The Pub

The Pub Podcast

A podcast about all things narrative, discussing story in fiction, graphic novels, and video games, plus interviews with industry professionals. read less
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Episodes

The Pub 50: Ludonarrative Baldness
Dec 6 2021
The Pub 50: Ludonarrative Baldness
In this episode, we talk about Ludonarrative Dissonance in video games. Jon researches lute-onarrative dissonance instead of ludonarrative, then buys the instrument and records a cover of the 1982 classic, "The Safety Dance." Sarah is told to hurry up over and over because her life depends on it, but instead, she loots all the chests and then pisses off to do a cooking quest for seventeen days. Molly tries to jump over a very tiny wall several times but is impossibly unable to clear it, so she finally uses the gate to get to the studio. And Dean goes bald. 1:45: The Origin of the Term Dean: You kill little sisters in Bioshock to get more ADAM, and we're told this is a bad thing. Sarah: Yes Dean, killing little girls is bad. Dean: Yes but we have since learned that killing little girls is totally fine. 11:31: General Thoughts Jon: Ludonarrative dissonance is really about emotions in games. Molly: I have lots of emotions when playing games. Sarah: I have lots of emotions in general. 15:10: Is Ludonarrative Dissonance a Bad Thing, Really? Jon: The coolest thing a game can provide is ludonarrative dissonance. Molly: Yes, the coolest thing is the overwhelming feeling of despair that I get. 19:33: On Ludonarrative Consonance. Jon: In Skyrim, you might be looting a house and the guards show up. . . Molly (in her "guard voice"): Halt! You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her peoples. 21:47: Agency and Dissonance Jon: I go through visual novels triggering events just to get achievements. What about that? Sarah: Then you're creating your own dissonance. Jon: Are you saying I'm my own worst enemy? 28:58: Final Thoughts "My alignment is chaotic Jontral."                    --Dean
The Pub 36: Laughing at Corn
Feb 3 2021
The Pub 36: Laughing at Corn
Mental Health in Graphic Novels In this episode, we talk about the way graphic novels like I Kill Giants and Hyperbole and A Half deal with mental health issues. Molly sits on a pile of laundry and imagines Superman with ennui. Sarah stows away her grief and doesn't deal with her emotions. Instead, she plays Dungeons & Dragons. Daniel's ice cream falls off his cone, and his cat dies. Luckily, he is wearing his suit of impenetrable armor. And Dean uses his dog's trip to the vet as cover for his manly tears.  Cast Hosted by Dean Karpowicz, with Molly Krasel, Daniel Morbach, and Sarah Willis. Content 0:32: I Kill Giants "The book is always better than the movie!"                                      --Molly 6:00: All the Feels Dean: "I did not cry." Sarah: "You LIE!" 13:51: The Title                   "I'll kill you. Boom, boom. Lie down."                                               --Daniel 18:00: Lessons   Molly: "You must sublimate your emotions in a healthy way and accept change."   Sarah: "That sounds like an adult thing to do, and I'm NOT for it." 19:15: Hyperbole and a Half Dean: "Let's talk about the fun of depression!" Daniel: "Okay, you go first." 23:43: All the memes!                  "Let's give them the whole nine yards."                                                       --Dean 27:56:  Understanding Comics                 "If it's a stick figure, I can relate. If it's Brad Pitt in the movie Troy, not so much."                                                       --Daniel
The Pub 35: The Mandalorian
Jan 25 2021
The Pub 35: The Mandalorian
In this episode, we talk about The Mandalorian. Trey visits a planet of wookies where he badmouths the ewoks of Endor. Sarah wins the I Called It Was Luke Award and then loses all her winnings during the terrible Canto Bight scene on Cantonica. And Dean practices phrenology on boy-Anakin, despite his ridiculously hard science fiction levels of midichlorians. Cast Hosted by Dean Karpowicz, with  Sarah Willis and Trey Bourn. Content 0:47: Why Has Star Wars Gotten So Good Again? Trey: "They just said, let's make something cool!" Dean: "Wait, they went into the others ones saying, this is not going to be cool?" 15:29: Star Wars as Fantasy "It's basically Lord of the Rings in space."                                --Dean 19:25: Mandalorian, Season 3                   "Bo-Katan will always be Starbuck to me."                                                      --Trey 22:30: Enter Luke   "This was the Star Wars that I needed, that I didn't know that I needed."                                                      --Trey 28:22: Spinoffs. "Darth Maul came back. He had a robo-torso!"                              --Sarah 34:08: A Rose is a Rose is a Rose (Tico)                   "Unless you're a muppet, let's not have kids in Star Wars anymore."                                                      --Trey 19:25:  Least Favorite Movie (Yub Yub!)                   "Endor was supposed to be a planet of wookies!"                                                      --Trey