Topics Discussed In This Episode:

- The relationship between storytelling and lore

- The tension between story and gameplay

- Storytelling via gameplay

- Emergent gameplay

- The surprising absence of narrative in classic games

- Roleplaying games and player agency

- Adaptations: What separates good ones from bad ones

Games Discussed In This Episode:

- Final Fantasy I, VI, and VII

- The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time

- Red Dead Redemption

- Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

- Animal Well

- Thomas Was Alone

- Unpacking

- Baldur’s Gate I and III

- Disco Elysium

- Mass Effect

- The Last of Us

- Elden Ring / Dark Souls

- Skyrim

- The Sims

Link City:

Is ‘Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’ a Big Flop?

How ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ Obliterated 30 Years of Zelda Lore

What’s Next for The Legend of Zelda?

Why the ‘The Last of Us’ Season Finale Sucked

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