Jake

Whoa you're still doing these! Holy shit.

You ruined it. We ruined it. Idle Thumbs 78: The Ruinationcast As part of our Kickstarter campaign, backers were given the chance to help us ruin an episode by giving us a list of topics we had to discuss. The following four and a half hours is the result of that list. Enjoy. What's Inside?! Over one hundred and seventy unique topics! Four plus hours of podcast death marching! YOU make the podcast with YOUR questions! Direct episode download. iTunes page. Feed RSS. Episode page. Visit the Original Ruinationcast thread from Phaedrus' Secret Hole. Nuclear blast artwork by Soufiane Senhadji.

I don't think he was. When I was at Irrational I don't think I ever heard it mentioned internally, except in reference to it being mentioned by people who don't work at the studio. Edit: Sorry this is Chris on Jake's account, my bad.

Good sandwich that I like, a few blocks away: http://www.thesentinelsf.com/ Also, a Thumbs meetup of some kind sounds like a good idea, if we can swing it.

They won't be mentioned, sorry!

Spread the wealth. If you claim one of these please quote it. Also note that each of these codes explodes out to include not just your Ship but also four gift copies. So pass those gift copies around! Z*HIZ-BQW2N-QWKA8 F&VG8-LYRLW-WCAJG M^9FH-ND00C-89AP7 K%6Y3-CEYRP-DEINC K$QFY-RIQ34-GAZXN * = 9 & = W ^ = B % = 7 $ = C

Listen to the Book Club episode for this month for more Breckon.

If the episode was recorded after the Dead Island zombie bust thing it wouldn't have been the last dateline. Oh well!

So, we've been planning this for a while! Idle Thumbs has a Kickstarter campaign! Please back it! We've wanted to bring back Thumbs for a while but it wasn't super feasible with half of us on the other side of the country, etc. When Chris came back to SF, three of us (Chris, Sean, and me) thought it was time to give Idle Thumbs a shot as a more proper thing. We want to bring back the weekly cast, but also to branch out to do more with Thumbs than we've done before. We want to expand out to do multiple podcasts, including a dedicated book club cast, we want to make goodies and merch and stuff, and we want to really go crazy with the site. We also want a recording space. It's something we (and probably you) took for granted, but having a standing studio always ready in Chris's old apartment was a huge contributor to both the audio quality of the cast, and to us keeping a weekly schedule and being able to meet up and do GDC blasts like we did in 2009. Having a tiny office where we can keep our equipment set up, and fill to the brim with weird t-shirts and crap will be HUGE! So, we're asking for your help. We have crazy rewards lined up. Fucking BLENDO GAMES IS MAKING A GRAVITY BONE SEQUEL FOR IDLE THUMBS BACKERS. Ridiculous! Also we have art for you guys from Graham Annable (of Puzzle Agent) and Vincent Perea (of PB Winterbottom), a VINYL EP, a GOLD WIZARD T-SHRIT and a bunch of other stuff. It's pretty crazy. We're excited about this thing and also nervous as hell.... but at least you know what all the teasing and site redesigning/cleanup, etc, was all about. Thanks for your help, whether it's backing the cast or just posting about it online and telling friends, it's HUGELY appreciated. Thanks!

Idle Thumbs 88: Lacks Restraint This week we get into the weeds a bit when discussing Far Cry 3 and are subsequently asked to return to the mission area. Plus: immigrant stories in gaming, and the realization that Cart Life is amazing. Games Discussed: Cart Life, Grand Theft Auto IV, Far Cry 3 Listen on the Episode Page Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed

Idle Thumbs 86: Always Support the Danger Layer Though the lens turns inward as Amnesia Fortnight consumes Chris' life and Sean leaves the country for adventures abroad, we discover that the real Secret of Monkey Island is to play it with some little kids from The Bahamas. Jake continues to exist. Games Discussed: The Secret of Monkey Island, Double Fine Amnesia Fortnight, Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead Listen on the Episode Page Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed

PHYSICAL GOOD STATUS: If the ONLY PHYSICAL GOOD you were expecting to receive was a postcard, they haven't gone out yet. We have only sent out postcards that are bundled with shirt and print backers. Postcards are going out very soon though. If you were expecting to receive a shirt or poster print and you haven't received them yet, then something has gone wrong because those have gone out. Write to support@idlethumbs.net. The vinyl LP still isn't done, but we shipped out all shirts and prints for LP customers separately, so again you should have received everything but the album. (Again, if you were expecting to receive a poster or a shirt and haven't, write to support@idlethumbs.net). DIGITAL GOOD STATUS: 30 Flights of Loving has gone out. If you were expecting to receive that, you should have months ago. Digital MP3 tracks have not gone out as the album is not done yet. Wallpapers somehow still haven't gone out yet because I dropped the ball. They'll be headed your way very soon.

Idle Thumbs 87: Spray Spin-Grill Execute commands to survive. Assemble Spaceteam. Alert Sportsfriends. Shoot sad snake. Spray Spin-grill. Games Discussed: Spaceteam, Sportsfriends, Far Cry 3, Letterpress Listen on the Episode Page Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed

Why was I not somehow magically in London this weekend?!

For episode three of the Idle Book Club we read Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon. On this episode: Chris and Sean dig into Michael Chabon's latest, Telegraph Avenue. While swept up by Chabon's prose, they can't quite get over some aspects of the plot. Listen on the Episode Page Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed Looking to buy the book? Telegraph Avenue hardcover from Amazon Telegraph Avenue Kindle edition from Amazon Telegraph Avenue iBook from iTunes

I think there are people who buy the upgrades and then literally just sit there with one hand on their ipad idly tapping all five fingers across an area until it dissolves.

Our SEO is ruined. Idle Thumbs 83: Free Macintosh Warez Day four and you're almost there. Coins pile up, infrastructure is laid down. You miss your friends, even if you never knew their names. You wanted to kill everyone on earth, but the person you killed was yourself. Welcome to real life. Games Discussed: Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube, The Kill Everyone Project, Real Lives 2010, Frog Fractions, The Visit, Mark of the Ninja, Dishonored, Glider, Imperial 2030 Direct episode download. iTunes page. Feed RSS. Episode page.

Please re-read it now that you're not a child! There is a lot more going on than at least I was aware of as a 16 year old.

Your calculation only included salary. Didn't include health benefits, rent, utilities, food, IT, etc. A employee costs a lot more than their salary. I bet they funded half at most, or maybe a third of the two weeks of the Amnesia jam with that money. The rest is surely coming out of pocket for the company because this isn't publisher or otherwise backed.

Oh it seems ridiculous. I hope the core at least ships because it looks like what I would like. But yeah the project seems insane.

This upcoming weeks got a lot of Halo series (including 4), GTA series (including 5), Demon/Dark Souls, and some other bigger stuff. Also we talk about yet another unreleased indie project no one else can play just to balance out.

By titling the episode this we fully admit that we aren't helping. Idle Thumbs 82: An Ancient Evil Awakens We're joined by special guest, designer JP LeBreton, to talk about hidden content, haunted content, and contextualizing your playthrough with a lot of post-game stats. We heard an ancient evil was awakening but it turned out to be a skull that comes out of a face. Games Discussed: Dota 2: Diretide, Hotline Miami, Doom, Fez, Halo, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Frog Fractions, Real Lives 2010, Homefront, Alpha Protocol, Alf Protocol, Assassin's Creed Direct episode download. iTunes page. Feed RSS. Episode page.

The thrilling conclusion to Idle Thumbs IX is here! Since this is literally a continuation of last week, there's again a little audio weirdness, so our apologies for that. Otherwise, enjoy! "Concluding our trio of podcasts recorded two weeks ago due to holiday issues, the crew remains joined by 2K Marin's Steve Gaynor to discuss psychopathic murderer Gordon Freeman, John Madden getting a government bailout, classic network sitcom Coach, and the love affair between the Japanese people and Wizardry." Games Discussed: Half-Life 2, The Dark Spire, Bangai-O Spirits, DinoPark Tycoon, Burnout Paradise, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 iTunes RSS http://www.idlethumbs.net/

The opening of this episode continues to be one of my favorite Thumbs things.

Agreed. Idle Thumbs exists because of a tight-knit group of Internet friends. I was in three or so really close feeling communities of probably 50-100 people max last decade, and it's all largely responsible for every professional opportunity I've had post-high school.