Summary: Learn more about this episode, other episodes, and the rest of the show atwww.TheCuriousGamer.org Today we’re tackling a charming little platformer called Never Alone. This episode asks this question: can video games ever be documents of culture? Most video games considered to represent “good games” tend to be very satisfying on a technical level. The mechanics and design are deep and interesting, the graphics and production values are high and, overall, everything just feels good and polished. But can games go beyond being technically great, and be satisfying on a more human level? Today, I’d like to shine the spotlight on a game that places most of its focus on infusing culture into its design. In this episode, we explore the video game Never Alone, and how it demonstrates video games as a fantastic way to showcase cultural stories, documents, and other artifacts through interactive multimedia. Thanks for sticking with the show, and apologies for the year+ hiatus. Dig deeper into this episode with credits, downloads, and more at the links below!CREDITS This episode was written, recorded, and produced by me. I do not own the rights to any of the audio clips from games and interviews used in this episode. These audio clips are utilized under the “Fair Use” doctrine, which stipulates that you may use copyrighted material without permission from the creators, provided that it is used for fact-based and research-oriented purposes, which is a format that The Curious Gamer abides by.SUBSCRIBE — YOUTUBE, ITUNES, MEDIUM All episodes of The Curious Gamer are posted on YouTube, as an audio podcast, or collected with a script here on Medium. To make sure you never miss an episode, you can subscribe to the YouTube Channel, subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes (or wherever you download podcasts) or follow me on Medium. https://www.youtube.com/user/devinpolaski?sub_confirmation=1 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curious-gamer/id715667998?mt=2 medium.com/@devinpolaskiTWITTER & FACEBOOK Also, you can follow the show on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @devinpolaski and Tweet me your gaming stories and thoughts; I’d love to hear them, and maybe even feature them in an episode! https://www.facebook.com/TheCuriousGamer/ https://twitter.com/devinpolaski MUSIC Most of the music in this episode was used from the soundtrack of Never Alone, but the original music was composed by me. You can check out some of my music by following me on SoundCloud or by checking out my music store. soundcloud.com/devin-polaski devinpolaski.bandcamp.comNEWLETTER I’m starting up an email newsletter so that, for anyone interested, I can make recommendations for interesting games to play, discuss game culture, and other fun topics in games. tinyletter.com/thecuriousgamerDOWNLOAD MP3 You can download this full episode as an mp3. http://ia601300.us.archive.org/10/items/TheCuriousGamerEpisode2AppreciatingCultureInNeverAlone/The%20Curious%20Gamer%20Episode%202%20-%20Appreciating%20Culture%20in%20Never%20Alone.xml_mixdown.mp3 SOURCES This episode was written, recorded, and produced by me. I do not own the rights to any of the audio clips from games and interviews used in this episode. These audio clips are utilized under the “Fair Use” doctrine, which stipulates that you may use copyrighted material without permission from the creators, provided that it is used for fact-based and research-oriented purposes, which is a format that The Curious Gamer abides by. Almost all the footage found in this episode features gameplay and trailer footage from Never Alone, and this was gathered from a press release package available from the game’s official website, which you can visit here: http://neveralonegame.com/ Additional clips of Never Alone were recorded from screen captures of the PS4 version of the game. Other games featured in this episode are detailed below: 0:09 - Gameplay demo footage from Uncharted 4, by Naughty Dog, that was featured at E3, 2015. 0:12 - Trailer f
