Poker Night at the Inventory

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Revision as of 15:30, 26 November 2010

A different kind of poker night.

"There's no quicker way to turn the hotties off than by being a terrible poker player man." — Strong Bad

Poker Night at the Inventory is a game by Telltale Games released on November 22, 2010, that features Strong Bad, Max (from Sam & Max: Freelance Police), Tycho (from Penny Arcade), and Heavy Weapons Guy (from Team Fortress 2). Telltale promises that it will feature "a new style of poker", presumably in a similar manner to that in the company's other card game, Telltale Texas Hold 'Em. Matt Chapman, besides providing the voice of Strong Bad, was heavily involved in the writing of his dialogue, similar to how he worked with Telltale on Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Characters each start with $10,000. Randomly at the start the game, a character might bet a prized item instead of putting up the money, such as the Heavy's minigun, "Iron Curtain" and Dangeresque Too's sunglasses. These items will then become an unlockable item in Team Fortress 2 if you knock them out during the game. The game takes place in a speakeasy, with the premise that the characters are spending their off hours playing poker. Between playing hands, the characters will have a very deep dialogue system, and each character has their own respective thoughts on the others. It is said that Strong Bad and Tycho hate each other, but Tycho and Max get along really well. Heavy is wary of Tycho, loves Max, and thinks Strong Bad is a tiny Heavy. Strong Bad realizes he's a licensed character that was exploited by Telltale Games, similar to how he was treated in Behind The Bad.

The in-game models are the same as used in their respective games, so Strong Bad stands out against the more realistically shaded characters (along with Tycho, who also gets a cel-shaded cartoon look).

The Inventory

Outside the Inventory

The Inventory's Poker Table

The Inventory is a secret club where video game characters relax and play games when they aren't working. Strong Bad and Pom Pom have played Texas Hold 'Em poker here. The building appears to be a warehouse with a metal door and a lit sign displaying the words "The Inventory". This metal door isn't used, as a hidden elevator in the floor goes down into the real club below. The club is shown to have secret rooms, as a bookcase is opened and closed to allow passage to an unknown area. The club was founded in 1919, in response to an early draft of the prohibition amendment, which would also have outlawed games. The club has remained secret ever since, just in case a similar law is ever created in the future.

Gallery

Strong Bad throws up chips	Strong Bad and Max at the table	Strong Bad and Heavy	Promotional Artwork
Strong Bad Poster	Strong Bad & Team Fortress 2 unlock item	Item Acquired: Dangeresque shades

Refrences Made in Strong Bad's Dialogue

• When losing Strong Bad mutters that the prize money would've just gone to The Cheat's Jaffa Cake fund.
• Strong Bad compares Max to a Pokemon.
• After hearing a mild language very sadistic story about how the Heavy choked an engineer with his own wrench and ripped off his fingers one by one, Strong Bad breaks the awkward silence that follows by shouting, "THAT IS SOME BLEEPED UP BLEEP, MAN!", even with bleeps turned off, marking a rare case of Strong Bad using a swear.
• One taunt Strong Bad will use is "Looks like you're gonna have to fold!" This is a reference to Dangeresque's catchphrase, "Looks like I'm gonna have to jump!"
• One of the lines Strong Bad can say when raising is "raisin' in the sun".
• Strong Bad refers to the Heavy as "Heavym'n"
• Strong Bad asks the Heavy if he can take care of The King of Town for him. Strong Bad clarifies that he meant to sneak into his room and shave off half his mustache, not to assassinate him. When the Heavy says he's not good at sneaking, Strong Bad suggests they corner him in a dark alley. The Heavy still thinks Strong Bad wants to kill him, causing Strong Bad to shrug off the Heavy's desire to assassinate the King of Town with a simple "oh well".
• Strong Bad also suggests that the Heavy should come live in the House of Strong, implying that the Heavy would displace Strong Sad.
• Strong Bad says "Flops are stupid, but floppy disks are analogawesome.
• Strong Bad says "Flop, flop crap. Crop. Trying to make it rhyme. See what I was doing there?"
• Strong Bad tells Tycho he will kick him in his groin face.
• Strong Bad is upset when Tycho asks him what he'll do if he ever gets a lady, and Strong Bad says he's surrounded by ladytypes. When asked how he manages to unhook a bra with his boxing glove hands, Strong Bad says bras fly right off due to the odor from his natural musk.
• When The Heavy asks if Strong Bad wrestles, Strong Bad says he's a wrestleman, not a "wrestle...ER".
• Strong Bad says he can "buy a new Compy with that pot. One with a half-core processor".
• Sometimes, when Strong Bad has to make a decision to call a large bet, he will state that this decision is harder "then the time both Strong Sad and Homestar asked me for dessert, and I only had one laxative-laced brownie left."
• Strong Bad said playing poker at the inventory was "better than poker night at Homestar's. Marzipan is always walking around au-natural trying to get us to play no-loser Candy Land". After Tycho asks Strong Bad what no-loser Candy Land is, Strong Bad says "I don't know. Loser!"
• After losing 1 on 1 showdown, "You know I let you win. I like to see how the other half lives sometimes."
• If Strong Bad wins two hands in a row, he'll say "You know, I'll just keep winning. Same plan. Twice times, twice times."
• Strong Bad mentions "jibblie nightmares."
• Periodically, Strong bad will state that he's "totally in this hand. Total, man."
• Tycho and Strong Bad have a very antagonistic relationship with one another. Examples include Tycho claiming that Strong Badia is nothing but a deflated tire and a piece of dog whatsit. Strong Bad also shows envy toward Tycho's popularity and says that his Penny-Arcade Expo is nothing without him.

Fun Facts

• This is the first time a Homestar Runner character has been in a game with characters from other video game franchises.
• Swears are in the game (with the option to bleep them out). Even with the censor removed, however, Strong Bad's swears are still bleeped out.
• Strong Bad's character bio reads:

  Heralding from the oft-overlooked municipality of Strong Badia, Strong Bad enjoys heavy metal music, video games, cold ones, computers, jetpacks, chainsaw arms, fireworks, jumps, babes, and guitar-axes (both guitars with a sharp edge and axes that go "squiddelydoo" when they chop wood). His poker strategy consists of belittling his opponents and hoping they fall prey to his "natural musk fog." Watch the critically acclaimed drama "Strong Bad emails," where Strong Bad checks his email on Homestarrunner.com or be sure to catch his made for TV movie "The Loneliest Rainbow." Check your local listings for showtimes.

• Strong Bad uses The Poopsmith's shovel to scoop up chips.
• Pom Pom makes a cameo in the introduction wearing the pre-order bonus Dealer's Visor for Team Fortress 2.
• A Maps and Minions board can be seen in the opening.
• The Dangeresque theme song can be heard occasionally in the background.
• When Strong Bad busts out, he can be seen in the background playing on a Buster Blaster video game from Sam & Max.
• The Heavy reveals that his favorite video game is Where's An Egg?.
• Tycho asks Strong Bad how he can do anything with "hands like those".
• Sometimes when Tycho wins, he says "at least Strong Bad didn't win. That pleases me." Then he looks back at Strong Bad and imitates his voice when he says "he needs to be taken down a peg".
• A Trogdor table, a Videlectrix table, a Strong Badia table and an Atari Homestar card deck are all unlockable by winning tournaments. The Videlectrix table turns Strong Bad into his polygonal Dating Sim version.

External links

• Poker Night at the Inventory official website at Telltale Games
• Teaser Video released August 28th, 2010
• Official Trailer Video released November 3rd, 2010
• GamePro article covering how the game was put together
• Poker Night Wiki