Pixel Noise

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Dan lost his Apple Watch to Adina’s zoomies, but the Pixel Boys have not lost their love for D&D. The dichotomy between improv and preparation in D&D is discussed, and there’s a juicy tangent into etymology and phonetics. Alex is using Discord as an organizational tool for some reason. Tony and Dan are playing Ratchet & Clank and Biomutant, respectively. This leads Tony to the new word “Newstalgia,” as a way to describe how a series he’s never played is giving him the nostalgic feels. The episode ends with a proclamation from Tony on Nintendo and New Pokémon Snap.

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Tony and Dan hijack the start of the show to gush about the new Horizon Forbidden West gameplay trailer, then Alex veers us into Tony’s experience playing original Pokémon Snap (Tony’s thoughts will surprise you). Then, in true Pixel Noise fashion, we tangent quite heavily to the topic of bulleted and numbered lists, how they’re used, and what they’re for. The fundraiser for the Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center is discussed (link to donate below), and then Alex attempts to lightning round mini topics to clear them out. He is thwarted, however, by Dan and Tony having more involved thoughts on Biomutant and NieR Replicant. Finally, we learn Dan doesn’t like Square Enix for some reason.

Support Gina’s fundraiser before June 11th! 🔜 tinyurl.com/gina4newburghcenter

IF YOU PODCAST PLAYER DOESN'T DISPLAY LINKS IN THE NOTES BELOW–

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IF YOU PODCAST PLAYER DOESN'T DISPLAY LINKS IN THE NOTES BELOW–

The Pixel Boys played Dungeons and Dragons, and boy do they have a lot to say! The episode opens with a thought experiment involving latency in sound, then lots of D&D, and follow up on optimization vs. player choice. This leads to thoughts on the New Pokémon Snap, which Tony proposes is the “epitome of collectathons.” Alex relates this to puzzles hidden in “the machine” (meaning, the internet). Finally, Tony and Dan give their impressions of the latest PS5 exclusive, Returnal.

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The show starts off with a PS5 update lightning round. Dan's solved his physical trophy problem and Alex's meme streams are discussed. Tony enjoyed Machinarium. Tony and Alex tried out a new stream format, and used it to start Witcher 3 and Spec Ops The Line for the first time. Confirmation dialogues in games are discussed, as well as Jeff Kaplan's resignation, leading into a discussion on public figures in media. The episode wraps with new thoughts on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

IF YOU PODCAST PLAYER DOESN'T DISPLAY LINKS IN THE NOTES BELOW–

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Tony and Alex played Return of the Obra Dinn and Dan is still playing Hades. Alex and Tony both started watching Game of Thrones, but their reasons and methods may surprise you. Alex peels back the curtain on his personal life, the Pixel Boys still have three rather different brains, and they still all despise exercising (Ring Fit Adventure follow up). Finally, Tony gives his thoughts on playing Spiritfarer co-op with Maria.

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The Pixel Boys have an in-depth discussion on ratings and evaluating art. Also, the Foo Fighters made a new album, Dan got a PS5, and we revisit Astro’s Playroom and Among Us. Additionally, Alex follows up on the problems with the Skyrim lockpicking mechanic and even proposes a solution.

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Dan has a lot to say about D&D, Tony & Alex played Skyrim as a co-op game, and everyone has a lot to say about the utility of rules.

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Game Start! 0:00:00

Happy Streamiversary! 0:00:53

Skyrim Together 0:01:54

- Journey

Skyrim vs D&D 0:25:27

- Among Us

- Adventure Zone

- Critical Role

- Fantasy High

Journey and D&D 0:28:08

Restrictions in D&D 0:51:04

“Rules do not exist to bind you…” 0:56:23

- NieR

- Facade

Follow up: Critiquing Art 1:11:30

- To Other Worlds

- Undertale

- Evoland

We kick things off with more Nintendo belly-aching, including Pokémon Snap, Pokémon GO, Ring Fit follow up, the new Nintendo Direct, and Tony wishing Nintendo had a game pass.  A fascinating view on the purpose of Kirby in Nintendo’s lineup is proposed, and the interesting bits of Super Mario 3D are extolled.  In the second half, we veer off into Alex’s motivations when playing games and Dan and Alex’s experiences beating Hades.  Finally, things get a little spicy as we discuss the relative merits of player choice and optimization in games through the lens of save mechanics and more.

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Let us know what you think on the Pixel Noise Discord!

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Pokemon Snap 0:00:00

- New Pokémon Snap, Switch Trailer

- Bioshock

- Breath of the Wild

Pokemon Go 0:05:09

- Ingress

- Among Us

Dan’s Ring Fit Adventure 0:18:08

The Value Proposition of Nintendo 0:23:07

- Nintendo Direct 2/17/2021

- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch Bundle

- Nintendo Top Selling Title Sales Units

- Uncharted 4 Playstation 4 Bundle

- Wii Sports

- 1-2 Switch

Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards 0:33:37

- Classic Kirby Games

- The Kirby Series

Super Mario 3D + Bowser’s Fury 0:45:50

- Bowser’s Fury

Alex’s Motivation in Gaming 0:53:53

- Overwatch

- Celeste

Dan finished Hades 0:56:11

Saving, Optimization, and Player Choice 1:12:28

- Skyrim

- Slay the Spire

- The Last of Us

- Half-Life

- Dark Souls

- Baldur’s Gate II: Dark Alliance

The Pixel Boys discuss Hades, learning through trial and error, Just Dance, and Ring Fit Adventure. A discussion of GameStop stonks (AKA GameStocks) swerves into Dan's adventures into cryptocurrencies and more. Also, they finally solve how to evaluate the collectibles in a game as well as when the collectibles ARE the game (commonly known as "collectathons").

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Let us know what you think on the Pixel Noise Discord!

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0:00 Hades

- Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy

- Magic: The Gathering

14:04 Just Dance

- Wii Sports

19:18 Dan plays Ring Fit Adventure

- Playstation VR

- Superhot

- Astro Bot Rescue Mission

- Beat Saber

- Tell Dan to Workout (discord link)

30:42 Patreon Plug

31:14 GameStocks

- ”Short”

- International Barbershop Quartet Competition

- Doge Coin

- Ripple, and the associated scandal

59:35 Collectibles & Collectathons

- Banjo-Kazooie

- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

- twitch.tv/symmetricheart

- The Witness

- Horizon: Zero Dawn

- Days Gone

- Celeste

- Breath of the Wild

- Majora’s Mask Randomizer

Prepare for some hot takes! Alex finally plays Stardew Valley solo as well as Hades, we have a discussion on Nintendo’s motivations and intentions, and we review Cyberpunk 2077. Lastly, we go into overtime to discuss Celeste, because Tony and Dan have finally finished it.

Support our show on Patreon to get live and early episode access!

Let us know what you think on the Pixel Noise Discord!

Follow us on Twitch!! We stream daily! Twitch.tv/PixelNoiseFM

Also, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, and even Pinterest! You can join our mailing list here.