Chulip - Session 1

Tonight at 7pm ET on the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel, we bring you the *ahem* harrowing climax of Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman, followed by the beginning of Chulip! Weirdness abounds tonight on Throne of Games.

To join our live chat, you can either point your browser here, or point your preferred IRC client here.

Chulip

I'm an underworld resident, Michio Suzuki. This is Local Apartment Unit 103.

Anyway, that is not important now. Your love letter is the problem. It was not good. Not at all. Why not? You don't know? It doesn't have your heart in it. You can't write a good love letter like that. If you can write a good love letter...you can kiss her under the legendary tree on the hill.

However, even if you try to write a letter with your heart, your heart is immature and weak. Before you profess your love to her, you need experience. Kiss others to strengthen your heart.

Let's begin your lessons.


Chulip may be the strangest game I've enjoyed. The short-version premise: a kissing RPG. No, it's not a dating sim, nor is it anything like Thousand Arms.

Our hero has met the girl of his dreams, but he must become a skilled kisser before he can win her heart. How does he do this? By kissing everyone else in town...and somehow solving their myriad problems in the process.

Yes, it's as weird as it sounds. But that's precisely why I thought it would be entertaining to play here on Throne of Games. Join Daniel, John, Melissa, Mitch and myself beginning at 7pm ET on Saturday, December 22nd for this bizarre adventure!

Alan Wake - Session 5

Throne of Games continues playing Alan Wake tonight at 7pm ET! Possibly conclusion...or possibly cliffhanger.

Last episode, Alan had just found the Lady of the Light at the old, abandoned power plant, and helped her by cutting the power to the transformer yard so they could travel safely to the Well-Lit Room. What awaits our hero there? Tune in and find out!

As ever, we're streaming on the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel. If you want to chat live with us, point your browser here, or your IRC client here.

Derp Week!

Okay, so the game we'd planned to begin this week didn't quite pan out...that's okay! We have other options! But we didn't want to just pick one of them at the last minute, and get stuck for who-knows-how-long on something that didn't turn out quite the way we'd hoped. So, this week will be a one-off.

Tonight, four of us will be attempting to tackle The Bouncer, a Squaresoft beat-'em-up from 2000. The game's short-ish, and supports multiple players, so I figured it'd be a good way to bring us all in for an episode.

So, The Bouncer was having severe sound issues. ("Boopy-ass game," to borrow a phrase.) So instead, barring further difficulties, we will be playing Rising Zan, a pulpy and melodramatic proto-Devil May Cry set in a strange cross between the Wild West and Feudal Japan. This game is wonderfully terrible; I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

New to the team this week are Mitch and Courtney! Give 'em a warm welcome.

As always, we begin at 7pm ET, and you can watch us live on the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel. If you want to join the live chat, either use the chat on this page, or point your preferred IRC client here.

Alan Wake - Session 4

Tonight, we continue Alan Wake on Throne of Games! Tune in to the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel at 7pm ET and check it out!

When we left our hero, Alan had escaped from the darkness-plagued sanitarium with the help of Barry, and was making his way through the woods to the farm. What will he find there...?

To join the live chat, take your IRC client here, or point your browser here.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Session 3

Tonight at 7pm ET begins what is likely to be our final session of Amnesia: The Dark Descent! Tune in to the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel to see the riveting, horrifying conclusion!

The quick recap: last session, we encountered the only friendly face we've seen so far, and what an ugly face he was. Agrippa, chained husk of a man that he is, has proved quite helpful so far, pointing us toward the fragments of the shattered orb, which we will need to repair if we wish to oppose Alexander and survive. When we left off, we had recovered half the orb; the other half remains to be collected.

To join in the chat, pop this link open in your IRC client, or this link in your browser.

---

If you've been following us, you may have noticed the absence of last week's Alan Wake video. Don't worry, it didn't hit copyright issues again; I've just been trying to figure out a new way of recording and uploading them. When I tell XSplit to record locally, it saves a single video file for the entire episode's duration; I go to upload that file, YouTube won't render it higher than 480p, even though I'm recording at 720p. However, if I download the videos from Twitch, they're broken up into smaller chunks, but YouTube will display those at 720p just fine, although they look muddier than the file I recorded locally. This is kinda frustrating, and I hope to get it figured out sooner rather than later. If anybody has any ideas as to why this may be happening, please let me know.

Alan Wake - Session 3

Alan Wake continues tonight at 7pm ET on the RadioPSI TwitchTV channel.

A brief refresher, since it's been a while since our last session: Alan attempted to rendezvous with his wife's kidnapper at the Bright Falls coal mine at night, but he never showed. The next morning, the kidnapper called, directing Alan to meet him somewhere else. Alan was in the middle of his escape from the mine compound when we left off.

If you want to join in the discussion live, join our IRC channel on Thinstack! If you have your own IRC client, click here; if not, the browser-based chat can be found here.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Session 2 now on YouTube

So, my weekend (and the rest of the week following) have been so busy, I completely forgot to archive the videos from Twitch and post them to YouTube. I have now fixed that! If you missed our second night of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, sorry your gratification isn't quite so instant this time around, but it is now available.

Things progressed smoothly and disturbingly in the game. Outside of the game, however, we had a bit of a mishap...right about the two-hour mark — where the video segments break — my microphone mount decided to topple over, taking a chunk of my desk with it. So, the first some-odd minutes of the second segment are spent trying to repair this.

Also, it seems my fix the previous show for the webcam's autofocus issues didn't stick this week, and I didn't realize it until too late. I'll make a note of that and make sure it's set up correctly before the show in the future.

Saturday, we continue with Alan Wake. Amnesia returns — and possibly concludes! — on the 17th.

Part 1
Part 2

Amnesia playlist

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Session 2

We're back! Did you miss us?

October's over, but...well, we didn't finish any of our October games. So who cares that Halloween is in the past? There's more scary stuff coming up on Throne of Games.

Tonight at 7pm ET, we continue Amnesia: The Dark Descent. As before — and even more strongly now — this game comes with a MATURE CONTENT WARNING. Things will soon be going from spooky and startling to downright disturbing, as I understand it. Not for the faint of heart. (But if you work out and eat garlic, you should be fine.)

As usual, we won't be watching the Twitch chat; if you want to join the discussion live, and you have an IRC client, click here. If you don't have an IRC client, click here instead.

Alan Wake - Session 2 now on YouTube

YouTube didn't pull this session down! Hooray!

We opened with a short skit this week; it was fun, so if we get any more ideas, we'll probably do another one sometime. In the game, we took it from the trail to Lover's Peak to the departure from the coal mine.

Throne of Games will be taking a week off the 27th, but we'll be back on November 3rd with more Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Alan Wake will continue on the 10th.

Part 1
Part 2

Alan Wake playlist

Alan Wake - Session 2

The second part of our Alan Wake playthrough begins tonight at 7pm ET on the RadioPSI TwitchTV channel!

When last we left our intrepid hero, Alan was climbing Lover's Peak to rendezvous (in an entirely unromantic way) with his wife's kidnapper, being harried, of course, by creatures of darkness all the way. What will Alan find at the end of the trail? Will Alice be alright? Tune in to find out!

Remember, we won't be watching the Twitch chat; if you want to join the discussion live, and you have an IRC client, click here. If you don't have an IRC client, click here instead.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Session 1 now on YouTube

Our first encounter with Amnesia: The Dark Descent is now on YouTube! If you missed it live, go watch it now!

So, John made it much further than I did when I attempted to play this game before. In my defense, I was playing alone, in the dark, wearing headphones, so my circumstances were much more conducive to freaking right out. Still, though, it's pretty intense, even just for enjoying it vicariously.

Unfortunately, due to video compression issues, some of the darker areas look really murky in the video. I'll see if I can do anything to improve that before next week. But hey, it's horror — not seeing clearly almost makes it better!

Next Saturday, we're back with more Alan Wake. We'll be taking off the 27th; I'll be consulting with my cohosts to determine how best to tackle the November schedule. We'll probably return to Amnesia for the 3rd, but might end up doing Alan Wake again.

Part 1
Part 2

Amnesia: The Dark Descent playlist

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Session 1

Tonight at 7pm ET, John begins his blind run of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Get ready to get scared, or to laugh at us getting scared, cuz only one of us has any idea what's coming (and it's not the guy at the helm).

Amnesia is accompanied by a CONTENT WARNING — and I don't mean the fun, cussin-n-boobs kinda content warning, either. This game builds its atmosphere with some seriously disturbing visuals and concepts. If you are squeamish or nightmare-prone, you're probably not going to want to watch this game.

(This session, though, we probably won't get to anything particularly disturbing, but better to give the warning in advance, I think.)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Don't be afraid Daniel. I can't tell you why, but know this, I choose to forget. Try to find comfort and strength in that fact. There is a purpose. You are my final effort to put things right.

With no recollection of anything that came before, the player character awakes in castle that has seen better days. Piecing together what he can from his surroundings, he soon learns his forgotten goal, and gradually realizes how horrible his situation is.

Now, personally, I'm a total scaredy-cat. I sat down with the game just long enough to figure out the basics of what was going on so I could do this write-up. Tried to play further, but only succeeded in freaking myself right out. So I'm just going to enjoy this game vicariously through John, who will be our player for this October special series, and who will be going into this completely blind.

Don't miss seeing your hosts be utterly terrified by Amnesia: The Dark Descent, beginning October 13th at 7pm ET.

(For those not familiar with the game or its reputation, this comes with a strong CONTENT WARNING. There's some legitimately disturbing stuff in this game, but it's used to build a very scary atmosphere, and is part of what makes this game so utterly terrifying.)

Alan Wake: Session 1 having issues with YouTube

Well, this is problematic...YouTube is muting my video of Alan Wake because it detects that it contains copyrighted material — that is, its own soundtrack. This is beyond frustrating.

I've found other Let's Players have that music in their videos; do LPs fall into their own realm of fair use? Or did those people just suck it up and pay those licenses? I'm gonna have to research this...

Since it's not really watchable in its current state, I'm not gonna link it yet. Hopefully, this can get resolved in a relatively simple and timely manner.

[UPDATE] Okay, so while YouTube did catch the game's score in there, it was the game's licensed music that was the problem (namely, Roy Orbison's "In Dreams"). I don't want to just clip that part entirely out of the video, as I'd like to preserve the discussion during that time, but unfortunately, the audio is flattened, so there's no easy way to separate it out.

For this (and for this show in general), I really ought to acquaint myself with video editing more closely.

Alan Wake: Session 1

Our first October horror series, and our first episode at our new home, Alan Wake begins tonight at 7pm ET!

Remember, our TwitchTV channel has changed — the new link is in the upper right, where the old one was — so update your bookmarks/subscriptions. Additionally, we won't be using the built-in Twitch chat anymore, so instead, join us here (or here if you don't have an IRC client). It's a lot more stable and easier for us to keep track of.

Alan Wake

And when he swore to bring back his love
By the stories he'd create
Nightmares shifted endlessly
In the darkness of the lake

Alan Wake has a problem. After finishing his most recent book, the best-selling author has taken a vacation with his wife in the town of Bright Falls. Now she's missing, the only clues to her disappearance the mysterious pages of a thriller he doesn't remember writing. Something is rising from the shadows of Bright Falls, a presence that's stalking Alan Wake and will stop at nothing to drag him into the night.

Billed as a "psychological action thriller," Alan Wake draws inspiration from ghost stories and mystery shows like Twin Peaks, creating a world stuck between the mundane and the insane where nothing is what it seems, and there's a reason to be afraid of the dark.

Join Mark, Daniel, Brendan and Mabry for Alan Wake alternating Saturday nights from 6 pm to 9 pm starting October 6th.

In darkness, fight with light.

The Future of Throne of Games

So, like I said last week, there's no show this week. However, there is some pretty big news, and changes are a-comin'.

Starting next week, Throne of Games is joining my other broadcast media home, Starmen.Net's Radio PSI. What does this mean for us?

• We'll be starting an hour earlier (6pm CT)
• We'll run for a set three hours
• We'll be on the Radio PSI TwitchTV channel

Additionally, we won't be using Twitch's built-in chat pane — that thing kinda sucks. Instead, we'll be in the channel #radiopsi on irc.thinstack.net. If you don't have an IRC client, you can use Thinstack's browser-based client here.

Watch for the intro posts for our next two games, and we'll return next week!

Freelancer: Session 6 now on YouTube

So, earlier in the week, John had told me I still had a good chunk of Freelancer left to go. So color me surprised when my initial instincts were correct, and that was, in fact, the final battle of the campaign story. The game was beaten within the first half-hour of the show...though I didn't realize it until a bit later.

As a result, this session is, once again, a whole lot of flying around, not really accomplishing much. Though, at the end of the session, I did go and seek one of the game's wreckages, the Flint — so if you dig secret/hidden things in games, well, this is a secret/hidden thing.

Next week, we're taking a break, but look for us to return on October 6th for some special Halloween spooky-time programming! That week, Brendan and Mabry will be joining for Alan Wake (which will give me more time to get Overseer working). The following week, John will begin his run of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

So please join us in October, and in the meantime, if you missed it live, please enjoy the ending of Freelancer.

Part 1
Part 2

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 6

I mentioned the possibility of it last week, and we are, indeed, continuing with Freelancer again this week. John tells me we might not be quite so near the end as I'd thought, but with some luck, we might be able to finish it this week. (I hope so, at least; it'd make scheduling so much easier.)

As always, we begin the game at 7:00pm CT. I'm thinking I'll reduce the duration of the pregame, too — I mean, there's rarely any benefit to starting a whole 15 minutes early. So look for us to begin streaming around 6:55pm or so.

Freelancer: Session 5 now on YouTube

Due to flying solo and going in tired (not to mention just not being that good at the game in the first place), I decided to call it a little early tonight. Made it as far as the Nomads' Dyson sphere, but couldn't push any further than that. I'll leave that for John on our next session. In the meantime, this session is now on YouTube in two parts.

I know I announced in the stream that Freelancer would continue in two weeks, like it usually does, but given that I've got other stuff going on the 29th, and I still haven't gotten Overseer working quite right, I think I might do Freelancer two weeks in a row again, so we can clear that game and get everybody to a fresh start for October.

As I think has been mentioned previously, John is going to be playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which he has never played before; should prove entertaining. For the other week, I'm thinking I might bring out Alan Wake. It was in the queue anyway, would be great for Halloween, and gives me more time to find a solution for playing Overseer on here.

Part 1
Part 2

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 5

Saturday rolls around again, meaning it's time for another episode of Throne of Games! We return to Freelancer this week, picking up at a rather intense moment, as we pursue the escaping noble who has the artifact we need.

John has warned me he'll be a little late this week; hopefully, that doesn't mean the first hour or so of the show will be me dying a lot.

As usual, the pregame begins at 6:45pm CT, with the game beginning at 7:00.

Overseer Failure

Most disappointingly, Tex Murphy: Overseer froze every couple minutes as I was playing, preventing me from getting any appreciable measure of the game played. I fear if some solution is not found, I may have to pass on playing this game on here. That would not make me happy.

But, for the sake of posterity -- mostly to record our introduction of the drinking game, as well as the creation of Brendan's concoction, and our quick playthrough of VVVVVV to fill the time -- the episode is now on YouTube in three parts.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Tex Murphy Drinking Game

We're playing this tonight! Here's the rules so you can play along at home:

1. When Tex drinks, you drink.
2. When an item is used in an improbable way, you drink.
3. When the game of chess is referenced, you drink.
4. When the future is surprisingly similar to the 1990's, you drink.
5. When Tex is an idiot with women, you drink.
6. When Tex is knocked out, you finish your drink and pour a new one.

Happy drinking!

Tex Murphy: Overseer: Session 1

Hey, I've been going nonstop since about 6 this morning, and only now have I had the chance to post this reminder!

We start Tex Murphy: Overseer at 7pm -- that's a little less than an hour away -- with a preshow at 6:45pm. And, for once, there will be significant things happening in the preshow, so tune in early and don't miss a thing!

Tex Murphy: Overseer

My father, Carl Linsky, died a week ago. The police think it's suicide; I believe they're wrong. My father wasn't suicidal, and I'll pay you to prove it.

A scant few days after the events of The Pandora Directive, Tex Murphy has another hot date with the girl of his dreams, Chelsee Bando. But before things get too serious, Chelsee has some questions for Tex, leading him to recount — and the player to relive — his first big case, and his introduction to his ex-wife, Sylvia.

Half-sequel, half-remake, the meat of the story retells the events of Mean Streets, hitting all the high points, though some of the details have changed — Det. Steve Clements becoming Det. Eve Clements, for example. With a less-campy feel and a much tighter script (not to mention removing the horrible transportation and the frustrating action sequences), Overseer is a better remake than most games, or even movies, get.

Join Mark, Daniel, Brendan and Mabry for Tex Murphy: Overseer, alternating Saturday nights at 7pm CT, beginning September 8th.

Freelancer: Session 4 now on YouTube

Continuing the trend of forgetting things yesterday, I forgot to put the show up on YouTube last night after we finished. Go me! But now it's there; links are at the bottom of the post.

I know last time, I said I'd do some grinding for money between then and now so I could avoid taking the entire episode flying about accomplishing not a whole lot. Unfortunately, I was not able to do that. But! We've found a solution. John, who's played this game many times before, took over piloting during jobbing, and got it done much more quickly than I did. I took back over for story missions — save for the one I when I was eating. I think this setup will work pretty well, though! Expect to see John at the helm more next time.

Next week, we begin Tex Murphy: Overseer. Freelancer continues September 15th.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 4

Augh, I forgot to post in time! The preshow's already started, game will be starting in a little over five minutes over on our TwitchTV channel!

The Pandora Directive: Session 7 now on YouTube

If you missed it live last night, our Pandora Directive finale is now on YouTube!

While the storms thankfully didn't knock out our internet while we were on last night, they did knock it out during my upload. So I just said, "Screw it," and went to bed, which is why you're not getting this until today.

On September 8th, we'll be starting a new game -- Tex Murphy: Overseer. Next week, we're back to Freelancer.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Pandora Directive playlist

The Pandora Directive: Session 7

Nearly forgot to make this post! The Pandora Directive continues at 7pm CT, with pregame starting 15 minutes before! Catch it all live on our TwitchTV channel!

Freelancer: Session 3 now on YouTube

We actually had a decent turnout this week, but if you're one of the people who didn't catch us live, now's your chance to catch up!

This session, we only completed one story mission; if you're uninterested in our chatter and only want to see the story stuff, skip straight to part 2. I'm gonna try in future to get all the jobbing and money-making taken care of between sessions so I can spend more time on story during the show. Also, our internet died for a couple minutes at one point, resulting in the break between parts 2 and 3. Fortunately, nothing vital was missed in that brief hiccup.

In addition to our usual hosts, Melissa joined us! You may have seen her in the chat pane in the past as RowynnGreyy.

Next week, we're back to Good Guy Tex in The Pandora Directive. Freelancer will continue on September 1st.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 3

Well, that was worrisome -- storms knocked the internet out earlier, and we were having a hell of a time getting back online. But our connection is restored! Hopefully, it'll stay that way, and not knock us offline mid-broadcast.

If everything stays shiny, Freelancer is on tonight! Pregame will begin at 6:45pm CT, and we'll begin playing at 7, all on our TwitchTV channel.

The Pandora Directive: Session 6 now on YouTube

Our first session of The Pandora Directive on Mission Street is on YouTube! Lots different in the game this time around. Also, folks ran late, so the pregame ran long, and I screwed up a dialogue tree and forgot to save at all yet, so restarting had to happen. The link to the timestamp for the start of the game proper is in the video description of the first part, and I catch back up to the screw-up point near the end of the first part.

Also, lacking sonicstormer again this week. :(

We return to The Pandora Directive on August 25th. Next week, Freelancer.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Pandora Directive playlist

The Pandora Directive: Session 6

It's Saturday again, so it's time for another episode of Throne of Games! Pregame at 6:45pm CT, game at 7 on our TwitchTV channel.

We begin our final run of The Pandora Directive this week, seeking the best ending. A whole lot plays out differently on this path, so watch for the differences!

Freelancer: Session 2 now on YouTube

Our second session of Freelancer is now on YouTube! Tonight saw a steep increase in the game's difficulty — at least, for me. I'm still pretty new to it, so I wound up dying. A lot. John came to the rescue for one particularly bad mission chain, though, so we were able to proceed.

Next week, we begin The Pandora Directive again, and aim for the Mission Street path, which will net us the good — and canon — ending. We return to Freelancer on August 18th.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 2

Yup, Freelancer two weeks in a row! As usual, preshow begins at 6:45pm CT, and game begins at 7 on our TwitchTV channel.

Sadly, we're down a sonicstormer this week. Hope you don't mind the reduced snark.

Freelancer: Session 1 now on YouTube

Session 1 of Freelancer is now on YouTube. We got as far as California Minor on this run, which feels like not very far in for playing nearly five hours. But this is my first time with this game, and I do get easily distracted by economies. I'm really enjoying it so far; glad John introduced me to it!

We were joined this week by my friend Amanda. Maybe we'll see her on here again sometime!

Next week, due to a scheduling conflict that came up, we'll be playing Freelancer again. The Pandora Directive will return seeking Mission Street, the good and canon ending, on August 11th.


Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Freelancer playlist

Freelancer: Session 1

In one hour, Throne of Games begins its first session of Freelancer! That's 6:45pm CDT for the preshow, 7pm for the game, on our TwitchTV channel.

I've never played this game before, and I'm generally kinda bad at space flight games, but we'll see how it goes!

Freelancer

HERO. MERCHANT. PIRATE. SMUGGLER. YOU DECIDE.


Decide your fate, one job at a time.  You are Edison Trent,a freelancer pilot earning your name and pay one contract at a time. Each job you takes on brings new allies and enemies, aligning him with different forces within a dynamic universe. Choose to follow the compelling storyline, or break off at any time and follow wherever your adventure may take you.

Combining customizable ships and a coherent in-game economy with responsive flight combat controls, Freelancer offers intrigue and adventure to suit any play style. 1000 years after the events of Starlancer, humankind has settled the Sirius sector. In a system full of traders, pirates, and bounty hunters, Freelancers take any job that suits their fancy and pays the bills. One such pilot, Edison Trent, is caught up in events that place him in the path of a full-scale invasion.

Join Mark, John, sonicstormer, and Daniel as they take to the stars in this action simulation game every other Saturday.

The Pandora Directive: Session 5 now on YouTube

Session 5 of The Pandora Directive is now on YouTube. We cleared all three unique Boulevard of Broken Dreams endings tonight, which means, when we return to the game in two weeks, we'll be starting a run on Mission Street for the canon ending.

Next week, assuming the game installs and runs fine on my computer (older games can be finicky), Freelancer is, indeed, our pick for next game. Brendan will be writing up the intro post for that, since he's actually played the game before. It'll be a totally blind Let's Play on here, for once.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Pandora Directive playlist

The Pandora Directive: Session 5

It's Saturday! That means it's time for another episode of Throne of Games.

We continue our journey down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams in The Pandora Directive tonight. Preshow begins at 6:45pm CT, with the game at 7. Link to our TwitchTV channel is in the upper-right corner there.

Bastion: Session 4 now on YouTube

Session 4 of Bastion is now on YouTube. We cleared the game again, getting the opposite ending from before.

Still trying to pick a game, but Freelancer is the frontrunner right now; it seems likely it will be taking over the off-week slot starting on July 28th. But we'll still take suggestions — if not for the next game, for games further down the line!

Come back next week for more of The Pandora Directive!


Part 1
Part 2

Bastion playlist

Bastion: Session 4

Thanks for the reminder! We'll be concluding Bastion tonight, preshow at 6:45pm CDT, game beginning at 7.

Meanwhile, game selection continues. The nominations that have come in thus far are:

• Freelancer, a space shooter/simulation best known for its open and persistent online play; but, as I understand, it also has a very compelling single-player story.
• Alan Wake, a survival-horror/mystery game in which a crime novelist must retrace a manuscript he can't remember writing to rescue his kidnapped wife.

If you want to see either of those — or something else entirely! — leave us some feedback here on this blog.

Throne of Games is Back!

After a three-week hiatus, I'm back in town; Throne of Games returns this Saturday, July 14th, at 7pm CDT with the conclusion of our second Bastion run.

Then...it will be time to pick a new game. But we're not entirely sure what we want to play, and we're willing to take suggestions! Check out my Backloggery for PC games that are currently available to us; any classic game is fair play, too. Sadly, I don't have the means to record games from modern consoles at this time.

If you have a game you want to see us play, comment here, and we'll take it under consideration!

One thing, though: we're saving Amnesia: The Dark Descent for October, so pick something else.

Host Profile: sonicstormer

Yo, everyone's favorite host sonicstormer here. Yes, yours too, stop fooling yourself. Some of you may know me from administrating on Toonami Aftermath and others just from here. To all of you I say, "You're welcome." I like to game, make mean spirited jokes at other people's expense, and hope to become a game developer much like our benevolent main host here. Other than that, I'm a Leo and I like long walks at night.

    Favorite game: Favorite?
    Favorite band: Boston
    Favorite book: The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
    Favorite movie: Pulp Fiction

Involved in ToG series: The Pandora Directive, Bastion, Freelancer

The Pandora Directive: Session 4 now on YouTube

Session 4 of The Pandora Directive is now on YouTube, just a few minutes too long to be split into two parts. We played from the beginning of the game to the beginning of Day 5.

We're aiming for the Boulevard of Broken Dreams path this run, and so far, we're on it. The story is unfolding quite differently this time around — Tex is a bit out of character, but it's much more in line with what you'd expect of noir.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Pandora Directive playlist

Throne of Games will be taking a break for a few weeks. I have plans for next Saturday night, and I'll be out of town the next two Saturdays. But we'll be back on July 14th with more Bastion, and Tex Murphy will return on July 21st.

The Pandora Directive: Session 4

Holy crap, I forgot to advertise this until we were already on! ON NOW, game starting in about 10 minutes! Hope you guys weren't busy doing anything.

We're starting the Boulevard of Broken Dreams run tonight, so get ready for some gritty noir.

TwitchTV channel

Host Profile: Daniel

Salutations entities!  I am the one known as Daniel, or possibly Mcthulhu, and some may even know me from the past as Frogboy.  I'm Mark's longtime roommate here in Norman, where I've been pursuing my degree in computer engineering.  I've played videogames since I was 2, starting with SMB1/Duckhunt/Track&Field and zig-zagging about with whatever my familly could afford or I could rent up until college, where 8-bit Theatre's Red Mage sort of got me into tabletop gaming as well.

Today I nerd it up as a student and computer lab tech at the University and geek it up observing the spread of internet memes, playing RPGs, random olde school games, or watching/helping Mark do the same with what little free time I can scrape together.

Favourite Video Game: Tough one, but probably Ocarina of Time...'played the heck out of that in middle school.

Involved in ToG series: The Pandora Directive, Bastion, Freelancer, Alan Wake

Bastion: Session 3 now on YouTube

Session 3 of Bastion is now on YouTube in a whopping and randomly-split 13 parts. Last night's broadcast was harried by some rather unfortunate technical difficulties; it might've been our connection, it might've been TwitchTV's fault, it was probably a combination of the two. As a result, the stream kept dropping, causing TwitchTV to start a new one every time. Sometimes we got almost an hour without interruption, sometimes we only got a few minutes. But hey, YouTube playlists make compensating for that rather easy. (Of note, the first hiccup in the broadcast occurred before we even began playing; I've kept the video on YouTube for...I dunno, posterity or something, but did not include it in the playlist. So that's why there's no 1/13 there.)

We played from the beginning of the New Game Plus through Colford Cauldron. The next session of Bastion will be on June 23rd July 14th, and will probably be pretty short. Next week, we begin our Boulevard of Broken Dreams run in The Pandora Directive.

Since there are so many parts, I'm not even going to bother linking them individually.

Bastion playlist

[EDIT] I realized I have stuff going on for a few Saturdays in a row starting on June 23rd. The episode on the 16th will proceed as normal, and then resume after the break on July 14th.

Bastion: Session 3

The third session of Bastion is tonight! We're starting a New Game+ tonight; the stages stay the same, but things are likely to pan out a bit differently this time around. And, of course, we'll be taking a different ending.

As always, the preshow begins at 6:45pm CT, and we begin properly at 7pm, over on our TwitchTV channel.

Host Profile: Mabry

Mabry was born in 1983, the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter in a line going back past living memory, the latest scion of a line of powerful and dangerous women. Her lineage includes a healthy quantity of hobbit blood from such families as the Bobos and the Meriwethers, likely the reason for her short stature, round physique, and love of mushrooms.

Following an enchanted and adventurous childhood, she spent her teenage years mostly on the planet of Darkover, where she was acclaimed as the infamous Harpy of Aldaran. She grew closer to her one-time nemesis and husband-to-be (their marriage had been arranged by their parents years before), and for a time she turned her attention to utilizing godlike powers in a narrative format. It was during this time that she adopted the nom-de-plume "Belegwen."

Mabry attended college at Wesleyan university, where she pursued a classical and liberal education, focusing on ancient lore, such as history, literature, and philosophy. Her studies included a remarkable adventure in Scotland and writing a thesis on Elven mythology. She spent much of her free time questing in the land of Hesket, where she was a noted bard and votary of the goddess Sarana.

Following her graduation, she turned her attention to more perilous studies, with the goal of becoming a custodian of ancient knowledge. During this period of her life, she was married to Brendan in a fairy tale wedding. Ultimately, her library studies were concluded, and she was named a Master of the Science.

Unfortunately, there are few positions available for custodians of ancient knowledge, and so she has been forced to find work outside of her field. Most recently, she has resumed her studies now in the field of minion development. In her free time, such as it is, she pursues the genteel arts of dance, writing, drama, and bashing things with melee weapons.

Involved in ToG series: The Pandora Directive, Alan Wake

The Pandora Directive: Session 3 on YouTube

Session 3 of The Pandora Directive is now on YouTube miraculously somehow in one part in two parts now, because the single file was, for some reason, too lo-res to make out a lot of the text. We played from the beginning of Day 8 through both of the Lombard Street (that is, neutral alignment) endings. I love how goofy-yet-melancholy the second one is.

We return to Tex on the June 16th to tackle the dark, gritty path of The Pandora Directive that is The Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Next week, we begin the New Game+ in Bastion.

Part 1
Part 2

The Pandora Directive playlist

[EDIT] So, it looks like it uploaded rather low-res for some reason...that's no good for something with this much text. Gonna try redoing it in a different way. This will be updated once a better version is up.

[EDIT 2] Wait, maybe I'm just encountering problems with YouTube processing the videos...I guess I'll check back in the morning and see what the deal is.

[EDIT 3] My original suspicion was correct: the single long video was lower-quality for some reason.

The Pandora Directive: Session 3

The third session of The Pandora Directive is tonight! We're starting from the beginning of Day 8. We're not quite in the home stretch, but we'll be pretty close by the end of the night, for sure.

As usual, preshow begins at 6:45pm CT, show proper at 7pm, over on our TwitchTV channel.

Bastion: Session 2 on YouTube

Session 2 of Bastion is now on YouTube in two parts. In addition to our usual complement of hosts, we were joined by our friend Chris. We played from after Point Lemaign to the end of the game. We had a tough choice to make at the end, but I chose the one that made the New Game+ make more sense, heheh.

That was a really great ending to a great game, though. Join us on June 9th when we begin Bastion anew (or, if you will, anew+), culminating in a different ending. In the meantime, The Pandora Directive continues June 2nd.

Part 1
Part 2

Bastion Playlist

Bastion: Session 2

The second session of Bastion is tonight! We'll be starting where we left off last time, after Point Lemaign.

As usual, the stream will start at 6:45pm CT, and the game should begin at 7pm, over at our TwitchTV channel.

Host Profile: Brendan

Greetings fellow gamers! I'm Brendan (or Rothwyn, SirRothwyn, or BLCAgnew depending on where on the net you find me). I'm a lover of fiction in all its forms - games, books, movies, television, all great places to find something special. I'm active in community theater and at the local Medieval Faire, I love to cook, I am a lover of music (mostly folk and classic rock), and am a pre-school teacher of a class of 20+ 3-4 year-olds. I've been married for nearly 5 years and have no plans to grow up anytime soon.

Regardless of the medium, I gravitate towards action and adventure as well as sci-fi and fantasy (Tolkien was a huge influence, as was Lewis, Herbert, Bradbury, Doyle, and Burroughs). I enjoy action games, RPG's (eastern and western), shooters (both third- and first-person), adventure games, and platformers.

Ideal game: Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger's love child

Involved in ToG series: The Pandora Directive, Alan Wake

The Pandora Directive: Session 2 on YouTube

Session 2 of The Pandora Directive is now on YouTube in three parts. We played from the beginning of Day 4 to the beginning of Day 8, meeting characters like the dweeby Archie Ellis, and the intimidating Jackson Cross (played by Barry Corbin).

Tonight, we died for the first (and second, and third) time in this playthrough. Sometimes, adventure games aren't terribly lethal (LucasArts); other times, there's death around every corner (Sierra). Tex Murphy seems to periodically move back and forth between these two extremes, but generally leans a little more toward the latter. One of the deaths, though, was deliberate, so it probably shouldn't count toward the total.

Next week, we resume Bastion; we return to The Pandora Directive on June 2nd.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Pandora Directive playlist

The Pandora Directive: Session 2

The second session of The Pandora Directive is tonight! We'll be starting where we left off last time, at the beginning of Day 4.

As usual, the stream will start at 6:45pm CT, and the game should begin at 7pm, over at our TwitchTV channel.

Host Profile: John

Let's see, I've been a gamer since I was five years old with my first console being the Nintendo and my first games being the Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 3. I have played on the Atari, SNES, N64, Saga, Playstation 1 & 2, Xbox 360 and PC (from MSDOS to now). My specialties are Strategy games (turn based and real time) and First person shooters, my least favorite games are sports and puzzle games.

Involved in ToG series: Bastion, Freelancer

Bastion: Session 1 on YouTube

Session 1 of Bastion is now on YouTube in three parts. We got a bit of a late start, but we played pretty late to make up for it — starting from the beginning, we played all the way through Point Lemaign. I thought we were going to have a few more people show up than we actually did, but that's cool, we didn't have to crowd onto the couch.

Since Bastion is 16:9, there was a bit of empty space in the screen layout that we didn't have to contend with in The Pandora Directive; I thought I'd try experimenting with a frame that could be doodled in by someone else, but was a little too late to jump on that plan and make it happen. Instead, Daniel drops some random text in there a couple of times. Better than a gaping hole, at least!

Next Saturday, we return to The Pandora Directive; Bastion continues on May 26th.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Bastion playlist

Bastion: Session 1

The first session of Bastion begins tonight! I have no idea how many people to expect tonight, but I think it's going to be more than last week.

Pre-show begins at 6:45pm CT, and we begin the game at 7, over on our TwitchTV channel.

Bastion

Beginning May 12th at 7pm CDT

The dead? The dead ain't gotta worry about this mess. Our world — she's done. But there's a way to put her back together. So better get ready, cuz mother only knows what's floatin' out there on those rocks: beasts what don't know up from down, fragments of the old world. You bring 'em back, and together, we're gonna build somethin' grand. And remember — you ain't in this alone. That's a promise.

A mysterious calamity has torn the world asunder. Little familiar remains, and what's left is crawling with strange creatures. But from the ashes, you can rebuild. Bastion is a beautifully-crafted action-adventure game with an intriguing story and the best narrator ever to grace the medium.

Join John, Daniel, and myself (and maybe other guests) as we play this game almost-blind, beginning this Saturday, and continuing alternating Saturdays after.

Host Profile: Mark

Hi, all! My name's Mark, but the Internet knows me as AmzRigh. I grew up in Fort Worth, TX, came to Norman, OK, for college, and stuck around ever since. I enjoy video games (of course!), I perform at the local Medieval Fair (which is how I know most of my cohosts), I play piano and am trying to learn guitar (and I fiddle around on ocarina when I'm bored), I do a history-themed radio show for Starmen.Net's Radio PSI, and I love good storytelling.

That last item is why I'm an aspiring game designer, and should be quite apparent in the games I choose for Throne of Games.

• Favorite game: EarthBound
• Favorite band: R.E.M.
• Favorite book: The Magus, by John Fowles
• Favorite movie: Twelve Angry Men

The Pandora Directive: Session 1 on YouTube

Session 1 of The Pandora Directive is now on YouTube in two parts. We played from the beginning of the game to the beginning of Day Four. Phil couldn't make it this night, but sonicstormer (he'd prefer I use his handle) showed up, so our peanut gallery was no smaller.

Sadly, we had a bit of technical difficulty I didn't realize until we'd finished for the night — the gameplay was a little out of frame, and the game audio had an echo. I figured out what caused the former problem and fixed it for future broadcasts, and I'm assuming the latter was just because we had it turned up too loud, causing the microphone to pick it up. So I need to either turn my speakers down, or find something else to cancel the sound. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now.

Next Saturday, we begin Bastion; The Pandora Directive continues on May 19th.

Part 1
Part 2

The Pandora Directive playlist

The Pandora Directive: Session 1

The first session of The Pandora Directive — and the first episode of Throne of Games — is tonight!

Pre-show begins at 6:45pm CDT, and the show starts in earnest at 7, on our TwitchTV channel.

The Pandora Directive

Beginning May 5th at 7pm CDT

In the moonlight, New San Francisco sparkles like a chunk of cubic zirconium — an island of hollow beauty, surrounded by a red sea of radiation...five million souls drowning in gamma rays. Some lucky people have a natural immunity to the genetic mutation caused by the radiation; I'm one of 'em. Most of them live in the new city, but I don't. I live among the unlucky souls, the mutants and the destitute, in the wreckage of Old San Francisco. My name's Tex Murphy. I'm a private detective.

The year is 2043. The Earth is scarred by World War III, and the ruined ozone layer has driven humans into the night to avoid dangerous solar radiation. The face of the world may be changed, but people are still people. Tex, an archetypal down-on-his-luck PI, is hired to seek a missing person, but finds himself embroiled in something much bigger.

Join Brendan, Mabry, Daniel, Phil and myself (with maybe some extra guests) as we follow Tex down the rabbit hole in this classic FMV adventure game every other Saturday.

Hello, and welcome to Throne of Games! We are one week from launch, and I'm only now getting around to setting up a blog. Better late than never, right?

Throne of Games is a live Let's Play series featuring my friends and I. Sometimes, we're familiar with the games already. Other times, we're going in blind. Either way, it's fun for us, and we hope you enjoy it, too!

We'll be alternating between two games initially. First, starting May 5th, and continuing every other week after, we'll be playing The Pandora Directive. On May 12th, filling in the remaining off-weeks, we haven't 100% decided yet, but it's looking like Bastion.

Check back later for more information, and don't miss us live on our Twitch.tv channel!