A Study on Emotional Attachment Through Permanent Character Loss In the tactical RPG genre, few mechanics are as defining—or as psychologically complex—as permadeath. Unlike traditional RPGs, where defeat is a temporary setback and fallen characters can be revived with a phoenix down or reload, tactical RPGs with permadeath make mortality matter. Once a unit falls,…
Author: Dr. Lilah Faraday
Procedural Rhetoric in Indie Games: How Game Systems Themselves Communicate Meaning Beyond Narrative Text
In traditional media—novels, films, essays—rhetoric is the art of persuasion through language. A thesis is argued, a moral is presented, and meaning is delivered primarily through words and images. But in games, something profound occurs: the system speaks. This is the core premise of procedural rhetoric—a concept introduced by Ian Bogost in his 2007 book…
The History of Fire Emblem: A Tactical Legacy
In the landscape of tactical role-playing games, few names command the same reverence as Fire Emblem. With its finely-tuned grid-based battles, character-driven narratives, and uncompromising permadeath mechanics, the series has endured for over three decades. From humble origins on the Famicom to worldwide acclaim on the Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem has continually reinvented itself—striking a…
Tactical Nostalgia: How Poké-Emblem Turns Kanto into a Fire Emblem
Welcome to GamingGraduate.com—where pixel nostalgia meets dry academic scrutiny. Today we take a magnifying glass (and perhaps a Master Ball) to one of the most technically ambitious and mechanically curious fan games in recent memory: Poké-Emblem. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like—a full crossover of Fire Emblem and Pokémon, realized through painstaking ROM-hacking alchemy….
Welcome to Gaming Graduate: An Introduction to Our Philosophy and Purpose
~ ~ A Formal Opening Statement for the Curious Player ~ In an era where discourse around games is often compressed into memes, tier lists, or shouty thumbnails promising THE BEST BUILD IN PATCH 1.07.3, Gaming Graduate seeks to reintroduce something far more radical: nuance. Welcome. This site exists because video games, quite frankly, deserve…