EPISODE 28: EXPLORING WORLDS THROUGH DIGITAL ROLE-PLAY

What this episode covers

Episode 28: Exploring Worlds Through Digital Role-Play | 2 June 2026 Stephen and Trent reflect on their personal favorite digital role-playing games (RPGs), deconstructing various frameworks, implementations, and affordances of linear and open-world experiences. In addition to introducing specific examples, they discuss broad concepts such as: The fundamentally situated relationship between players and digital RPGs; Digital RPGs as sophisticated representations of interactive narrative and creative writing; Fallout 3, education through The Wasteland, and what it means to fail forward; Designing worlds that pose “productive questions,” pique curiosity, and induce player goal adoption; Revisiting Plato’s Allegory of the Cave as relates to gaming and its overlap with (or contradiction of) formal education; Bidirectional communication between players and designers; Comparing Fallout’s Lucy with the “murder hobo” playstyle to understand player projection of ethics and morality onto RPG characters; Ludonarrative dissonance and its influence on designer/player behavior; Core similarities between game design and instructional design; RPGs as tools for teaching “big ideas” about Government, Economics, Social Relations, and Cultural Influences; The stories that “on-” and “off-rails” RPGs tell us about player agency and ourselves; Transactional cooperation vs. meaningful collaborative storytelling in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs); The perennial tension between designed intent and “Death of the Author”; and Finding personal, emotional resonance in a game’s characters and world. Episode References: Bethesda Game Studios. (2008). Fallout 3 [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks. Nintendo. (2020). Animal Crossing: New Horizons [Video game]. Nintendo. Rockstar Games. (2008). Grand Theft Auto IV (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Take-Two Interactive. Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur’s Gate 3 [Video game]. Larian Studios. Plato. (1992). Republic (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.; C. D. C. Reeve, Rev.). Hackett Publishing. (Original work published ca. 380 B.C.E.) Homer. (1996). The odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.). Joy, L. & Nolan, J. (Executive Producers). (2024–present). Fallout [TV series]. Kilter Films; Amazon MGM Studios. Square. (1995). Chrono Trigger [Video game]. Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Blizzard Entertainment. (2004). World of Warcraft [Video game]. Blizzard Entertainment. Big Blue Box. (2004). Fable [Video game]. Microsoft Game Studios. ZA/UM. (2019). Disco Elysium [Video game]. ZA/UM Bethesda Game Studios. (2011). The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks. Nintendo. (1997). Mario Kart 64 [Video game]. Nintendo. Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. MIT Press. Nintendo. (1990). F-Zero [Video game]. Nintendo. Nintendo. (1992). Super Mario Kart (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Nintendo. Square. (1997). Final Fantasy VII [Video game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. Iron Gate AB. (2021). Valheim (Version 0.202.14) [Video game]. Coffee Stain Publishing. Mojang Studios. (2011). Minecraft (Version 1.20) [Video game]. Mojang Studios. Re-Logic. (2011). Terraria (Version 1.4.5) [Video game]. Re-Logic. Square. (1994). Final Fantasy VI [Video game]. Square. Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954-1955). The Lord of the Rings. Allen & Unwin. Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner's Sons. Favreau, J. (Director). (2026). Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu [Film]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Bethesda Game Studios. (2015). Fallout 4 [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks. Obsidian Entertainment. (2010). Fallout: New Vegas [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks. CD Projekt Red. (2015). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [Video game]. CD Projekt. CD Projekt Red. (2020). Cyberpunk 2077 (Version 2.0) [Video game]. CD Projekt.

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