return to the inventory: a poker night 2 documentary

A classic now lost to the world of abandonware, Poker Night 2 was once a straight-forward fun title, subtly showcasing the latest achievements of an up-and-coming studio held in very high regard. Initially retailing at $5 and famously bundled with lots of digital goodies, the story of PN2 expands across many surprising places. Telltale's ability to score huge licensing deals, produce consistently brilliant writing, and their keen dedication to very tight schedules - somehow led to their downfall. The Poker Night at the Inventory series gives a great insight into the changes that Telltale was undergoing, both before and after their breakthrough success with The Walking Dead...perhaps the beginning of the end? Join me as I return to the Inventory (for a second time!) to discuss the second and unfortunately final instalment in everyone's favourite poker franchise. This is the story of Poker Night 2.

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CHAPTERS:
BEFORE POKER NIGHT 2 - 0:00
THE KEY PARTY - 2:48
PRE-ORDERS / PROMOTIONALS - 4:15
THE RELEASE(S) - 5:30
WHY ANOTHER POKER NIGHT? - 7:20
BROCK - 12:18
CLAPTRAP - 21:58
GLaDOS - 31:40
ASH - 36:05
SAM - 42:18
IN CONVERSATION WITH MIKE STEMMLE - 52:08
AND, BRIEFLY, MAX - 55:50
OTHER CAMEOS - 58:41
PN2'S UPDATED AI - 1:00:35
MUSIC @ THE INVENTORY - 1:06:10
THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR - 1:13:00
THE RECEPTION - 1:18:40
THE CONSOLE RELEASE - 1:20:31
THE APPLE VERSION - 1:22:12
THE DEATH OF POKER NIGHT 2 - 1:25:08
...THE END? - 1:26:38
OR NOT, + FOOTNOTES - 1:27:50

FOOTNOTES:
1;    • footnote 1: who would be in poker nig...  
2;    • footnote 2: let's talk about abandonware  

(all quotes and snippets used in these videos have gone uncorrected. any in-text spelling or grammar errors in all of these videos are, generally speaking, errors I left in, rather than errors on my part. I should have used [sic] rather than explaining this in parentheses, though...)

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CREDITS:

voice actors and their works (in no particular order!):

Nerds of a Feather (voice of the Medic, Sam, Skunkape and some Telltale forum posters) -    • Envisioning Poker Night at the Invent...  

Gar1onriva (voice of Jake Rodkin) -    / gar1ontabletop  

TheJ97GamingShow (voice of Nicholas Straub and miscellaneous reviewer voiceovers) -    / @thej97gamingshow  

Daven Tyler Fultz (voice of Larry) -   / daventylerfultz  

Casperr (voice of Nick Herman) -    • The Surprising Team Fortress Crossove...  

Ben (various reviewer voiceovers)

Totally Tubular Jonathan (voice of Jeff Quackenbush) -    • (OLD NEW RANKING OUT) Ranking Every S...  

Joshua / digitalupsight (voice of Mike Stemmle)

Vimbert (voice of Steve Allison) -    / @vimbert  

spiderslash (voice of Tulley Rafferty) -    • I miss the Poker Night games  

some further recommended viewing:
Krutchie's Retrospective -    • The Hidden Poker Game That You Can't ...  
Poker Night Z -    / @pokernightz-adubbedcomicse1415  
GmanLives' Video -    • The Good, The Bad & The Evil Dead Games  
GLaDOS' Villainpedia Entry -    • Villainpedia: GLaDOS  
POKER NIGHT AT THE BROCK SAMSON -    • Poker Night at the BROCK SAMSON  

see also this script in guide form, w/ sources attached - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...

music - there's so much of it that it needs it's own google doc! see below
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h...

I am obligated to list two special tracks though, these being the orchestral rendition of "No Vacancy":    • JG Thirlwell's Steroid Maximus - Vent...  

and Lasse Karhu's cover of "Prologue":    • Transcribing 'Prologue' from 'Army of...  

oh, and Lindh0lm, just cause this cover is sick:    • Half-Life - Closing Theme (Super Mari...  

special thanks:
Mike Stemmle
Nick Herman
Jake Rodkin
Grayfruit
DavidM

thanks also to wyn and macy for their thumbnail feedback
thanks again to Lasse Karhu for their cover of "Prologue". genuine lifesaver with that one!

extra special thanks to Ben and Kane

meikkon, 2023. some rights reserved.