Setting aside classic narrative structures, Caleb and Lydia explore the incredible ability of video games to tell a story through experience while discussing the 1980 Atari hit Missile Command. Caleb geeks out about environmental storytelling and meta-narrative, Lydia marvels at game cabinet design, and the two reflect on how this game played a role with one another in building a common language of game design.
Dusting off the Cover is a subseries of the Pages of Play podcast where the hosts look back at older titles in the canon of video games to revisit, relive, and re-delight in game narratives from years past. Feel free to submit your ideas for future episodes at pagesofplay@gmail.com
The opening music is the track “Magic Tales” and the closing music is the track “The Call” by Kim Lightyear/Lightyeartraxx used with permission under the Pixabay license. Find these and others at Pixabay and YouTube.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(03:51) First Time Playing
(05:56) Narrative Recap
(07:13) Innovations
(10:46) Influences
(13:43) Narrative Through Play
(18:04) What Makes This Game Worth Playing?
(23:25) Closing
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I was joined by Michael from the Tiny Game Chronicles Podcast. Below you will find links to that wonderful show. Please check it out, especially if you love short video games!
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to the timestamps below to avoid those as needed.
(00:00) Introduction & Spoiler Policy
(07:25) Myst
(34:30) The Witcher 2
(53:49) Uncharted 2
(01:13:45) Octopath Traveler 2
(01:28:34) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
(01:44:02) Closing Comments
If you enjoy the show please join our discord to stay up to date on the podcast. Thanks for listening!
David, Caleb, and Erik take a breather to discuss burnout in Wanderstop, a whimiscal yet surprisingly vulnerable tea-shop management sim by Ivy Road studio.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Please join our discord (https://discord.com/invite/jMzR6WdpTR) so that you can chat with the amazing Pages of Play community and ask discussion questions to be featured on our next episode!
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(04:50) Q1
(08:20) Q2
(16:28) Q3
(27:30) Spoiler Wall
(28:56) Story Recap
(32:06) Q4
(34:32) Q5
(43:29) Q6
(01:05:16) Q7
(01:12:15) Q8
(01:17:10) Q9
(01:26:25) Q10
(01:32:04) Q11
(01:34:44) Closing
References from the show:
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I had the honor of interviewing John from the Gaming in the Wild podcast. Below you will find episodes from Gaming in the Wild that cover the games we discuss on this show:
Kentucky Route Zero (Act 1 of the community playthrough)
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to the timestamps below to avoid those as needed. It’s a long episode, so feel free to skip around!
(00:00) Introduction & Spoiler Policy
(06:20) The Last of Us (Part 1)
(24:52) A Short Hike
(37:45) Kentucky Route Zero
(54:25) Citizen Sleeper
(01:12:36) 1000xResist
(01:35:26) Closing Comments
If you enjoy the show please join our discord to stay up to date on the podcast. Thanks for listening!
Between the Lines is a sub-series of the Pages of Play podcast where we explore gaming narratives that are several steps off of the well-trodden path.
I am honored to read an essay about the game, My Child Lebensborn, written by cherised PoP community member, SlugcatStu! Many thanks to him for submitting this essay.
Please join our discord (https://discord.com/invite/jMzR6WdpTR) so that you can chat with the amazing Pages of Play community and submit your gaming essays to be featured on the show! You can also reach me here: https://bsky.app/profile/dovetail.bsky.socialThe wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.Thanks for listening!
David, Caleb, and Erik sneak their way out from their cell in the latest game from The Game Kitchen. In this discussion, Caleb discusses game accessibility, Erik looks deep into Spanish Art, and David shares conspiracy theories.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Please join our discord (https://discord.com/invite/jMzR6WdpTR) so that you can chat with the amazing Pages of Play community and ask discussion questions to be featured on our next episode!
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(04:20) Q1
(21:19) Q2
(33:53) Q3
(47:42) Q4
(52:50) Spoiler Wall
(54:06) Story Recap
(57:46) Q5
(01:04:04) Q6
(01:11:04) Q7
(01:29:23) Closing
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I had the honor of interviewing Kate from the No Small Games podcast. Below you will find episodes from the No Small Games podcast that cover the games we discuss on this show:
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to the timestamps below to avoid those as needed. It’s a long episode, so feel free to skip around!
(00:00) Introduction & Spoiler Policy
(06:33) A Good Gardener
(29:58) Florence
(49:43) Indika
(01:01:48) Thirsty Suitors
(01:19:18) Vampire Therapist
(01:29:00) Closing Comments
If you enjoy the show please join our discord to stay up to date on the podcast. Thanks for listening!
David, Caleb, and Erik roll the dice in the latest game from Jump Over the Age. In this discussion, Caleb details a game mod he built, Erik explains why he took over 40 screenshots of the game , and David forgets about everyone he met in Citizen Sleeper 1.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Please join our discord (https://discord.com/invite/jMzR6WdpTR) so that you can chat with the amazing Pages of Play community and ask discussion questions to be featured on our next episode!
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(09:26) Q1
(20:33) Q2
(44:30) Spoiler Wall
(45:40) Plot Summary
(47:50) Q1 Revisited
(54:36) Q3
(1:05:01) Q4
(1:10:55) Q5
(01:21:12) Q6
(01:38:50) Closing
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I had the honor of interviewing Jake from The Pre-Order Bonus podcast. Below you will find episodes of The Pre-Order Bonus podcast that cover the games we discuss on this show:
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to the timestamps below to avoid those as needed. It’s a long episode, so feel free to skip around!
(00:00) Introduction
(09:30) Pentiment
(40:00) A plague Tale: Innocence
(59:30) Chained Echoes
(01:15:50) Arco
(01:36:40) Untitled Goose Game
(01:55:25) Closing Comments
If you enjoy the show please join our discord to stay up to date on the podcast. I also made a guest appearance on Jake’s Indie Impression episode for Before the Green Moon here, if you want to check that out. Thanks for listening!
Caleb and Lydia discuss the lasting impact of the game Chrono Trigger in both their personal lives and within the gaming industry. Lydia recalls the magical moment arriving in the kingdom of Zeal, Caleb considers the moral complexities of Frog’s journey, and the two wrestle with the questionable legality of game emulators. All while celebrating the masterfully crafted world of Chrono Trigger.
Dusting off the Cover is a subseries of the Pages of Play podcast where the hosts look back at older titles in the canon of video games to revisit, relive, and re-delight in game narratives from years past. Feel free to submit your ideas for future episodes at pagesofplay@gmail.com
The opening music is the track “Magic Tales” and the closing music is the track “The Call” by Kim Lightyear/Lightyeartraxx used with permission under the Pixabay license. Find these and others at Pixabay and YouTube.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(04:14) First Time Playing
(07:21) Narrative Recap
(08:36) Innovations
(16:58) Favorite Moments
(23:49) Why You Should Play This Game
(27:40) How You Can Play It
(30:52) Game Preservation Efforts
(31:41) Closing
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I interview Dan from The Greatest Story Ever Played podcast. I highly recommend you check out his full podcast here. Also, here are the TGSEP episodes that cover each game we discuss:
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to these timestamps to avoid those as needed:
(00:00) Introduction
(07:30) The Walking Dead
(19:03) The Last of Us Part 1 & 2
(40:35) Horizon Zero Dawn
(49:00) What Remains of Edith Finch
(58:10) Emily is Away <3
(01:09:05) Closing Comments
David, Caleb, and Erik bust out their paintbrushes in their discussion on Neva, the latest game from Nomada studios. Caleb educates Erik on Studio Ghibli, Erik pays tribute to Monet and Dalí, and David shares a deeply personal about partenting.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Feel free to submit your book club questions for their next game at pagesofplay@gmail.com.
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Contents:
(00:00) Intro
(07:20) Q1
(20:47) Q2
(32:17) Q3
(37:53) Spoiler Wall
(38:50) Plot Summary
(41:58) Q4
(50:16) Q5
(1:01:11) Q6
(01:08:28) Q7
(01:25:45) Closing
In this episode of Between the Lines (BTL), Erik shares why you should check out the game, Two Falls.
Between the Lines, a branch of Pages of Play podcast, is a an audio footnote to a selection of great gaming narratives. In this show, we discuss hidden gem indie games via concise, critical feedback.
Please check out my written review of Two Falls over at So Many Games: https://thewolfiepod.com/two-falls/
The music featured in the podcast comes from the wonderful Jusant soundtrack, by Guillaume Ferran. You can find the full album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/65gX1rOrAQvcxGEbUGAfvz?si=UbLPDvH3TqatUam8wHSBIw
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I interview Bryan from Pixelated Playgrounds podcast. I highly recommend you check out his full podcast here. Also, here are the Pixelated Playgrounds episodes that cover each game we discuss:
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to these timestamps to avoid those as needed:
(00:00) Introduction
(06:10) Planescape Torment
(20:45) Red Dead Redemption 2
(33:09) Spiritfarer
(48:10) Before Your Eyes
(59:35) Norco
(01:16:48) Closing Comments
David, Caleb, and Erik do some ghost therapy in their discussion on Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, an action RPG developed by DontNod and published by Focus Entertainment. David decrypts the moral code, Caleb digs up terrors in puritanical New England, and Erik steals some linens from a grieving widow.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Feel free to submit your book club questions for their next game, Neva, at pagesofplay@gmail.com
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Contents: (00:00) Intro
(07:37) Q1
(16:52) Q2
(27:35) Spoiler Wall
(28:53) Plot Summary
(32:30) Q3
(40:23) Q4
(56:23) Q5
(01:04:24) Q6
(01:11:01) Q7
(01:20:21) Q8
(01:22:30) Closing
Off the Shelf is an interview format where we bring a guest on the show to talk about the following scenario: “Imagine you have a library full of books that represent to you the greatest video game narratives. If I were to pull 5 books at random off of those shelves, what would I find? How did each book earn a spot on your shelf?”
This week, I interview Dave Jackson from the Tales from the Backlog podcast. I highly recommend you check out his full podcast here. Also, here are the Tales from the Backlog episodes that cover each game we discuss:
The discussion of each game contains spoilers, so please refer to these timestamps to avoid those as needed:
(00:00) Introduction
(11:50) Soma
(33:00) Silent Hill 2
(44:35) Spec Ops: The Line
(55:10) Xenogears
(01:06:20) Final Fantasy X and X-2
(01:17:10) Closing Comments
In this episode of Between the Lines (BTL), Erik does a dramatic reading and interpretation of the script from the game, Arco.
Between the Lines, a branch of Pages of Play podcast, is a an audio footnote to a selection of great gaming narratives.
The music featured in the podcast comes from the wonderful Jusant soundtrack, by Guillaume Ferran. You can find the full album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/65gX1rOrAQvcxGEbUGAfvz
David and Erik are joined by special guest, Caleb, to discuss 1000xResist, a sci-fi adventure game developed by Sunset Visitor and published by Fellow Traveller. David has his work cut out for him recapping the plot, Caleb finds the seams in the game's design, and Erik talks about the backpack theory that unlocks the whole experience.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their personal experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions submitted by listeners. Feel free to submit your book club questions for their next game, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, at pagesofplay@gmail.com
The wonderful music in this episode comes form the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Check it out here.
Thanks for listening!
In this episode of Between the Lines (BTL), we discuss ludonarrative resonance in Before the Green Moon, developed by Turnfollow.
Between the Lines, a branch of Pages of Play podcast, is a condensed examination into the method and magic behind the profound moments in gaming.
The music featured in the podcast comes from the wonderful Jusant soundtrack, by Guillaume Ferran. You can find the full album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/65gX1rOrAQvcxGEbUGAfvz?si=ZrvwZSHMSKmwUwJp30Dlqw
Thanks for listening!
The first ever episode of the podcast is about Open Roads, developed by Open Roads Team and published by Annapurna Interactive. Erik recites poetry, David talks about guns on mantle pieces, and the duo has a great discussion about the impact of this overlooked 2024 gem.
Pages of Play podcast is a book club for gaming narratives, where the hosts discuss their experience with a game and its story via book club style discussion questions. Feel free to submit your book club questions for their next game, 1000xResist, at pagesofplay@gmail.com.
The wonderful music in this episode comes from the Jusant soundtrack by Guillaume Ferran. Go check it out!
Thanks for listening!
