More Than A Pair

“What is pain... without a word for it? What is hope, without a word for it?” - Ryan Green, That Dragon, Cancer In Part Two, Kat and Emily conclude discussing heroic protagonists and trauma by exploring familial relationships, particularly those of parental figures (or absence thereof) and children. Join them as they chat about some big studio releases, independent releases, and crowdfunded campaign projects: The Last Guardian, Broken Age, That Dragon, Cancer, Among the Sleep, and Papo and Yo.

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” - Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces In Part One, join Kat and Emily as they explore narrative archetypes in video game storytelling, particularly referencing ‘The Hero’s Journey’ and protagonists made more flawed or empathizable through trauma and vulnerability. They tackle epic genre-defining series such as Tomb Raider, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy, and The Legend of Zelda.

“Is it mad to pray for better hallucinations?” - Alice Liddell, Alice: Madness Returns Kat and Emily analyse the portrayal of mental health and childhood trauma in Fran Bow and Alice: Madness Returns, examining socio-historical connotations behind female ‘madness’, representations of childhood, and how games portray various states of reality.  Games: American McGee’s Alice. Spicy Horse. Alice: Madness Returns. Xbox 360 version. Electronic Arts, 2011. Killmonday Games. Fran Bow. PC version. 2015. Referenced: Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. London: Macmillan, 1865. Print. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The New England Magazine. Vol 11, Issue 5. Boston: J. N. McClinctock and Company, 1892. Print. Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. London: Heinemann, 1963. Print. Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. London: Bloomsbury, 2002. Print.

"Press 'escape', and press 'quit'. There is no other way to beat this game. As long as you move forward, you'll be walking someone else's path. Stop now, and it will be your only true choice." - Female Narrator, The Stanley Parable Kat and Emily explore the complicated relationship between the protagonist and the narrator, tackling questions of narrative reliability, game design linearity, and player choice in Bastion, The Stanley Parable, and the Portal series. Games: Valve Corporation. Portal. Xbox 360 version. 2007. Valve Corporation. Portal 2. Xbox 360 version. 2011. Davey Wreden. The Stanley Parable. PC version. Galactic Cafe, 2011-2013. Supergiant Games. Bastion. PC version. Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, 2011. Referenced: Wolpaw E and Faliszek C. 2012. Portal 2: Creating a sequel to a game that doesn't need one. Available at: https://youtu.be/BYFvwbby2YM.

Join writers and interactive storytelling nerds Katalina Watt and Emily Inkpen as they delve into their own humble beginnings with video games. Take a nostalgic trip back through the late 1990s to the present as they discuss the myriad of games - both good and bad - which made them the writers and players they are today. Games: Havas Interactive. Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Brat Attack. PC Version. Knowledge Adventure, Simon & Schuster Interactive, 1999. Rauser Advertainment. Kellogg’s Mission Nutrition. PC version. Kellogg Company, 1999. Chris Sawyer, Microprose, Frontier Developments. Rollercoaster Tycoon series. PC version. Hasbro Interactive, Infogrames, Atari, 1999-2004. EA Maxis. The Sims series. PC version. Electronic Arts, 2000-2009. KnowWonder. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. PC version. EA Games, 2001. Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft. Web, 2007. Bathesda Game Studios. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bathesda Softworks, 2011. Nintendo EPD. Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo Swit