With a Terrible Fate Podcast Episode 10: Reading Circle — Homo Ludens

Written by Stefan Heinrich Simond and Dan Hughes on

The following is an episode of With a Terrible Fate’s weekly podcast discussing video-game storytelling from all angles. Find all episodes here.

What is play? What are its functions and why do so merrily do it? One of the most influential books to address these questions is Homo Ludens by the Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga. In our brand new reading circle, we discuss the first section of Huizinga’s renowned engagement with the intricacies of play.

Later on, we discuss and analyze one of the most prominent PS5 games at the moment: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

  • Main Story
    • 00:02:53 Reading Circle: Johan Huizinga – Homo Ludens
  • Side Quests
    • 00:57:35 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
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Stefan Heinrich Simond

Stefan Heinrich Simond - Video Game Analyst

Stefan Heinrich Simond is a game studies scholar at Philipps University Marburg working on a PhD studying the construction of madness in video games. He is the host of With a Terrible Fate's weekly podcast.  Learn more here.

Dan Hughes

Dan Hughes - Video Game Analyst

Dan Hughes has dabbled in everything from playwriting to religious studies to YouTube personas. He is the seriesrunner for With a Terrible Fate's "Now Loading... The Video Game Canon!"  Learn more here.

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