With A Terrible Fate

Where some JRPGs represent philosophical views, Final Fantasy IX tricks its player into actually doing philosophy without even realizing it.

What's the difference between a psychological story and a story about psychology?

The flavor text of EarthBound tells a story you may have missed.

In the first episode of WaTF's podcast, we introduce ourselves and the project and discuss Nier, Returnal, and "games as rent."

Ni No Kuni quietly tricks its adult player into curing both herself and the White Witch of cynicism.

NieR: Automata's Ending E is a case study in how to completely erase the distinction between gameplay and story.

The Wind Waker's music shows us how a century-old literary phenomenon blends the lived experiences of player and avatar into something more.

The ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake has turned the storytelling formula of challenging fate on its head—and all it took was a Whisper.

Casual talks, reviews, and academic papers are all parts of a unified strategy for analyzing games.

How Dark Souls committed an act of genius by building a world where Dark Souls IV is impossible.

A point-by-point rebuttal of Tyler Cowen's article criticizing the ability of video games to have cultural value within a literary canon.

Where some JRPGs represent philosophical views, Final Fantasy IX tricks its player into actually doing philosophy without even realizing it.

Join With a Terrible Fate for panels on horror storytelling and video game canons at PAX West 2021, September 3rd-5th.

What's the difference between a psychological story and a story about psychology?

The flavor text of EarthBound tells a story you may have missed.

Final Fantasy VII Remake's storytelling makes JRPGs more accessible to adults—along with a new postgame model, "The Chadley Interpretation."

Analyzing one of Xemnas' most puzzling lines in Kingdom Hearts II opens the path to understanding his character and the nature of Nobodies.

Meet Adam Bierstedt, With a Terrible Fate's resident historian, and learn what video games have in common with a 14th-century manuscript.

The Sector 5 Church isn't just the most incongruous building in Midgar: it also plays a quietly pivotal role in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Ni No Kuni quietly tricks its adult player into curing both herself and the White Witch of cynicism.

Listen to an extended discussion about Aaron Suduiko's analysis of Final Fantasy IX's theatrical and philosophical content.

Listen to a brief update concerning the future trajectory of our audio content about the analysis of video-game storytelling.

This week on the podcast: analyzing Dark Souls and Silent Hill through the lens of a hypothetical mashup, plus PAX West 2021 reflections.

This week on the podcast: analysis and discussion of Bandai Namco's "brain punk" JRPG, Scarlet Nexus.

This week on With a Terrible Fate's podcast: a deep dive into the many ways in which video-game music can tell a story.

Listen in on a discussion of how maps can interfere with—or improve—the storytelling of your favorite video games.

This week's podcast focuses on mindscapes in video-game fictions, follow-up on the psychoanalytic interpretation of Returnal, and romance in Final Fantasy X.

This week on the podcast: what the Steam Deck could do for interactive storytelling; Netflix gaming rumors; Super Mario 64 at auction.

Enjoy a conversation with Max Gorynski about the latest in his Comprehensive Theory of EarthBound, plus meditations on Nintendo hardware, collectibles, and narrative metagames.

Listen in on a miniature book club discussing the first part of Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens, along with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.