Furidashi Game Design Academy

In comparing Death Stranding with its sequel, we come to a dichotomy of two gameplay experiences: a lonely one that matches what the games say about their protagonist and one in solidarity with other players that seems to confuse what the story has to say about what is happening in Kojima's world. We look at two conflicting narratives, then: the story of gameplay, where the game shines, and the story of the game's dialogue and cutscenes, where it... well... doesn't.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi

Lauryn: https://bsky.app/profile/espressocat.bsky.social

Nicholas: https://bsky.app/profile/academicality.bsky.social

Now that our boy Kojima has been taken out of Konami and Metal Gear, we have to wonder whether you can take the Metal Gear out of the boy. In this episode, we consider what it means to start a newly independent studio that can't help but rehash all the good and the bad of the games that made you who you are. Is Kojima trapped in a kind Metal Gear samsara? Listen and find out!

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi

Lauryn: https://bsky.app/profile/espressocat.bsky.social

Nicholas: https://bsky.app/profile/academicality.bsky.social

Here we are at the end... or, at least, an end. One of many ends, as it turns out. We explore what it means for a whole series of games to end up being about alienation despite trying to be about identity. A game that can't escape its own structural sexism. A game that has genuinely refined combat and stealth mechanics but is so bloated it can never quite cohere into a well-defined vision. It's a sad to place to end, but fret not. We will end again.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi

Lauryn: https://bsky.app/profile/espressocat.bsky.social

Nicholas: https://bsky.app/profile/academicality.bsky.social

[Content Warning] In this episode we discuss sexual assault and all the ways in which Kojima handles it VERY BADLY. We do try to pry out the good as well, but in many ways this relatively brief game is a dark premonition of where things will end for Snake... and it ain't good.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi

Lauryn: https://bsky.app/profile/espressocat.bsky.social

Nicholas: https://bsky.app/profile/academicality.bsky.social

In this episode we not only learn that Nicholas has a day job but also that it is immediately relevant to questions surrounding video games and digital preservation. We discuss four modes or vectors for how this can work, none of which are mutually exclusive. All this to get at why preserving games is important and why people have conflicting ideas about how to do that.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi

Lauryn: https://bsky.app/profile/espressocat.bsky.social

Nicholas: https://bsky.app/profile/academicality.bsky.social