On today’s Space-Cast!, we’re joined by Pako Gradaille to discuss his recent board game Onoda, about the Imperial Japanese officer who continued to wage the Second World War for nearly thirty years on the island of Lubang. Along the way we discuss why Gradaille was drawn to Hiroo Onoda, how board games can express alienation and discomfort, and both the necessity and perils of ambiguity in art.

Listen here or download here. Timestamps can be found after the jump.

TIMESTAMPS

2:04 — introducing Onoda
3:56 — why design a game about Hiroo Onoda?
12:02 — Pako’s wariness about gamifying recent conflicts
14:40 — grappling with discomfort via board games
23:40 — filling in textual omissions
28:59 — the game in mechanical terms
38:22 — coding alienation into gameplay
51:09 — gaming in the age of misinformation
53:40 — Onoda’s conclusion and victory conditions
1:03:35 — the necessity and dangers of ambiguous art

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