Lies of P, Philosophical Catalysts, and Charitable Replays

On this episode of the With a Terrible Fate podcast, we celebrate Dan's birthday with a conversation ranging from becoming a real boy to becoming a... real old man!

We begin with a postgame analysis of Lies of P in which it takes Aaron and Dan a hilariously long time to uncover that, contrary to their first impression based on each other's perspective, they'd actually chosen different endings to the story! This lays the foundation for a discussion of how games' content can prompt philosophical dialogues between their players, revealing a wealth of hidden depth that makes Lies of P well worth the time of the thoughtful gamer—especially if she comes to it with a background in the oeuvre of Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Later, we turn to Dan's birthday as a context for revisiting formative childhood games we hated and striving to read them anew through the principle of charity, a core tenet of With a Terrible Fate's ethos. We articulate practical methods for approaching games from this perspective, including the distinction between asking what a game is "capital 'A' About" and what a game is "capital 'S' Saying." When we apply these methods to some of those first games that left a bad taste in our mouths, we argue, we have the opportunity not just to discover new value in an old game, but also to recontextualize our entire gaming history in the bargain.

Whether you're seeking new ways to evaluate the game you just finished or new values in the games you've been seething over for decades, this episode has something for you!

Works Referenced

Dan Hughes, "Understanding Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II," With a Terrible Fate. May 21, 2021.
Richard Nguyen, "Beyond the Moral Binary: Decision-Making in Video Games," With a Terrible Fate. April 25, 2016.
Enrico Pasini, "Leibniz's Dissatisfaction with the Cogito," G.W. Leibniz: Razón, Verdad y Diálogo, edited by Juan Antonio Nicolás, Alejandro Herrera, Roberto Casales, Luis Velasco, Leonardo Ruiz, and Alfredo Martinez (Colección Nova Leibniz / Latina 5), Granada: Editorial Comares 2023, p. 35–48. Author's manuscript; open access.
Aaron Suduiko, "The Horror of Code Vein is You," With a Terrible Fate. November 22, 2020.
— —, "Scarlet Nexus: The Pathos of Karen Travers," With a Terrible Fate. November 8, 2021.
— —, "The Tragic Irony of Final Fantasy XIII-2," With a Terrible Fate. November 29, 2016.