If you enjoyed our episode on 'Heaven Will Be Mine'—a game in which space is characterized as both playground and battlefield for its young cast—then we strongly recommend you read Asterisk Magazines' recent interview of Jon Peterson in which he traces the evolution of wargaming throughout history.

Next episode: We'll be covering Zhang Jing's manhua, Yin Shan Meng Tan (or: Dream Talking in the Hidden Mountain) (2017-2020).

"if marathon offers anything to say about the human condition, i don't think it's to be found in the cutthroat attitude players adopt with one another ... yet i feel like i've grown to understand people more by playing it." @goosepimple.moe on Marathon, up now bulletpointsmonthly.com/2026/05/20/w...

If you've enjoyed our coverage of Signalis, we strongly recommend that you check out Grace's article, 'Older Than Empires, As Deep As Death':

"The Runner is from an empire, of a kind, but of no nation in particular. Home is nowhere." @gracemachine.bsky.social on Marathon, up now. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2026/05/13/o...

The outline of a corpse, a rotting city, a truth hidden below the earth, a crime that keeps happening. Join me in exploring Yuji Horii's metaphysical, purgatorial masterpiece, The Portopia Serial Murders! www.tsundokudiving.com/talking-game...

LEADER. GOD. MOTHER. On this holy day, we worship at the feet of Mother Falke, Protektor Commander of S-23 Sierpinski Facility. We thank her for all she has done for us, the sacrifices she has made, and most of all, we thank her for stepping on us.

www.stopcar.ing/post-punk-sy... New Stop Caring essay, from yours truly. On violence in video games and real-life, the conditions and limits of sympathy, and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

In our second (and final!) Signalis episode, we discuss Adler who has plagued—and charmed—us since pushing poor Elster down the elevator shaft. Best read as a foil to Elster, he is both perpetrator and victim—his fate decided by compulsory heterosexual desire and Ariane's fading dream.

NEW HOT DARK: RESIDENT EVIL 9: REQUIEM deep-hell.com/itchy-4-tasty

Worm Girl - who you might know for her deep dives on the Fear & Hunger games - picks apart every last fragment of Signalis, which is still one of the best survival horror games of all time. Y'all should follow her at the very least.

Attention Elsewhere Ep. 4: 'The Genre is Empire':

Attention Elsewhere Ep. 3: 'Would James Sunderland Approve?':

Please direct your attention towards Ep 4: The Genre is Empire, in which we center Signalis—a 2022 survival horror game developed by rose-engine—and discuss incest, the Rule of 6, and Adler. Part 2 of 2! Check the Linktree in our bio for other platforms!

I have no explanation for this one. You just have to feel it

In Ep. 3 we examine, not just Signalis' artistic influences, but its historical influences too: Its world draws aesthetic inspiration from both Nazi Germany and the Soviet-controlled GDR, while its narrative and themes subvert or directly refute their fascistic ideology, rhetoric, and actions.

We're almost ready to release the second (and final) part of our discussion on Signalis, so get caught up by listening to the first part here:

In the first of our two episodes on Signalis, we discuss how, by featuring subtle and prominent references to—and direct use of—many famous paintings, novels, shows, films, and other games, Signalis' form comes to mirror that of the narrative with the blending and blurring of lines between subjects.

Please direct your attention towards Ep 3: Would James Sunderland Approve?, in which we center Signalis—a 2022 survival horror game developed by rose-engine—and discuss the GDR, collages, and mac and cheese. Part 1 of 2! Check the Linktree in our bio for other platforms!

It's *always* a good time to (re)play Signalis, and with our next episode (and a delightful, if very spoilery, discussion) on the horizon, you've really got no excuse to keep putting it off. So ignore your backlog; play Signalis; and come listen to the podcast once you're done!

In preparation for our next episode on Signalis, we are reading Robert W. Chambers' 'The King in Yellow.' While we won't be discussing it in-depth, it's far from a throwaway easter egg. Rather, it serves to expand and complicate both world and narrative of the game.

While you wait for the next episode of Attention Elsewhere, consider giving our backlog a listen. We've got two great episodes, including our debut in which we covered the visual novel, 'Heaven Will Be Mine,' by Pillow Fight and Worst Girls Games.

Attention dear listeners: We now have a Patreon!

ACHTUNG! We're not quite ready to release it, but in our next episode we will explore the corrupted depths of Sierpinski S-23 and twisted, fragmentary memories of its many denizens in rose-engine's 2022 survival horror, Signalis.

Whether or not you've had the pleasure of reading Oromay, you should definitely go listen to this episode! It's got it all: From in-depth analysis of some of the book's most difficult themes to a thoughtful discussion about what it means to be a journalist reporting on a tyrannical regime.

The Eye of Attention Elsewhere is always searching for more yuri...

For as much as it is a critique of the Derg, Oromay is also an excellent political thriller with plenty of intrigue, iconic characters, and evocative prose. And if that doesn't convince you, just listen to Alasdair's near-10 minute summary, complete with its own mini history!

Please direct your attention to Ep. 2: Fiammetta the Fly, in which we spotlight Oromay—a 1983 novel written by Baalu Girma and translated in 2025 by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu—and discuss propaganda in journalism, women and revolution, and spiders. Check the Linktree for more platforms!

Huge shoutout to @davidwrites1.bsky.social for getting in touch; answering a bunch of our questions; and providing us with additional resources to better understand both the novel and the history that it draws upon!

Please direct your attention to Ep. 2: Fiammetta the Fly, in which we spotlight Oromay—a 1983 novel written by Baalu Girma and translated in 2025 by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu—and discuss propaganda in journalism, women and revolution, and spiders. Check the Linktree for more platforms!

Get hyped! Get sad... Get ready: In a little less than twenty-fours hours, you'll be able to listen to the second episode of Attention Elsewhere: "Fiammetta the Fly."

Many reviews of Oromay have taken issue with its depiction of women, but for those who agree with these reviews, our analysis might come as a surprise. It certainly surprised us.

In our upcoming episode, we test the blurry boundaries between journalism and espionage, news and propaganda, spokesperson and puppet - and how now, more than ever, we may need Oromay's insights to help us navigate our own political waters, muddied by news media, puppets, and propaganda alike.

Baalu Girma’s 1982 novel “Oromay” spilled the secrets of Ethiopia’s military dictatorship—and cost the author his life. @michaelbarron.bsky.social reviews the long overdue English reissue.

In our research for episode 2, we came across several informative reviews of the English translation of Oromay, including this one by Aida Edemariam:

We appreciate everyone who's been kind enough to give us a listen so far, and we'd love it if you would share this with anyone else who might enjoy it! Thanks!

Welcome to Attention Elsewhere! We are your hosts: Alasdair & Eli, and in each episode, we'll draw upon our own interests and research to discuss and spotlight overlooked, underappreciated, and/or up-and-coming entertainment media. No medium is off limits. And everything is worth our attention.

In the next episode of Attention Elsewhere, we'll be covering Baalu Girma's "Oromay" (1983), which follows journalist and minister of propaganda, Tsegaye Hailemaryam, and his role in, and eventual disillusionment from, the Derg's 'Red Star Campaign' (better known now as the Red Terror) in Eritrea.

Heaven Will Be Mine's setting and core conceit (that of the relationships that form between pilots as they operate their ship-selves in the vastness of space) draw, pretty explicitly, from elements of the mecha genre. But what's most fascinating, perhaps, is it's interpretation of the "Newtype."

I (Alasdair) had intended to play "We Know the Devil" (also by Worst Girl Games) before we recorded Ep. 1. But having finished it now, I can safely say it makes a great companion piece to "Heaven Will Be Mine": store.steampowered.com/app/435300/W...

As preparation for Ep. 1, we read, watched, and listened to a wealth of critique, analysis, and fan theory of Heaven Will Be Mine, including Niamh Timmons' fantastic essay, "Gravity = Culture: Trans Liberatory Potentials and Limitations in [HWBM]": gamestudies.org/2404/article...

Check out our debut episode! We're diving right in with a discussion on New Age spirituality, Cold War tensions, and ongoing imperial projects as they relate to the visual novel Heaven Will Be Mine. If you're a speculative fiction fan (a la Gundam, Star Trek, etc.), this one's for you!

Please direct your attention towards Ep 1: Baby's (Second) Visual Novel, in which we center Heaven Will Be Mine—a 2018 visual novel developed by Worst Girl Games—and discuss the Cold War, genocide, and furries. Find us elsewhere on our Linktree pinned at the top! open.spotify.com/episode/7DVN...