The road to the mythical kingdom of Westeros now passes through Boston, as a local video game company launches a new game based on the popular television series “Game of Thrones.”

Titled Game of Thrones Ascent, the game debuts Thursday on the Facebook social network. Fans of the HBO series can play as nobles in the service of the great families portrayed on the show. Facebook friends can join forces online to complete challenging tasks. Or they can compete for the wealth and status they’ll need to sway the destiny of the Seven Kingdoms.

But Disruptor Beam Inc., the small Boston game development house that has built Game of Thrones Ascent, faces a more arduous task. It must find an audience for a new online game, even as the growthfor us."

On "True Defiance," Ryan Clark, Tim "Yogi" Watts (drums), Jonathan Dunn (bass) and Patrick Judge (lead guitar) are joined by their longtime friend Jeremiah Scott (guitar), whose credits as a metal musician (The Showdown) and producer (Living Sacrifice) are well established. The partnership marks a vital new chapter in the celebrated history of Demon Hunter, who are currently in their 10th year of writing, breaking and erasing the rules of hard rock. Not ones to rest on their laurels, however, the members have created an album that not only lives up to their own lofty standards, but sets a new high-water mark for what DH is capable of.

"We've been extremely underwhelmed with metal for the last five years or so, and that's been the fuel to create