Welcome to another episode of Armchair Gaming. The goal for this show is simple: I want to help you learn more about philosophy, and I’ll be using video games as an instrument to help teach it.
Today, while playing the Action-RPG Dark Cloud 2 By Level-5 Inc, we will be addressing the nature, agency, and freedom of NPC characters in a non-persistent world. What happens to their consciousness when you you turn the console off? What happens to the playable characters when you turn the console off? What happens when that horrible “Game over” screen pops up? In today’s episode we will begin to look at possible answers to these questions and more.
We’ll also be taking a look at the time travel mechanic of this game, and begin to address the deterministic nature of the universe proposed by Dark Cloud 2.
About Armchair Gaming
I had the chance to explore philosophy in high school and I loved it so much that I went on to study it at Trent University, where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in philosophy. I feel so strongly about the subject that I often find myself going through the books I had purchased over my university career, as well as adding to the collection regularly.
Philosophy is an amazingly exciting subject that can teach us not just what to think, but how to think. Unfortunately, a lot of people see philosophy as some intimidating monster, with difficult concepts and theories to grasp. Conversely, some see it as a waste of someone’s time and intellect. As someone who has dedicated their life to the subject, this Scholarly Gamer wants to bring philosophy to you in a way that is approachable, sometimes funny, and presented through a medium of great importance to himself and millions of other people around the world: Games.
I hope you’ll join us on this journey. And remember, you never go a day in your life without living some philosophy.
