Not Just a Game Episode 3: Heroes

This week I talk about heroes, virtue ethics, and customisable vs. non-customisable characters.

Some links for further reading:

Anker, Elizabeth, (2005), Villains, Victims and Heroes: Melodrama, Media, and September 11. Journal of Communication, 55: 22–37. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02656.x

Hursthouse, Rosalind, “Virtue Ethics”, (2003), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

Games mentioned:

  • Dragon Age series
  • The Witcher 3
  • Batman games
  • Lara Croft games
  • Skyrim
  • Planescape Torment
  • Pillars of Eternity

Not Just a Game Episode 2: Looting Mortuary Spaces with Meghan Dennis

This episode has been long in coming! In it Meghan Dennis from the University of York and I discuss mortuary spaces in games and some of the ethical and social issues with depiction of mortuary spaces and the interactions that can be had with them in games. This episode was recorded at “The Interactive Pasts” Conference, the very first archaeogaming conference in the world, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, hosted by the Value Project.

Games discussed include:

Not Just a Game Episode 1: Life is Strange and Social Norms

This is the first episode of my new podcast. Please be gentle, I am working with new equipment and a new style of media! But any technical feedback welcome (I think I’ve solved the crackling in the microphone now though!).

In this episode, I am talking about Life is Strange and social norms. What’s a social norm? Listen and find out!

Are there any games where you struggled with social norms vs. expectations of the gameplay? Comment below!

Games mentioned:

  • Life is Strange
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Legend of Zelda series
  • Dragon Age series/Bioware games
  • Skyrim
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Final Fantasy series