Watch Out For Fireballs!

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross drop some science in a survey course about video game hardware. Rounding out our roster of Kickstarter special episodes, this one is a whirlwind tour of the boxes and dinguses that make video games work. Side A is systems and controllers, while Side B is weird accessories. LINKS OF NOTE: Prime and Hardcase, etc: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraverse Family Truckster: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTaTitRENDM AVGN on Old Systems: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl2Wz1qlzco Moraff: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Moraff Sega Channel Mega Man: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MegaMan:TheWilyWars Portopia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThePortopi…rialMurder_Case Smash Hit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtkpLDnMzF8 ASMR: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVpfHgC3ye0 Sega Nights Controller: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PThsbn1bCFU Inside a Gamecube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=exfS2beDP08 Nintendo Thumb: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_thumb Child of Eden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuYWLYjOa_0 Silver and Gold: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2WNs1FAPeA

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your thoughts on Blade Runner. LINKS OF NOTE: Turtles are gross: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCjsWpM9zFU Lorenzo Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=luKppFZvG3U Lego Movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTP9U0oDDKg Todd Redden: www.random.org/acknowledgements/ Ingmar Bergman: www.youtube.com/watch?v=anvRFJFUnRE Active Worlds: www.activeworlds.com/index.html Gateway: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe8aJxUqhh0

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross eye Blade Runner. It would be hard to find a movie that’s had more influence on video games than Blade Runner. So what happens when you make a video game in that world? You get something pretty neat. LINKS OF NOTE: Live Porn Feed: boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoug…fascinating/ Radiant AI: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVAYY5LHhv4 Gemini Rue: www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZp9ToBewA Jeff Garlin: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHJGm5svzsQ Previous Bladerunner Game. Ignore the voice: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLbjNLtoKlo In Time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdadZ_KrZVw Vanishing Twin Syndrome: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICyS5m8bAl8 Way of the Samurai: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW7REHPV_EU Buffalo Soldiers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbcxZM32ZrQ Print Out of Oyster Smiling: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMh284hg_fE Deadwood: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-M6fYsCak Newhart: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycNfdLhC4…L2AF155372EFE8DA0 Ham’b: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htQAxTNF0g Apt Pupil: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apt_Pupil The Last G

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Bob Mackey read your response to Deadly Premonition, and then talk about noisy fish. LINKS OF NOTE: Big Mouth Billy Bass: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WC6EbRQmJ0 Let’s Play Deadly Premonition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFpYKx9m3…L845B60D60A411471

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Bob Mackey ask Zach whether or not Deadly Premonition is worth playing (it is). Continuing the WOLF (Watch Out for Lens Flare!) Initiative, we address the quirkiest survival horror game of the past decade. Francis York Morgan is an FBI agent who specializes in investigating the murders of young women. Oh, and red seeds. It gets much weirder from there. LINKS OF NOTE: Operation Wolf: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFgs0ToSpMk Destructoid Review: www.destructoid.com/review-deadly-p…on-165168.phtml Spy Fiction: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKOCCswiknw 1UP Review: www.1up.com/reviews/deadly-premonition-review Guiness Book of World Records: Gamer’s Edition: www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gamers/index Video Games Hot Dog: videogameshotdog.com/ I Prefer Twins: video.adultswim.com/tim-and-eric-aw…boys-twins.html Styx: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6iKe73N3JM Gay Villains: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFyo9b4_6iY

EXTRASODE Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brad Carey read your effusive praise for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. LINKS OF NOTE: The Odd Life of Timothy Green: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG0iWQgeRao Tokyo! www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BX3RyE68Xk Michelle Gondry Box: www.theonion.com/articles/michel-…w-cardboar,2445/ Baby From Nevermind: blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2011/09/26…d-baby/#1172101=0 THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: Latchkey Kingdom: latchkeykingdom.com/

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brad Carey tell you what you already know about The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. What’s left to say about A Link to the Past? Seriously, this is the Zelda that you know and love… and the Zelda that got you to love Zelda. We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to Brad for being a generous Kickstarter backer and an awesome guest. LINKS OF NOTE: Ghost of Misery Mire: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpWa_-LAV70 Link Between Worlds: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_auhDR8VjU Turtle Treasures: www.somethingawful.com/news/hidden-gems-weekend/ Satellaview Zelda: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPck5S5qZqs Dorf: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd1P7gXcGT0 Also Dorff: www.youtube.com/watch?v=taqnAzd1fyg Puck: berserk.wikia.com/wiki/Puck Eatin’ Bird: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortolan_Bunting Ice T Paul F Tompkins Thing. Starts around 4 minutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYVQUQo0Lds THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: Latchkey Kingdom: latchkeykingdom.com/

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brayton Cameron read your thoughts on Master of Orion II, then we goof around a little. LINKS OF NOTE: American McGee: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_-3T1Tljw Mr. Limpet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sItfoiWpnb8 DJ Hero: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Q8r4-VM_Y Tech Deck: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp1VRRZGYi0 Repo Men: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl9Nvg4yuus Moo and Oink: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz8fTbLjo9c My Cat From Hell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNXBQWYd5w4

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brayton Cameron explore, expand, expound, and express their love of Master of Orion II: The Battle at Antares. Continuing our Winter of Strategy, we now turn our attention to the 4X genre by tackling the king of the genre. Brayton requested MoO2 for the show, and it quickly became clear why. Despite the fact that it came out 18 years ago, it’s completely and utterly engrossing and its systems hold up to this day. Thanks, Brayton. LINKS OF NOTE: Cool World: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q32xMkroUwE Cosmo Quizzes: www.cosmopolitan.com/quizzes-games/ Let’s Learn MoO2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4rFkoZXlv8 MoO3: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSHSHX8LItk Battlefield Earth: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUzrSAGJW6k Neptune’s Pride: np.ironhelmet.com/ Twilight Imperium: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12493/…um-third-edition Anal-Log: The Science Friction Magazine: duckfeed.tv/pitch/34 Endless Space: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OINRKhAF3I Crystalline Entity: en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Crystalline_Entity Moo2 Lea

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your thoughts on both Star Fox and Pokemon Snap. LINKS OF NOTE: Stella: www.stellacomedy.com/ Keepin’ The Beat! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi4iGjiYgD8 Song of the Year: www.rhcp2014.com/ Rockband Lawsuit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GuitarHero…the_80s#Lawsuit Gripitandripit: jondalyisjohndaly.com/ Thunderbirds: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDX5Mlz46Vg Starfox Cover: ocremix.org/files/images/games/…-front-jp-33340.jpg Lifeline: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uYQr2NK7go

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross offer some pointed praise for Star Fox and Pokémon Snap. In another one of our split EP episdes, we explore a foundational on-rails shooter, and an experimental on-rails shooter. Star Fox for the SNES will alway stick out in people’s minds as the game that introduced them to the term “polygons”. Pokémon Snap will always stick out in people’s minds as that really short game about making Pikachu surf. Let’s explore those preconceptions together, why don’t we? LINKS OF NOTE: RIP PSH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqUG9BSXgkE Millenium-Falcon: rview.reviewcentre.com/wp-content/up…um-falcon.gif Maus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus I’m a Loser: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxg0JnQX8U I’m Looking Through You: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KulSQjjQVPE HR Puffinstuff: www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Z8gMyI0F4 Space Harrier: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgrb-mjLaM Rez: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-UKCFT4tn4 Child of Eden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqpHp55032E 2600 Starfox: TURN UP DEM SPEAKERS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Fh

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross are joined by Levi, Nick, Ben, and Courtney for a very special live play session of Dungeons & Dragons. We've been talking about it for a while, and here it finally is. Thanks to your Kickstarter donations, it was possible for us to record a live play session of Pathfinder, a Dungeons & Dragons style tabletop roleplaying game. The audio quality on this will sound a little different than our usual episodes, and it's not as thoroughly edited, but we wanted to give you the full experience of the play session.

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross put pen to paper (in an audio sense) to talk about Dungeons & Dragons and its legacy in this very special episode. If you’ve ever played a game where a number was assigned to a character, you have D&D to thank for that. This is a very special episode made possible by our wonderful Kickstarter backers. For the first half, we talk about the history of Dungeons and Dragons. In the second half, we talk about D&D’s impact on video games, and take a brief tour of games based on it. LINKS OF NOTE: Nerd Poker: www.earwolf.com/show/nerd-poker/ Stan Lee vs Jack Kirby: www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/…theusual.html Mazes and Monsters: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkb5v62U7EI DnD Controversy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jvj9pesMQ SaveSurge: savesurge.org/ Dumb book that started all this nonsense: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheDungeonMaster Dark Dungeons: www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.ASP Dead Alewives DnD Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vChEPj0dXXk Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kgx2b1s

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brian read your thoughts on Heroes of Might and Magic III. LINKS OF NOTE: Mazes and Monsters: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6AOd6r6Qi8 Murphy Brown: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRKJLoTjIw Rekall: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJEllFk3Hqw That D and D book I was talking about: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30Yearsof…eons%26Dragons The Forge: www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes3ab/…town.shtml Zoo: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzaD97OslAs The Original Mr. Hands: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigby_(Greyhawk)

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Brian skirmish with Heroes of Might and Magic III. PC strategy games have been something of a blind spot for us, but Heroes III is the perfect entry point. People really love this game, and we can tell why. The different Town types make up for the kind of nonsense story (which I will not outline here). Special thanks to our guest, Kickstarter backer Brian, for offering his insight on the game. LINKS OF NOTE: Conan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc Genesis Might and Magic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tZhMOa4ocU 1st of Tha Month: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j_cOsgRY7w Ghost Pepper: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gsTxx2SuVk Shitty Beatles: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIpeW581rE Heaven Better Save Some Tears: www.avclub.com/review/mr-show-wi…e-natures-o-45034 Castle Greyskull: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNojdoyAR4g In the Wake of Gods: mightandmagic.wikia.com/wiki/Heroeso…WakeofGods Clash of Heroes: Might and Magic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-JWBMifhXk

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your thoughts on Dishonored. LINKS OF NOTE: Sex Type Thing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxXf7yFH7q4 Credits Song from Dishonored: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyTCtbYNzRg Biblical Leviathan: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross hunch over and gruffle a can of Dishonored. Games aren’t very good at depicting nuanced ethics. Is it better to kill someone for revenge, or sentence them to a lifelong fate worse than death? That’s what we go through with Corvo, the disgraced royal bodyguard who has been framed for the Empress’s murder. Spoiler: we really love this game. This is part of our series on new games called Watch Out for Lens Flare! LINKS OF NOTE: Star Trek 4: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqiDu1BQXY Mike Mignola: www.artofmikemignola.com/ Xanth: www.avclub.com/article/revisitin…y-of-xanth-104382 Exquisite Corpse: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse Exquisite Dead Guy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKGjK8bMkzg The Sorrow: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbxbP9FPEBQ Kiss from a Rose: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ateQQc-AgEM Ben: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTKNahASSDI Brad Dourif: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMAl2fCYgCQ Milkman Conspiracy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptC4iD_n8vA Switching Drinks: www.youtube.com/results?search_qu…ttle

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Snatcher. LINKS OF NOTE: Badger: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eVez_EpeuM Chrimbus: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V399tenKALA

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross talk about, look at, and investigate Snatcher. Can you trust your eyes? Will all of these moments be lost like tears in rain? How far can you stretch the line between homage and plagiarism before it straight up snaps? Gillian Seed and his plucky little robot buddy Metal Gear are on the streets of New Kobe, seeking out humanoid robots that are killing VIPs and taking over all of society. Time to die. LINKS OF NOTE: Blue Velvet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWr4JvAWF20 Menocu: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mj26QFW6JA Snatcher SD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Bb34ZoI7s Olestra: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eea3ODWuYCE Gene Parmesan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxdx6_LYys Adam Savage Blade Runner Gun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DUULvPJTgk To Catch a Predator: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9M_RjIJcM8 Pogrom: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom Breakfast Club: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1I4q6lOpo Blade Runner Curse: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BladeRunne…adeRunner_curse Jungle Love: www.dailymotion.com/video/x107chpm…ngle-lov

Gary and Kole are joined by Chris Avellone to talk about the creation of Fallout 2. We also read your letters about the game.