Lore & Order: A Gaming Podcast
A weekly podcast about video games and nerd culture, exploring why these subjects matter in our lives. Each episode reflects on how the games we love have shaped our expectations, insecurities, relationships, and identities. The hosts discuss how gaming supports their real-life quest to become the best versions of themselves.
Episodes
Perfect Playthroughs: Are We Optimising the Fun Out of Video Games?
Modern gaming gives us more information than ever before. Build guides, tier lists, walkthroughs, and optimisation tools promise to make us better players - but are they also taking away the experimentation and genuine discovery that made us fall in love with games in the first place?In this weeks episode of Lore & Order, we explore the rise of gaming's optimisation culture. From "best builds"
Digital Tourism: How Video Games Inspire Real-World Curiosity
What if one of gaming's greatest strengths isn't helping us escape the real world - but making us more curious about it?This week on Lore & Order, we're exploring how video games transform us into digital tourists and how they invite us to wander through breathtaking worlds inspired by real history, architecture, myths, cultures and landscapes.Whether you've found yourself wondering if a castl
The Value of Video Games: Price, Ownership & What Games Are Really Worth
Video games have never been more expensive... or have they?This week on Lore & Order, we're asking whether games really are becoming unaffordable - or whether we're measuring value the wrong way entirely.From the looming $130 AAA release of GTA VI, to the incredible cost-per-hour that games offer compared to movies, concerts, escape rooms and other entertainment, we unpack why gaming might act
Backlogged: The Games We’ll Never Play
How many games are sitting in your backlog right now?Ten? Fifty? Maybe hundreds?This week on Lore & Order, we're diving into one of gaming's most relatable problems: the dreaded and ever-growing backlog.So why do we keep buying games we'll probably never have time to play? Why do unfinished games make us feel so guilty? And why does grabbing an incredible bargain often feel just as satisfying
100%: The Completionist's Conundrum
Why does 99% completion somehow feel worse than 80%?Why can one missing collectible become more important than the final boss?And why do so many of us spend dozens of additional hours ticking off side quests, hunting trophies and achievements, and chasing that elusive 100%?In this episode of Lore & Order, we're exploring the psychology behind completionism in games. From tracking collectibles
Home Sweet Home: Why We Love Building in Games
Why do so many of us spend hours decorating houses, planting virtual gardens, and arranging furniture in games that no one else will ever see?This week on Lore & Order, we're exploring one of gaming's most universal habits: creating virtual spaces that feel like home.From building painstakingly elaborate Minecraft bases, curating Animal Crossing islands, and transforming Stardew Valley farms i
Breaking the Rules: The Games We Invent Ourselves
What happens when players stop asking, "How am I supposed to play this game?" and start asking, "How else could I play it?".In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore one of the gaming communities most fascinating quirks: our tendency to ignore the rules we've been given and invent entirely new ones.From Pokémon Nuzlockes, Ironman runs, pacifist playthroughs and speedrunning, some of gaming's
Pocket Worlds: How Gaming Escaped the Lounge Room
When was the last time you played a game outside of your house?On the train. At the airport. During your lunch break. Maybe even during a cheeky work poo.Gaming used to be something we did in a specific place. You sat down in front of a TV, turned on the console, and entered another world. Today, those worlds live inside our pockets.In this episode, we explore how gaming escaped the lounge room an
Post Game Depression: The Strange Sadness of Finishing a Great Game
Have you ever finished an incredible game, and instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, you felt sadness?The music swells. The credits roll. Only to be left with this strange emptiness.You wanted to reach the ending. You spent dozens (sometimes hundreds) of hours building towards it, but when it finally arrived...you almost wish it hadn’t.In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore the cu
A Healthy Distraction: How Games Help Us Cope
When life gets overwhelming, many of us instinctively reach for a controller. Whether it's before a big job interview, during a stressful week, while recovering from an illness, or simply after a rough day, games have a unique ability to quiet the noise and give our minds somewhere else to focus.In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore why games are such powerful tools for coping with stres
The Hero Within: Silent vs Voiced Protagonists
When you play a game, are you supposed to feel like yourself?Or are you supposed to feel like someone else?From silent heroes like Link and Pokémon trainers to iconic voiced characters like Geralt, Lara Croft, Kratos, and Commander Shepard, video games immerse us in very different ways depending on who we're controlling.In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore one of gaming's most fascinati
The Age of Answers: The Death of Mystery in Modern Gaming
Do you remember hearing rumours about secret characters, hidden endings, or Easter eggs in games, and not knowing if they were real?Before guides, datamining, YouTube breakdowns, and social media spoilers, mystery in gaming felt different. Secrets spread through school yards, fringe forums, and word of mouth. If you wanted answers, you had to explore, experiment, and get creative.In this episode o
Nostalgia Therapy: Why We Replay Games
Does hearing an old game soundtrack instantly transport you back in time?Can a loading screen, menu sound, or familiar world make you feel comforted, reminiscent...or even a little sad?In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore the power of nostalgia in gaming. Why certain games stay with us for decades, why revisiting them feels so meaningful, and what those experiences reveal about who we w
From Controller to Compassion: How Games Build Empathy
Can video games actually make us more empathetic?For decades, games - especially violent ones - have been accused of making people more aggressive, isolated, and emotionally disconnected. But what if we’ve been looking at games the wrong way?In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore how video games can become powerful empathy building machines: helping us understand other perspectives, conne
No Problem: How Video Games Make Us Expert Problem-Solvers
What if every game we’ve ever played has been quietly training us to solve real-life problems?In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore how video games shape the way we think. How they teach us to analyse challenges, adapt quickly, and find solutions under pressure.From puzzle solving, strategising, and fast-paced decision-making, games constantly put us in situations where failure isn’t 'Ga
FOMO in Gaming: Playing What Everyone Else is Playing
Have you ever stuck with a game you weren’t enjoying just because everyone else said it was incredible?In this episode of Lore & Order, we unpack the quiet pressure to play what’s popular, and why so many of us push through games that simply aren’t for us.From 'Game of the Year' hype to viral gaming moments, modern gaming is more connected than ever. But that connection comes with a trade-off:
The Long Wait: Modern Game Development and What It's Done to Us
Modern video games are bigger, more detailed, and more ambitious than ever before. But that ambition comes at a cost.In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore how game development has stretched from quick, iterative cycles into decade-long productions - and how that shift has quietly changed our relationship with games.We reflect on growing up in an era where entire trilogies released within
Game Over: Why Failure Feels Better in Games
In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore a strange phenomenon. Why we often struggle with failure in real life, but when it comes to games...we kind of enjoy it?From Dark Souls bosses to repeated deaths in punishing platformers, failure is a constant in gaming, yet we keep coming back for more of it.We break down what makes failure in games feel so different from real life. From fast feedba
Player Two: The Social Power of Couch Gaming
In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore the games we didn’t just play, but shared.From late-night FIFA sessions and Halo co-op chaos, to passing the controller on Crash Bandicoot, couch gaming has always been about more than just winning. It’s about connection.We break down why playing games in the same room hits differently. From what's happening to our brain chemistry, to the shared emot
Paragons and Renegades: Morality in Video Games
What happens when a game gives you the freedom to be evil, and you just can’t do it?In this episode of Lore & Order, we explore morality in video games, and why so many players (ourselves included) struggle to commit to the “evil” playthrough. From obliterating Megaton in Fallout 3 to sabotaging the Genophage in Mass Effect 2, the option is there… so why do we so rarely take it?We dive into th
Wanderlust in Gaming: Chasing Lost Wonder
What is it about video games that makes us feel a sense of wonder?In this first episode of Lore & Order, we explore the idea of wanderlust in gaming. That irresistible pull to explore, discover, and get lost in virtual worlds. From sprawling open-world adventures to quiet, unexpected moments of beauty, games have a unique ability to tap into our natural human curiosity.But as we get older and
Announcement: That's a Wrap on Season 1!
After 21 episodes, we're pressing pause for a very exciting reason!James and his wife are about to welcome their first child into the world, so Lore & Order is taking a short season break while we adjust to life as new parents.We can’t give you a definitive return date for Season 2 yet, but once we’ve got a grasp on what our new normal looks like, we’ll be back and better than ever!In the mean
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