Issue 3.5: The Selves We Become

A Psychological and Narrative Survey of Individuation in Video Games

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Game & Word Volume 3, Issue 5: Sunday, June 5, 2022

Game & Word is a Substack Featured Publication, recognized by Substack for quality, consistency, and distinction

• Publisher: Jay Rooney

• Author, Graphics, Research: Jay Rooney

• Logo: Jarnest Media

• Founding Members:

  • Le_Takas, from Luzern, Switzerland (Member since April 14, 2022)

  • Ela F., from San Diego, CA (Member since April 24, 2022)

  • Alexi F., from Chicago, IL (Member since May 13, 2022)

  • Elvira O., from Querétaro, Mexico (Member since May 18, 2022)

• Special Thanks:

  • Our two winners, Claire Carré and Nattend0, for participating in Game & Word’s first book giveaway!

  • Dr. Anthony Bean and Geek Therapeutics for providing the signed books for the giveaway!

  • neobahamut_ff7 for becoming Game & Word’s 500th subscriber!

  • YOU, for reading this issue.

Table of Contents

1. Summary & Housekeeping

2. Feature: “The Selves We Become” (~30-minute read)

3. Food for Talk: Discussion Prompts

4. Further Reading

5. Game & Word-of-Mouth

6. Footnotes

Summary:

Today, we’ll finally face our Shadows properly, undergoing the process of psychological and spiritual growth Jung called “individuation” or “individualization,” as shown in three timeless video games.

Housekeeping

Thank you to everyone who participated in our book giveaway! Last week, we announced our two lucky winners. Here they are, again:

• Subscriber Claire Carré is now the proud owner of a signed copy of The Psychology of Final Fantasy, and

• Subscriber and Twitter follower Nattend0 snagged herself a signed copy of The Psychology of Zelda.

In addition to their signed copies, both winners will also receive 1-year comped subscriptions to Game & Word. Congratulations!

Even if you didn’t receive a signed copy, I’m still grateful to all of you for making this giveaway a success! And you can still purchase a copy for yourself from the folks at Geek Therapeutics:

• The Psychology of Zelda

• The Psychology of Final Fantasy

• The Psychology of Pokémon [PRE-ORDER]

Also, congratulations to neobahamut_ff7 on becoming Game & Word’s lucky 500th subscriber! They will also be comped a 6-month paid subscription for their good fortune.

Previous Issues:

• Volume 1 (The Name of the Game): Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Issue 4

• Volume 2 (Yo Ho Ho, It’s a Gamer’s Life for Me): Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Bonus 1 ● Issue 4 ● Issue 5 ● Issue 6 ● Issue 7 ● Bonus 2 ● Issue 8 ● Bonus 3

• Volume 3 (Game Over Matter): Intro ● Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Podcast 1 ● Issue 4 ● Video Podcast 1 ● Bonus 1

You can also help offset my caffeine costs by chipping in for the price of a cup of joe:

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Feature: The Selves We Become

🚨🚨🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨🚨 

This post contains visual and narrative spoilers for Celeste, EarthBound, and Final Fantasy VII. You've been warned!

⚠️⚠️⚠️ CONTENT WARNING ⚠️⚠️⚠️

This article contains discussions of trauma and dissociation. If these topics upset you, please proceed with caution. Section(s) discussing these topics will be clearly labeled under the subhead.

💡💡💡 POINT OF CLARIFICATION 💡💡💡

For consistency’s sake, this article will refer to MOTHER 2 / EarthBound as simply EarthBound, as we’ll be examining the North American localization and not necessarily the original Japanese script (unless otherwise noted).

This also applies to any character/location names and dialogue that differ between the two releases (ie, “Pokey” instead of “Porky,” or “Evil Mani Mani” instead of “Mani Mani Devil.”)

CONTINUED FROM ISSUE 3.4