Gamedesign | With A Terrible Fate

Pokémon Rose Episode 11: “The Value of Effort”

How the innovation of Pokémon's modern metagame in Ruby and Sapphire unexpectedly enriched the heart of Pokémon's storytelling.

By Dan Hughes, 1 year ago June 14, 2023

What happens to our relationships with our favorite childhood video-game series as we grow up and new games continue to be added to those series?

By Dan Hughes, 1 year ago May 29, 2023

A reflection on an early moment in Pokémon history when a new legendary Pokémon blurred the lines between time travel in real and fictional worlds.

By Dan Hughes, 2 years ago May 22, 2023

Pokémon Gold and Silver teach a master class in how to design a postgame that marries a sequel with the game that preceded it.

By Dan Hughes, 2 years ago May 4, 2023

Dissecting the subtle ways in which Mewtwo set the Pokémon postgame standard for over 20 years.

By Dan Hughes, 2 years ago March 20, 2023

Announcing a new With a Terrible Fate series playing and analyzing the stories of Bandai Namco's Tales series of JRPGs.

By Aaron Suduiko, 2 years ago March 3, 2023

Only through the lens of a philosopher at war with himself can we understand a game at war with itself.

By Aaron Suduiko, 2 years ago January 16, 2023

The Outer Gods of Elden Ring aren't just extra lore: they're also the cipher to understanding the player's place in the Lands Between.

By Aaron Suduiko, 3 years ago April 14, 2022

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

By Aaron Suduiko, 3 years ago September 12, 2021

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

By Aaron Suduiko, 3 years ago September 5, 2021