Monday, May 6, 2019

Bookwarm Games: Xenogears

Delve into Xenogears in the follow-up to the EarthBound series (episodes 1-33) of Bookwarm Games discussions. This page has been updated weekly as new episodes were released, alternating with its sister project, Gamecool Books: The Subtle Knife.

For the list of chapter titles and links to the script (now defunct, but just plug them into the wayback machine), thanks to StarcraftSquall at the Xenogears: God and Mind Script page.

For many of the reading recommendations, and for more on historical contexts and sources, recognition goes out to the remarkable Xenogears and Xenosaga Study Guide pages, by A.C.

We're still building out the course pages over at our humble Video Game Academy. Until then, here's some other good resources:

Errors (egregious as Dan's forehead, I don't doubt) are entirely my own!


Project overview
Chapter 00:  The Prologue
Recommended supplementary reading: Gen 1-3, Rev 1 (KJV)


Chapter 01:  Lahan Village
Chapter 02:  Mountain Path


Chapter 04:  Into The Woods
Chapter 05:  Girl In Forest
Chapter 06:  Dazil


Chapter 07:  Desert Attack!
Chapter 08:  Stalactite Cave
Chapter 09:  Pirate's Lair
An intro to Adler 
Rank, Art and Artist


Chapter 10:  Operation Aveh
Chapter 11:  The Tournament
Chapter 12:  Margie's Rescue
The Interpretation of Dreams, by Sigmund Freud


Chapter 13:  Road To Nisan
Chapter 14:  City Of Peace
Chapter 15:  Recapture Aveh
Chapter 16:  Desert Despair
Reading Lacan, by Jane Gallop

Ep 41: Conversation with Jason on 90's nostalgia and aesthetics
Local genius and fellow Ulysses reader
Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream


Chapter 17:  Kislev Capital
Chapter 18:  Brave Battlers
Chapter 19:  Sewer Horror
An intro to BF Skinner on the "black box" of the mind?
(and of course, "REDRUM," courtesy of The Shining)


Chapter 20:  Battling Champ
Chapter 21:  Gear Dock Raid
Chapter 22:  Night Purge
The Myth of Sisyphus, by Camus, or if you like, Being and Nothingness, by Sartre
Camus can do
but Sartre is smarter!


Chapter 23:  Secret Weapon
Chapter 24:  Escape Ignas
Chapter 25:  Adrift At Sea
Chapter 26:  Men Of The Sea
Chapter 27:  Friends Again
Chapter 28:  Betrayal
David and Goliath in Samuel, and maybe some readings in hypnosis?

Ep 45: Conversation with AC on Xenogears' first half

Chapter 30:  A Young Priest
Chapter 31:  The Orphanage
Chapter 32:  Reaper's Ship
Chapter 33:  Burning Souls
Chapter 34:  Ocean Floor
Chapter 36:  Babel Tower
Chapter 37:  Sky City Shevat
Chapter 38:  Intruder Alert!
Chapter 39:  Raid Of Shevat!
Gen 11


Chapter 40:  Protect Nisan!
Chapter 41:  Gate 1 -Margie
Chapter 42:  Gate 2 -Babel
Chapter 43:  Gate 3 -The Deep
Reginsmal, from the Poetic Edda


Chapter 44:  Into Solaris
Chapter 45:  Escape Solaris
Chapter 46:  Lone Wolf
Chapter 47:  Krelian's Lab
Chapter 48:  Tears For Fears
Head Over Heels

Ep 51: Conversation with Moses Norton, The Well-Red Mage, on Theology and Games 
Interview
Chrono Trigger dissertation


Disc 2 overview
Chapter 49:  Shot Down!


Chapter 51:  Soul Vessel


Ep 54: Conversation with Chris and Eric of Retrograde Amnesia
Retrograde Amnesia podcast
Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels
Neumann, The Great Mother
Chapter 53:  Above Mahanon
Chapter 54:  Paradise


Chapter 56:  Merkava Calls
Chapter 57:  Dreams…
Chapter 58:  Fallen Star
Eliade, Cosmos and History: The Myth of the Eternal Return

Ep 59: Conversation with Patrick Holleman
Reverse Design book series

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