Pixel Noise

Tony and Dan endeavor to understand Alex's taste in comedy. Also, Dan played Neon White, Alex has been reading books (esp. Gillian Flynn), The Last of Us is still a good show, and Metroidvanias are briefly discussed. Recorded February 11, 2023.

The Last of Us HBO show is out, and the Pixel Boys have a lot to say about the first episode! Also Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses, The Night Cage, Choo Choo Charles, and Alex reads books now. Recorded January 18th, 2023.

Alex, Dan, and Tony got together for Alex's birthday, in person, for the first time in forever! They played Secret Hitler and Llamas Unleashed and have thoughts to share. Alex spontaneously decided to join all of the social media. Also, The Game Awards 2022 just happened. Tony gave Alex Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses for his birthday. Recorded December 17th, 2022.

Dan needs a new shooter to play with friends (give us your suggestions in the Discord), Alex has been playing Fire Emblem VI, and Tony 100%-ed Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Also, collectathon follow-up and Pokémons Scarlet and Arceus. We end, of course, with lots of D&D updates. Recorded November 20th, 2022.

Dan's been getting into baking and food photography, and Alex and Tony started a new D&D campaign with lots of homebrews. The second playtest material for D&D Unearthed Arcana is discussed, which leads to a lengthy conversation about whether wizards should be able to heal. Also, sleep & alarms, Monster Train, Cult of the Lamb, and a bit of talking about the show on the show. Recorded on October 8th, 2022.

We all finally played Cult of the Lamb and boy do we have opinions. Alex tells a revealing story from his past, Tony still has not played Tiny Tina's Wonderlands but did play Trombone Champ, and Alex watched more of Nathan Fielder's shows. Recorded on September 24th, 2022.

There was a huge update on D&D and Magic from Wizards and Alex and Dan have a lot to say! Then, the Pixel Boys endeavor to define a “collectathon.” Also Cult of the Lamb, Inscryption, KOTOR, and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Recorded on August 20th, 2022.

The Pixel Boys start talking about Stray and Final Fantasy X but actually just have a lot to say about speedrunning. The past tense of “speedrun” is debated in depth. Also Dan's been playing a lot of Monster Train, Alex and Dan have been going to the gym, Alex watched Mr. Bean's Holiday and Tony and Dan watched The Rehearsal. Recorded August 13th, 2022.

Tony started playing Stray and loved it, and PlayStation released a detailed video on The Last of Us Part 1 that Tony got super excited about. The Pixel Boys also discuss when to use subtitles and Dan played a bunch of new board games. Recorded July 23rd, 2022.

The Pixel Boys have a big conversation about how trophies/achievements in games have changed over the years, and how they relate to accessibility. Also, Tony finished Final Fantasy X, Dan started Metroid Dread, and at long last, Dan 100%'d Slay the Spire. Recorded June 25th, 2022.

The Pixel Boys all played Inscryption and watched The Inside Outtakes. Tony is playing Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga, Dan's 100%-ing Slay the Spire and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and Alex got a new PC (and it comes with some apologies). The Last of Us Part 1 was announced, as well as a bunch of other stuff. Recorded June 11th, 2022.

When does a test become a game, and vice versa? Dan played Nintendo Switch Sports, Alex wants new workout headphones, and everyone gets very interested in Inscryption. Alex and Tony watched Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tony started his first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid, and Alex is going to play Duck Souls. But yeah, mostly Inscryption. Recorded May 28, 2022.

Welcome to your PXN64, now with more performance than ever before! Dan's 100%-ing Slay the Spire and has been playing a lot of new board games (Doomlings, Fog of Love, Side Effects, Llamas Unleashed). He also just got into Steam (mostly for Baluder's Gate: Dark Alliance). The Pixel Boys then spend a bunch of time giving feedback on their last D&D campaign together. Alex played Monster Hunter World. Recorded May 14th, 2022.

Dan opens the episode strongly with a surprising amount to say about Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, which reminds Tony of a recent rumor that Naughty Dog is working on a fantasy-style game. Then the Pixel Boys quickly devolve into classics such as Elder Scrolls 6, Horizon Forbidden West, and realism in games. The qualities of good competitive play and the effects of money on game design are discussed, leading to a bit of news about Wizards of the Coast purchasing D&D Beyond. The PBs are challenged by media with slow starts, and this leads to an attempt to nail down our game preferences. They wrap with a brief life update from Dan. Recorded on April 18th, 2022.

Mini Motorways, the latest beautiful puzzle game from Dinosaur Polo Club, has captured the Pixel Boys' minds. Tony and Dan are still playing Horizon Forbidden West, and we all watched some movies and talked about them (including The Batman & Free Guy). Also Hades, Steam Deck, the Kirby & the Forgotten Lands demo, Elden Ring (from afar), the Overwatch 2 beta, Super Mario World, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2. Recorded March 12, 2022.

Dan and Tony are enamored with Horizon Forbidden West and have a lot to say about it. Alex has been enjoying Bowser's Fury. Also, Elden Ring, comparisons between Horizon and Zelda, Stardew Valley: The Board Game, Elder Scrolls VI, Bungie, and Dynasty Warriors games. Recorded on February 26th, 2022.

The Pixel Boys have a huge discussion about what a puzzle is. Also, their experiences making art, getting D&D character art, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Monster Train, Myst, resource management games, and Wordle. Recorded February 12th, 2022.

Pokémon Arceus is out! Alex played Donkey Kong 1994 and Tony started a second Death Stranding playthrough. Dan's been into Monster Train and Wordle, and Tony's been into Mini Motorways. Also Kentucky Route Zero, Path of Adventure, the Legend of Vox Machina, and Spider-Man No Way Home. Alex put a text adventure in D&D, and we close out with Microsoft's latest acquisition.

The Pixel Boys are back from winter break, and boy have we some thoughts and stories. They talk a bunch about the current state of the world and remote education, but before that, Tony finished Metroid Dread, Dan played GRIS, and this makes Alex reminisce about Undertale and Owlboy. Dan's mostly been playing Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, and Alex has mostly been playing Path of Adventure. Tony talks about Neeva.com, and he finished his nostalgia playthrough of Jak II. Also, Alex played Overwatch on Christmas.

It's the holiday season, and that means it's time to talk about our favorite games of 2021 (some of which may not be video games)! We discuss them both in the context of The Game Awards, as well as beyond. Also, Dan's been playing the recently released Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and anticipating the upcoming Pokémon Arceus, Alex is "taking his veggies" and trying a bunch of new games, and Tony is playing Metroid Dread.

The Pixel Boys were short on time this week, so they recorded an extra-special lightning round! 30(ish) minutes of far too many games to list in a summary, but of course full topics list at pixelnoise.fm! Finally, the mini-topics list can rest clear...

The Pixel Bois have been listening to Bo Burnham's INSIDE a whole bunch, and these songs take center stage in this episode. Dan took Tony's advice and went caseless with his new iPhone, and got to A14 with The Watcher in Slay the Spire. Tony and Alex played the new Back4Blood with friends, and Tony streamed Star Wars Shadows of the Empire. Our review of Life is Strange Wavelengths was very short, as was our review of the N64 Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack (spoilers: they're both broken).

Tony finished his first Pokémon game, and it was Emerald! Dan tried to enjoy a holiday weekend. Actually reading the game manual is considered. Alex leads a discussion of how hard skills and soft skills are applied in D&D, and talks about his recently completed first playthrough of Super Mario RPG. Tony and Alex finished Life is Strange True Colors, but Dan is still working on it. Alex finished Deltarune Chapter 2.

Dan's been playing a lot of games recently! Tony and Dan played Deathloop, and had a lot to say about how it compared to Returnal and other roguelikes. Pixel Noise has a new stream !gamelist, which starts a conversation about what we find rewarding in games, collectibles, corner checking, and of course, genres. Tony thinks Pokémon is a weird RPG, Alex played Super Mario RPG, and Dan played Overcooked. Everyone's played Life is Strange: True Colors, Alex reveals what he's secretly been doing while recording the podcast, and we listened to INSIDE (The Songs).

Dan played some new games (The Plane Effect & When the Past was Around), & Alex played A Link to the Past. Alex and Tony went to IRL arcades, which spawns conversation about sports games and first impressions. Alex has been enjoying his retro streams, and Dan has not been enjoying being stuck at A19 in Slay the Spire. Tony poses the idea of game replayability varying at the platform level, and he reveals which Horizon Forbidden West launch edition he ordered. The Pixel Bois try to get excited about new games and GOTY, but hopes for this year are dim. Finally, they cap it off with a discussion about Bo Burnham's INSIDE.

Do you put stickers on your devices? Do you have tattoos? How do you express yourself? A surprising opening is followed by a storytelling in D&D discussion, Alex watches The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, and Tony starts and finishes Twilight Princess. All the while, Dan's been on the A20 grind in Slay the Spire. Also, Bethesda's trying to sell us Skyrim yet again (Skyrim Anniversary Edition).

After a stark diversion last time, the Pixel Boys are back with more talk about TV, movies, and Dungeons & Dragons. After an opening conversation about Valve's new Steam Deck, Alex reveals that he has been watching Schitt's Creek, much to his co-hosts' surprise. The rest of the episode is full of conversations on how D&D has evolved over time, the roles of storytelling and mechanics in the game, how it interacts with mix/maxing, and even how it can be used as a therapeutic tool. Oh, and there's a new D&D themed Magic set.

In this unusual episode, the Pixel Boys figure out what communication is and how to do it, as well as the purpose of demographics and classifications. That's it. We solved it. Once and for all. You're welcome. [Kappa]. Also, we spend literally one minute talking about video games.

How you start a game (or a TV show) is extremely important. This idea is woven into discussions of Final Fantasy X, Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls series, and TV shows in general, with a focus on Schitt's Creek. Dan also provides his brief impressions on Demon's Souls. The episode concludes with an in-depth exploration of the first four Elder Scrolls series games (The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion).

E3 2021! The Pixel Boys go over all the hits (except Ubisoft). Before that, Tony and Dan talk Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Later, Alex and Tony discuss the new Blind Bingo stream format they came up with, the perils of trying and returning games, and the episode ends with an extra inning of crits in D&D. Oh, and Tony was here to kill chaos, but no one came...

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.

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.

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.

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– Linked show notes available at https://pixelnoise.fm/episodes/43

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.

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.

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").

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.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/beccajoy20 and https://www.twitch.tv/ParadigmShift89 to discuss Pixel Noise’s year 2020. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/julieblue123 to discuss The Last of Us series. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys discuss the PS5, Astro’s Playroom, and beating Nintendo at their own game. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/katieshesko and https://www.twitch.tv/ParadigmShift89 to discuss the NiER series. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/katieshesko and https://www.twitch.tv/symmetricheart to discuss The Legend of Zelda series. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/beccajoy20 to discuss the hit multiplayer game of 2020: Among Us. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://twitch.tv/gothhippiepanda and https://www.twitch.tv/yungcdkitty to discuss indie music and streaming. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/Always_Dignity and https://twitch.tv/samueldmusic to discuss Stardew Valley. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by http://twitch.tv/Badeline_Strawberry to discuss Celeste. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys are joined by https://www.twitch.tv/vegetablebread and https://www.twitch.tv/rockysaber to discuss Slay the Spire. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.

The Pixel Boys reflect on what they’ve learned in a year of podcasting and streaming. This episode was recorded live with our viewers at http://twitch.tv/pixelnoisefm.