At this point, Strong Bad and his Cool Game For Attractive People will have split the room already. You either 'get' the gruff-voiced lucha libre fella and his antics or you don't.

For those in the former camp, this trailer will tantalise and intrigue with its subtitle "8-Bit Is Enough" and chiptunish musical sting promising 8-bit era parodies and retro goodness.

For everyone else.. well, there can't be that many of these left. Go play something else.

Dangerdeque is a small slice of point and click adventureering that takes place entirely in loose cannon cop Dangeresque's office, where he must solve a crime or risk going to jail himself. Oddly enough, it puts Videlectrix in direct competition with Telltale games, who recently released Dangeresque 3 for the Wii and PC.

"We've seen other gaming formats come and go - punch cards, 5.25" floppy discs, SyQuest discs, you name it," says Videlectrix's CEO, who we think is the one with the blond mustache. "Now we're on the cutting edge with roomisodic, a model that's here to stay!"

This rivalry can only end in tears.

Videlectrix Announces Innovative "Roomisodic" Gaming Model

"Roomisode 1: Behind the Dangerdesque" available now at www.videlectrix.com

ATLANTA, GA, December 5, 2008 - In this age of calculator wristwatches, who has time to play a game for hours at a time? Videlectrix™, leading developer and publisher of 8-bit games with good graphics, is announcing their plan to twist the industry sideways and otherways with the introduction of their groundbreaking "roomisodic" gaming model. Unlike so-called episodic gaming, roomisodic gaming allows the player to explore an entire room, guaranteeing at least several minutes of quality entertainment!

With multi-pixel graphics, an innovative WASD control scheme, and looping midi music, each Videlectrix roomisode promises to take the player one screen deeper into a somewhat intriguing story. The first roomisode, "Behind the Dangerdesque," is now available for free at www.videlectrix.com. Filling out paperwork has never been so action-packed!

"We've seen other gaming formats come and go - punch cards, 5.25" floppy discs, SyQuest discs, you name it," says Videlectrix's CEO, who we think is the one with the blond mustache. "Now we're on the cutting edge with roomisodic, a model that's here to stay!"

Against legal advice, he went on: "And don't believe anything you hear about the integrity of our 8-bit containment field breaking down and spewing radiation out on innocent players. That's a load of tall 'tales' perpetuated by some other -sodic gaming company." Videlectrix's other employee could not be reached for comment.

Videlectrix are already famous for using computers to make video games such as the Trogdor arcade classic, the next-gen text adventure Peasant's Quest, the side-scrolling platformer Stinkoman 20X6, and the unforgettable Color Television Calibration Cartridge. The Big V (as Videlectrix sometimes likes to be called) is pleased that the roomisodic model will equip them to break free of their supposed corporate partner Telltale Games, who occasionally claimed to listen to their input on Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

About Videlectrix
Since the beginning of organized time, or shortly thereafter, the 'Trix, as they are sometimes known, has been at all four fronts of the electronic video gaming industry, providing lo-res entertainment to parents and children alike. In the early years, The Big V got their start by typing numbers into calculators and then turning the calculators upside down to form words. In 2003, they partnered with Homestarrunner.com to release the arcade peasant-masher Trogdor!, followed by several other 8-bit hits. To learn more, visit their Internet-style webpage at http://www.videlectrix.com.

Meanwhile, through the mists of the ages, the Virtual Console gets two classic titles from the 16-bit era. Space Invaders: The Original Game for the SNES (800 points) is the original Space Invaders, enhanced with arcade cabinet emulation and a VS mode, while Forgotten Worlds for the Sega Genesis (800 points) is a classic Capcom scrolling shooter featuring 360-degree shooting goodness. And that's the week in Wii downloadables! Try not to sprain yourself tossing.

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO WIIWARE GAMES AND TWO VIRTUAL CONSOLE GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

Nov. 17, 2008

The ever-growing library of games on the Wii™ Shop Channel truly offers something for every gaming occasion, as seen in this week's new additions. Want to settle in for a few single-player laughs? Check out the latest hilarious Strong Bad adventure. Socializing with friends? Target Toss Pro: Bags lets you play with as many as 15 of your pals. Gathering with family? Even your grandparents can enjoy the arcade classic SPACE INVADERS®. And the side-scrolling action of FORGOTTEN WORLDS™ provides a wickedly fun diversion for solo gamers and fantasy-loving groups alike.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a broadband Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

WiiWare™

Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Move over, generically buff action heroes. Strong Bad is here to show you how it's done in his hand-crafted cinematic masterpiece, Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. You play Dangeresque, a dirty cop in pursuit of a little action and several big sacks of cash. Can our hero stay alive long enough to defeat his arch-nemesis, save the world and get the girl? Looks like he's gonna have to jump.

Target Toss Pro: Bags (Incredible Technologies, 1-16 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points): Target Toss Pro: Bags is a new video game based on beanbag toss, the nation's hottest backyard and tailgate sensation. Bags – or Cornhole, as it's called in some parts of the country – originated in the Midwest in the 1960s and has since become a staple at outdoor social events from coast to coast. Similar to horseshoes, Bags is a deceptively simple yet extremely competitive game where players try to toss beanbags into a hole in a slightly raised platform or "box" for points. Whether at a tailgate party or a summer barbecue, the game has become a social focal point, and the unmistakable thud of bags hitting the box is now a universal party soundtrack.

Virtual Console™

SPACE INVADERS: The Original Game (Super NES™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Experience one of gaming's iconic franchises in this perfect rendition of the arcade classic. Take aim at the field of invaders relentlessly marching toward you. Move quickly but carefully, using the barriers for protection as you avoid missiles fired by the aliens and try to destroy all of them before they reach the bottom of the screen. Further enhance the nostalgia by choosing from several modes that simulate different versions of the arcade game (such as upright cabinet or black-and-white). Or if you want to prove your superior skills to a friend, try the new VS mode and see who can stop the alien menace the quickest. All in all, it's pure gaming at its best, now with no quarters required.

FORGOTTEN WORLDS (SEGA GENESIS, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): FORGOTTEN WORLDS is a one- or two-player side-scrolling shooter made by CAPCOM. It was one of the first games to incorporate 360-degree aiming and shooting. This SEGA GENESIS version provides the same impact and intensity of the classic arcade game. In the 29th century, without warning, warships broke through the sky, loaded with fiendish aliens. They rained down fire, bombs, missiles and napalm, leaving the land barren and inhospitable. Humanity was enslaved and Earth became known as the Forgotten World. In a hidden place, a group of brave humans raised two male children in secret. They brought up the young men as warriors, training them for battle. The two warriors emerged as armed machines of might, strength and super power – the Nameless Ones. Fight the hateful invaders as the powerful Nameless Ones. Collect Zenny to upgrade your weapons and satellite, and free the planet.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

I'm just flabbergasted by the level of smoothness of the production process at Telltale, while keeping the quality up. This isn't sort of "knock it out" game design production here. This is everybody coming together and making sure things get polished. It's not passing bucks around. It's just about everybody working on a project to do about three or four things. When they see something wrong, it's their responsibility to fix it or immediately get in front of somebody who can fix it.

It's great. It's full, hands-on programming and designing. I've been exercising my feeble programming chops, my choreography chops, my design chops, my writing chops night and day to get these things together and so does everybody else. Testers come in and do patches and even code on occasion. It is something can do, so we don't have to bother always. It's great.

The episodic model is an interesting one, but you get a real sense of how busy the Telltale group is with three series shipping. Though, as the interviewer notes, "Must be refreshing to go from these cancelled projects to a company where you're constantly shipping games all the time."

In-Depth: LucasArts Alum On Strong Bad's Episodic Gaming Kick [GameSetWatch]

As if another dose of Strong Bad weren't good enough, today marks the day that North Americans finally get our hands on Earthworm Jim for the Sega Genesis (800 points), the best game starring a worm since....Worms. Help Jim save Princess What's-Her-Name from Psy-Crow and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. See?! It's even fun to type it! It's a fine day to be a Wii owner.

Now some 12 years after the characters' initial video game debut, Strong Bad and friends are set to make their triumpant return to a Nintendo console with Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People, collaborating with Sam and Max developers Telltale Games on the episodic adventure title. I recently met with The Brothers Chap at a gourment Atlanta restaurant to discuss the upcoming game, the perils of voice-acting every character on your website, and of course, the finest cuisine available in the United States.

Scattered, Smothered, Covered, And Gobbled

Okay, so we met at a Waffle House, but for three guys who grew up in Dunwoody Georgia, the memories afforded by the greasy diner-style restaurant far outweigh the gastro-intestinal distress we were sure to encounter later that evening. As it turns out, Mike, Matt and I all lived in the same area growing up, and while I never ran in the same circles as they did, my younger sister Nadine was in several of Matt's classes in Peachtree Middle School while Mike and I were attending Dunwoody High School. Apparently there's even a picture of Matt in my mother's house somewhere, though trying to find one specific picture in my mother's house is akin to trying to find a specific grain of sand in the desert.

This particular Waffle House was down the street from Peachtree Middle, and in an affluent Atlanta suburb where parents made damn sure that there wasn't much for their kids to do after midnight, it had long been a haven for area teens.

We order nothing healthy, and Mike inquires as to having his hashbrowns gobbled - topped with turkey - which leads to the waitress attempting to have the cook add this new type of hashbrown decoration to the menu. The cook is confused, the waitress bemused, and the whole thing comes to a head when we're told they've no turkey anyway, but we nearly made Waffle House history right there.

The Videlectrix Connection

It is important to note that while Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People (SBCG4AP) is the first console game based on The Brothers' creations, cutting-edge gaming company Videlectrix has been making games for the series for what seems like decades, with blockbuster titles such as Secret Collect, Pigs on Head, and of course, Trogdor.

The brothers explain that Videlectrix is very much involved in SBCG4AP, to the point where Mike even created a high-res logo for them (they didn't have one of their own) in case Telltale wanted to use it at the beginning of the game. The original press release for the title even lists Videlectrix as Telltale's partner for the game, a fact that confused some of Telltale's investors.

Matt explains, "Some shareholder called concerned, asking, "Who is this partner? Who is Videlectrix?" and (Telltale CEO) Dan Connors responded, "They use computers to make video games." That was all he said."

We use computers...to make video games is Videlectrix's slogan, and the fact that Telltale's CEO understood Homestar Runner that well was very encouraging to the Chapmans, who had been approached about creating a Homestar Runner video game in the past by folks a bit less understanding.

"Very rough things," explains Matt Chapman. "There was a dude from Sega of America awhile ago that we were kinda just talking to. I was like, "Is there any way that this wouldn't just be put into the factory and stuck out on the other end with something that looks kinda like our characters?" And the guy was like, "Ehhhn, probably not." He was very up front, and we were like, "Well thanks for being honest, we'll pass."

The Secret Origin Of Strong Bad

Nintendo fans from back in the days of the NES might recognize Strong Bad from one of the first console wrestling games, Data East's Tag Team Wrestling, which featured a duo called The Strong Bads.

"Oh yeah, absolutely. The Strong Bads. We were just doing some dumb thing at Kinko's for friends. We weren't planning on all of this happening," says Matt Chapman.

Not to worry though, before they started merchandising they had a lawyer check things out to make sure everything was cool, though they still expect that 50 years from now they'll be sitting around and some Data East guy will show up waving a lawsuit around.

Telltale Fits Like A Glove
The Sega pitch wasn't exactly exciting to the brothers, who never owned a Sega console but claim to have "had friends who owned Sega." The offer from Telltale Games was much more enticing. They were already fans of the Sam and Max episodic adventure series, and knowing their pedigree was a bunch of "old LucasArts dudes" it was much more a case of hearing from exactly the people you wanted to hear from.

The episodic style was also a big pull.

"The episodic thing matches our style better than one big $40 game," says brother Mike.

Brother Matt continues, "We're treating each episode of the game as an episode of the website...trying to fill some game that has 20 hours of gameplay and some stupid plot would have just been lame."

Telltale's understanding of their series has also afforded them the chance to fit all of the fan-favorite characters into the game. Matt explains that the company has been more than accommodating.

"I've actually been surprised at how many of the characters their willing to put into the episodes...the amount of them, and the breadth of them."

I asked if my particular favorite characters would be making an appearance, the old-timey versions of Strong Bad and company, but so far nothing is planned. It would require an entirely new set of 3D models, but the Brothers did hint that if enough fans asked for them a future appearance wasn't out of the question.

Voice And Butt Problems

Since younger brother Matt does every voice for the website aside from the one female character, Homestar's girlfriend Marzipan, the rigors of recording all of the sounds for five installments of a video game have taken their toll.

"In the first two episodes I've recorded maybe double of what we normally record in a year. It's definitely taken it's toll...I've had to be much more conscious of my throat."

Along with cutting out things like caffeine and sugar in his drinks (never mind the sweet tea he drank with his lunch), Matt has turned to various herbal remedies for his vocal woes, including a rather unconventional voice cure that might have done more harm than good.

"I had the hot toots for three days after this one lady gave me a jar of honey and she was like, "Put an inch and a half of it in a glass, and squeeze in as much of a lemon as you can and just shoot it until the jar is gone." If my throat got better it really didn't outweigh what it did to my butt."

Sometimes you just ask a question and get much more than you bargained for.

Just A Couple Of Nintendo Fanboys

Both Mike and Matt admit that they are Nintendo fanboys (they'd been playing Mario Kart earlier that morning), though as you'll often find the most fervent fans are the biggest critics as well. Matt echoes the sentiments of many a Nintendo fan when he calls out the Wii's lack of online community features.

"All Nintendo has to do is start an online service and we'll pay $50 a month just so we can play Mario Kart and chat with our friends."

It's for just that very reason that they both own an Xbox 360 as well as a Wii, but the only Sony system you'll find in their office is a PlayStation 2, and it's only there because of Guitar Hero.

"Harmonix's Alex Rigopoulos called us up and said "Hey, we're thinking of including one of your songs in Guitar Hero 2, so we're going to send you two copies of Guitar Hero!" So we were like, "Wow, we've gotta go buy a used PS2!"

The Final Bite

We talked for a good couple of hours, often about subjects that had nothing at all to do with Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People, from Speed Racer to Star Wars to The Matrix, but all of the little side conversations that you'll never know about serve to pinpoint the very reason so many people find Strong Bad and friends so iressistible in the first place. It's the type of humor that comes from a couple of guys sitting around a Waffle House eating bad food and just talking about whatever comes to mind. If the game manages to capture even a small portion of that feeling, it'll be something special indeed.

With that, I leave you with the last room temperature bite. Enjoy!

The demo began with Strong Bad waking up on his couch, after dreaming of Super Punch Out!!, a quick musical number and a hasty interaction with his portly brother, Strong Sad. After hassling his housemates, Strong Bad heads downstairs to chat with a despondent Homestar.

We're introduced quickly to Strong Bad's motivation. Homestar has been caught for indecency and Strong Bad is either tasked with cheering him up or making reparations for Homestar's pantslessness.

Interaction with characters uses a simple pop up talk bubble, with a minimal HUD that can be interacted with via Wii Remote pointer or the plus, minus and B buttons on the remote. Players will check the game map, use game tools and access other menus this way.

In the house kitchen, Strong Bad picks up a cell phone adding it to his inventory, giving him the ability to make prank phone calls. Strong Bad then heads outside to make a call to Marzipan and dig up a hidden Teen Girl Squad comic.

Heading upstairs, Strong Bad sits down in front of a television and Videlectrix console to play Snake Boxer 5, a simplistic top-down boxing game in the vein of Atari 2600 Boxing, but with snakes.

The demo ended there, but it certainly nailed all the right Strong Bad points. It was funny—genuinely funny, not typical video game writing funny—featured many of the series' beloved characters and looked very polished visually. The Telltale Games point & click adventure pedigree should do right by the IP and looks to please the rabid Strong Bad fanbase.

Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, a series of episodic games for WiiWare, is coming to the Wii this June, Telltale Games announced today. The game will be released as a five-episode season, coming out on a monthly schedule. Release dates and pricing are expected closer to June.

"Homestarrunner.com is one of the biggest success stories in online entertainment," says Telltale CEO Dan Connors. "The Chapmans have been treating the Internet to episodic content for years. We're thrilled to have teamed up with them to take episodic gaming to the next level via Nintendo's innovative WiiWare delivery system."

The games will allow players to take control of Strong Bad in extended cartoons and features the cast of characters and cartoons from the popular website. All of the games will be voice acted by Matt Chapman and the rest of the original cast.

The game will include plenty of dialog-based puzzles, the ability to make prank phone calls, check Strong Bad's email and play Homestar Runner arcade games.

Hit the jump for the release.

Announcing Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People for WiiWare
New episodic series set in Homestar Runner universe coming in June from Telltale

SAN RAFAEL, CA, April 10, 2008 - Interactive entertainment pioneer Telltale, Inc. is pleased to announce Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (SBCG4AP), a new series of episodic games for WiiWare™, in partnership with Videlectrix. Starring Strong Bad, the self-proclaimed coolest person ever, the series is based on Matt and Mike Chapman's online animated series, which has been running at Homestarrunner.com since 2000. SBCG4AP will launch on WiiWare this June.

As the very first episodic series for connected consoles, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People has been designed specifically for WiiWare, with easy-to-use controls and WiiConnect24™ features. Like Telltale's popular Sam & Max series, SBCG4AP will be released as a five-episode "season" akin to a season of television. The episodes will come out on a monthly schedule. Release dates and pricing details will be revealed in a future announcement.

"Homestarrunner.com is one of the biggest success stories in online entertainment," says Telltale CEO Dan Connors. "The Chapmans have been treating the Internet to episodic content for years. We're thrilled to have teamed up with them to take episodic gaming to the next level via Nintendo's innovative WiiWare delivery system."

Telltale is working closely with the Chapmans on the series' art style, storylines, and scripts. This hands-on collaboration will deliver long-time fans the ultimate Strong Bad experience and give new players a crash course in the series' offbeat and unusual humor. The episodes play like extended cartoons, during which the player assumes the role of Strong Bad—controlling his actions, hearing his innermost thoughts, and becoming part of his awesome world. SBCG4AP features the cast of characters and locations from the Homestarrunner.com cartoons, and the games are fully voice acted by Matt Chapman and the rest of the original cast.

Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People is a story-driven series with a comic spin that's undeniably Strong Bad. The player uncovers each episode's comedic plot through character interaction, dialogue-based puzzles, and the use (and abuse) of inventory items. In addition, each episode will be crammed with time-wasters to keep players poking around in the world, including Strong Bad emails to check, prank phone calls to place, and mini-games styled after the arcade games on the Homestarrunner.com website.

"Telltale has been rejecting my ideas for green text adventures for years," laments thousandaire gadabout Strong Bad, "but we finally reached a compromise with this puffy 3D point-and-click-em-up adventure. They claim all the coding was done with green text, so I guess that's pretty cool."

In addition to WiiWare, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People will be available on PC. For more details about the series, including a brand new trailer, screenshots, and Strong Bad's development blog, please visit www.telltalegames.com.

About Homestarrunner.com
Homestar Runner was conceived in 1996 by Mike Chapman and friend Craig Zobel as an idea for a weird kids' book they would only make a few photocopies of for friends. In 2000, Mike and brother Matt dusted off the idea and launched Homestarrunner.com, featuring the Flash-animated exploits of the characters. Since 2002, they have updated with new cartoons almost every week including the popular feature 'Strong Bad Email' in which fans get their emails answered by the cartoon's charming antagonist, Strong Bad. Mike and Matt write and animate the cartoons with Matt and Missy Palmer providing voices for the characters. The site has been featured and mentioned in the New York Times, Wired Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Time, The Wall Street Journal, and, most importantly, two songs from the site were featured in the Guitar Hero series.

Viidelectrix - [Homestar Runner - Thanks Geoff!]

I have to give props to the Destructoid guys for finding this official thread on the Guitar Hero forums spilling perhaps the most awesome gaming extra of all time: Trogdor the Burninator is an unlockable bonus song in Guitar Hero II.

You know, I'm not really a Homestar Runner or Strong Bad fan, but even I will admit that the Trogdor song is absolutely brilliant: I even know the lyrics by heart and I have become quite adept at singing the chorus in an aurally-castrating shriek. This one edition to Guitar Hero 2 is actually better than the entire announced list of songs. Florian Eckhardt

The Bonus Songs!! spoilers!! [Guitar Hero]