• Log In

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify patreon
  • Home
  • Podcast
    • All PEL Episodes
    • Most Recent Episodes
    • Categorized by Topic
    • Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Phi Fic Podcast
    • Combat & Classics
    • Constellary Tales
    • Upcoming Episodes
  • Blog
  • About
    • PEL FAQ
    • Meet PEL
    • About Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Meet Phi Fic
    • Listener Feedback
    • Links
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Members
    • Membership Options
    • PEL Not School Introduction
    • Log In
  • Support PEL
    • Patreon
  • Write for Us
  • Contact

Pretty Much Pop #21: Role-Playing Video Games

December 3, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/partiallyexaminedlife/PMP_021_11-5-19.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:33 — 47.4MB)

What constitutes a video RPG? Is there any actual role-playing involved?

Our editor Tyler Hislop rejoins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss those video games that are supposed to make you feel like you're contributing to the story, that your choices matter, in which you can maybe, you know, choose to wear a funny hat or just craft potions all day instead of advancing the plot. We compare solo vs. social games, compare video to table-top role playing, think about how we relate to the character we're playing, and more.

We touch on Ultima, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Horizon Zero Dawn, Skyrim, Fallout, Outward, Death Stranding, Erica, Hellblade: Sakura’s Sacrifice, The Witcher, and more. Also from TV: Bandersnatch, The Guild, and that D&D Key & Peele sketch.

Some sources we looked at included:

  • "What Are Role-Playing Games Even? How Are They That?" by Sam Liberty
  • "RPGs Took Over Every Video Game Genre" by Marc Nix
  • "Why My Videogame Chooses Your Character’s Race and Gender for You" by Garry Newman
  • "The History of RPGs" by Richard Cobbett
  • History of Western Role-Playing Games on Wikipedia
  • Video: The Evolution of RPG Games
  • The Psychology of Games podcast and site

This episode includes bonus discussion that you can only hear by supporting the podcast at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.

Sponsor: Visit skillshare.com/pretty for two months of free, unlimited learning.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Filed Under: Pretty Much Pop Tagged With: culture podcast, entertainment podcast, video game podcast

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Become a PEL Citizen
Tweets by PartiallyExLife

Recent Comments

  • Mark Linsenmayer on Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part One)
  • PMP#22: Untangling Time Travel on Episode 108: Dangers of A.I. with Guest Nick Bostrom
  • Charles Crawford on Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part One)
  • GL Rosa on Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part Two)
  • dmf on Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part Two)

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

Become a PEL Citizen!

As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

Blog Post Categories

  • (sub)Text
  • Aftershow
  • Audiobook
  • Book Excerpts
  • Citizen Content
  • Citizen Document
  • Citizen News
  • Close Reading
  • Combat and Classics
  • Constellary Tales
  • Featured Article
  • General Announcements
  • Interview
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Misc. Philosophical Musings
  • Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
  • Nakedly Self-Examined Music
  • NEM Bonus
  • Not School Recording
  • Not School Report
  • Other (i.e. Lesser) Podcasts
  • PEL Music
  • PEL's Notes
  • Personal Philosophies
  • Phi Fic Podcast
  • Podcast Episode (Citizen)
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Pretty Much Pop
  • Reviewage
  • Song Self-Exam
  • Things to Watch
  • Vintage Episode (Citizen)
  • Web Detritus

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts

Copyright © 2009 - 2019 · The Partially Examined Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Copyright Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy