Tim and Joel begin with a discussion of ludonarrative dissonance — when the act of playing a game is in conflict with the story or theme it is trying to portray. We look at specific examples of dissonance like the achievement system in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the crafting system in The Walking Dead:…
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This is the first look at aspects of narrative for Season Two, building on our examination of narrative in episodes 4-7 of Season One. Joel and Tim begin with a brief discussion of the inherent tensions between seriousness and play, with reference to The Last of Us 2 and Death Stranding. We talk about playing…
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In this first episode, Joel and Tim discuss the games they played over the break, on Xbox, PC and the newly released Oculus Quest 2. They talk about the revelations of VR, and the initial strangeness of adjusting from regular gaming, and potential the directions for the medium in gaming and beyond. Tim breaks down…
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In this short intro, Tim and Joel give a preview of what’s coming over the course of Seria Ludo, Season 2. (Photo by Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash)
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In this episode, Tim and Joel conclude their list of most impactful games played in 2020. Again, these aren’t all games made this year, but they are all games that impacted us deeply over the course of the last twelve months. Awards List, Part 2: Deus Ex: Human Revolution got “best immersive sim” from Joel….
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In this episode, Joel and Tim talk about the games that left the biggest impact on them over the course of 2020 (even though many of these games were made in earlier years). The list is continued in part 2. Award List, Part 1: Technomancer gets “best combat system” and “best bang-for-the-buck game world experience”…
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In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss how UI that limits the information and actions of the player can be dramatically useful, as seen in the tense radio interactions of Radio Commander, the manual navigation system in Miasmata, and the text-message-like interface of Lifeline.
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