Authors Die Twice

Bryan and Nathan get "enfrenzied" as they continue their discussion of Bloodborne. They discuss the role of madness, the empty form of knowledge, and why scholars need so much sedative. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

After mentioning the game in almost every episode so far, Bryan and Nathan finally have a dedicated discussion about Bloodborne. They talk about Nathan's recently published book (Grant Us Eyes: The Art of Paradox in Bloodborne), Bryan's recent replay, Evil Santa, and the one area in the game that still makes no sense. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan are joined by games scholar Erick Verran to talk about video game criticism and writing. They discuss the pitfalls of professional scholarship, the differences between European and American games writing, and the beauty of classic gaming magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly. Find Erick Verran at https://linktr.ee/erickverranFind us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan are joined by literary and games scholar Justin Carpenter (University of Utah) to talk about Kentucky Route Zero. They discuss the game's amazing art style and sound design, its literariness, and the ways it challenges ideas of play, agency, and control.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan are once again joined by Shane (cohost of the terrific Reel Rap, a podcast about adaptations) to talk about Dark Souls 1. They discuss sentences lost to time, the meaning of humanity (!?), and why the game's world of Lordran resembles a giant haunted house. Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan finish up their conversation about Silent Hill 2 (2024), focusing especially on the game's final boss and discussing (again) the game's structures of repetition, the warehouse setting, and why spider enemies in games usually suck.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan are joined by filmmaker Christopher Jason Bell (Miss Me Yet, Failed State) to discuss Final Fantasy VII. They touch on the generative capacities of technological limitation for gameplay and narrative, what motivates the various graphical iterations of the game's characters, and the role of paratext in the experience of playing.Find Christopher Jason Bell at https://linktr.ee/christopherjasonbellHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan are joined by author Debbie Urbanski (Portalmania, After World: A Novel) to discuss her work and the 1963 novel The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. They touch on the gamelike qualities of narrative, environmental storytelling, and the metaphysics of invisible walls.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan inaugurate a new series, "Abandoned Old Workshop," where they are joined by colleagues in a focused presentation of their recent or forthcoming academic work. In this episode, they speak with Joseph LaBine, editor of terminal 1: Arrivals (Flat Singles Press, 2025), a collection of poetry by the Irish architect, artist, and critic Niall Montgomery. Among other topics, they discuss Montgomery's status as a figure in modernism, and his friendship with and influence from authors like James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and T. S. Eliot. terminal 1: https://www.flatsinglespress.com/shop/p/terminal-1-arrivalsHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan embark on another "formless one," discussing the coziness of survival horror games, different valences of horror in the metal genre, and American author Bennett Sims's short story "Portonaccio Sarcophagus."Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan continue their conversation about Silent Hill 2 (2024), discussing the game's fascinating structures of repetition, déjà vu, and anonymity.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan discuss Bloober Team's 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2. They talk about the game's incredible sound design, the multiple ways one can and cannot identify with a video game avatar, and why this might be the smelliest game of all time. They also debut a new segment on video game atmosphere called Wainstein and Smog. Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

It turns out Bryan and Nathan aren't done talking about Elden Ring. This time they're joined by Shane, a Living Success and the co-host of Reel Rap, a podcast about adaptations (you can find him at @crealoya on Twitter). Together they discuss the game's soundtrack and atmosphere, the irrelevance of its plot, and the question of a possible film adaptation.

In their first grab bag episode, Bryan and Nathan talk about the games they've been playing and the texts they've been reading, including Monster Hunter: Wilds, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, "House-sitting" by Bennett Sims, and After World: A Novel by Debbie Urbanski. They then discuss Jorge Luis Borges's 1939 short story "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" and introduce their Enigma of the Week. Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan conclude (for now) their discussion of Elden Ring and its DLC by talking about their hard-won victory over the DLC's final boss in co-op (spoilers), engaging with Souls multiplayer systems for the first time, and the jubilation of being "smooched" on stream.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

In this week's episode, special guest Sam Tett (University of Utah) joins Bryan and Nathan to talk about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). We discuss open world boundaries, the game's (underrated?) combat, the joys of ledging, and why the Dragonborn might be his own dad.The Eurogamer essay mentioned by Nathan is "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is Anything but Overrated" by Chris Tapsell: https://www.eurogamer.net/games-of-the-decade-the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim-is-anything-but-overratedHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan continue their conversation about Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree by discussing oversized objects, the DLC's strange sky, and why every Souls game might need a single un-openable door.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Nathan and Bryan talk about spatial design and wonder in Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

Bryan and Nathan introduce the themes of the podcast, take a stab at explaining the title, and touch on their shared history with games.