis adviser and mentor, Richard Moran. Be on the lookout for spoiler-ish discussions of The Last of Us Parts 1 & 2, the TV adaptation of The Last of Us Part 1, Silent Hill 2, Tales of Hearts R, Elden Ring, and Shadow of the Erdtree (though spoilers focus more on Elden Ring than on Shadow of the Erdtree). Works Referenced:
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| 08 Aug 2021 | Maps: Salvation or Sin? | 01:05:36 | |
Maps are profoundly practical. They help players find orientation in extensive game worlds, indicate points of interaction, and track progress. Yet by the same token, they complicate a player's relationship to the world of a game's fiction. This week, we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of those complications. Later: Stefan kicks off his Yakuza: Like a Dragon diary; we discuss the order in which we unlock the final trophies of a game; and Dan recaps his visit to last week's Classic Game Fest in Austin.
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| 09 May 2021 | Origin Stories | 01:19:05 | |
In Episode 2 of With a Terrible Fate's new podcast, we explore the structure of origin stories in video games: where does the concept of the origin story come from, how can it help us to understand our favorite games differently, and how can the special interactive nature of video games tell alarmingly nuanced origin stories unavailable to other media?
Also on the agenda: studying the ways in which we talk about players and avatars in video games; a peek into the academic study of video-game storytelling; how video games can disrespect your time; what the PS3 and PS Vita stores tell us about the future of gaming libraries.
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