Episode 66: "Why Do You Love Video Games?"

Here it is, now live for ALL AUDIENCES at ScrewAttack. For a quick refresher, here is the FilmCritHulk article from BAD which the main premise of his episode is affectionately ripped-off from...



So, about this episode...

I really like this one, and believe it or not it came together all at once: I've been pretty sick the last few weeks, and as such a significantly more elaborate episode (in terms of central topic and bookends) that was originally planned to be #66 fell a bit behind in production. I didn't want to make everyone wait any longer than they'd waited already, and it occured to me that A.) nobody had done a "gamer" version of the Hulk-spawned "Why You Love" meme and B.) it would be an easier to script to read/edit with my in-and-out vocal chords since it'd lack run-on paragraphs. Also, I got the sense it could really be something special, but naturally that's up to you to judge.

So I did it up, spent a day compiling the 200+ images (a new record!) and put together some short "filler" bookends that don't necessarily "advance" the narrative but at least they 're-up' everyone on NecroThinker and the Video-Zombies; along with giving me an excuse to 'borrow' that wicked-cool ending animation from "Golden Axe."

Is This, At Last, The Bottom?

If I was asked to sum-up the thing MOST wrong with "geek culture" in general and gamer culture specifically, it would be three simple words: BETA-MALE MISOGYNY - the general sense of angst-driven entitlement among a sizable chunk of geekdom's dominant white/hetero/male demographic that it's somehow "justified" for them to engage in the casual hatred/debasement of women (and minorities and gays while we're at it) because they were (or at least percieve themselves to have been) slighted by women in the past/present.


You see this manifest everywhere, from the absolutely brutal woman-hatred that afflicts shut-in havens like Reddit or Tumblr, to say nothing of the toxic environment fostered in online gaming communities... and, of course, the wailing about criticism of such spaces in the form of "Aw, c'mon! This is the ONLY place left where it's okay for guys to talk like that!" - as though the fact that there shouldn't be a place where that's "okay" has NEVER occured to them - and now you can see it in Kotaku's most-recent brain fart: Giving over article space to a "comedic" memoir by a self-professed "ladies' man" detailing his Tucker Max-esque 'challenge' of getting women to have sex in his Sonic The Hedgehog themed bed.

Okay, so... pretty vile. Congratulations on the traffic Kotaku, you've more than earned it - but can I ask if this can please be the BOTTOM now? Seriously - Gamer Culture? Can we let this be "it," the last worst thing "we" do to make ourselves look like the degenerate lumps everyone assumes we are to begin with? Or do we have further yet left to sink...

EPISODE 66 ANNOUNCEMENT!

Head's up! Episode 66: "Why Do You Love Video Games?" - inspired by this article from friend-of-the-show-FilmCritHULK - will debut wide on ScrewAttack on Tuesday 2/28. ScrewAttack advantage members (remember: Advantage gets you an ad-free site and directly supports the shows of your choice) can get an early look NOW at this link.

BIG UPDATE TIME!

Okay, so...

Things went a little dark-ish here, for a bit. Short version: Got a nasty sick-bug of some sort that played hell on my vocal chords and knocked-out one of my ears for awhile, so my productivity went to shit. Things are picking back up, so time for some updates:

Firstly, two more episodes have "aged into" YouTube-readiness: Episode 61: "Bells & Whistles" and Episode 62: "Seeing Red."

Second: A new episode HAS been completed, though I don't know when (presumably in the near future) it will air at this time. I will post it as soon as I know more.

Third: I recently learned that, unfortunately, the proposed TGO panel was not picked up to be part of PAXEast this year. Dissapointing, but these things happen. I'm in the process of contacting folks who had offered to participate; and I will still be appearing on/at (at least) two other events at the show.

Kim Kardashian addresses Mark Sanchez rumors!

Kim on twitter:

“dating rumors are always fun when u don’t even know the people your supposedly linked to! Who makes this stuff up!” Kardashian posted on the social media site.


Mark is however reportedly dating Victoria’s Secret model Kate Upton, 19.

We all know though football players aren't exactly loyal and Kim is not exactly always honest.

Kourtney Kardashian hits the beach pregnant in a bikini and Scott Disick tags along in a mankini!

EPISODE 65: "Open The Vault!"

New show! You go watch now! YOU GO WATCH NOW!

The main thrust of this episode - the need for the license-holders to classic games to get that material back out there for the good of the medium, the fans and themselves - is one I expect to see become a BIG discussion-point as digital-distribution tech becomes as prominent for gaming as it is for music and movies. Golden-age games are going to get out there (much moreso than NOW, I mean) one way or another... so the industry might as well get out in front of it. The all-but innevitable spectacle of Nintendo (and you KNOW it'll be Nintendo) morphing into Metallica to downloadable-classics' Napster would be a pathetic sight I'd rather we avoid.

ALSO! This is the first of the new episodes to "fully" embrace the new presentation-format for the story-segments - i.e. a brief "teaser" before the opening credits followed by a (sometimes) lengthier chunk of it at the conclusion of the main episode. This particular "chunk" involves a MAJOR development for the "RetroThinker" character that I can't wait to hear what people think of. Embedded episode and SPOILERS after the jump:



So! If you're wondering, this is NOT the way RetroThinker's story was originally set to play out; though it has been since at least shortly after I began shooting the live-action footage for these segments.

When I initially sketched out this whole arc, the Yellow Jewel (and now you know why RT wears his silly yellow shirt) was going to be the power source for a time machine RetroThinker would seek out and attempt to use to return to his own era - which would then malfunction and A.) set up an easter-egg for the NEXT arc and B.) "generate" an evil version of himself called NecroThinker (who was concieved, from the beginning, as a Black Lantern parody who commanded video-zombies.) RetroThinker would then battle NecroThinker - ultimately sacrificing his chance to return home to defeat him - and the "malfunction" would be revealed to have been a deliberate act by the Monster Voice Guy.

But while setting up the "final" scripts, it occured to me (and yes, audience feedback was a contributing factor here) that there wasn't really all that much "difference" between OverThinker and RetroThinker as characters - in as much as OverThinker and "real Bob" are both pretty fixated on retro-gaming as it is - so having the new bad guy fought by a guy who was already too much like the hero was going to come out sloppy and could probably be made more interesting. What you now see the beginning of here, a sympathetic good-guy becoming a villain and OverThinker having to combat a retro-centric villain, was the obvious choice is terms of taking the story in a different direction while continuing the goofy/low-rent Tokusatsu send-up vibe I've been aiming for.

The only aspect of this episode I'm not 100% satisfied with is that NecroThinker's costume doesn't look as good here as I wanted to - we had a narrow production window for the matching-shots on the transformation, so we went with temporary version of his cape as I hadn't finished making the "final" one at the time. It looks alright (the final version is made of heavier material but has the same basic color and design) but I'd prefer it "move" a little less like the plastic tablecloth we made it out of. Ah well. The mask, at least, remains suitably creepy IMO.

As for what comes next? Stay tuned ;)

Everybody Do The "Big Nintendo Announcement" Dance!!!

Nintendo has announced that The Wii-U and (presumably sooner) 3DS will support "The Nintendo Network" - an online service for digital-distribution, DLC and (presumably) superior online-multiplayer.

Oh, goody! It's dance time!

Places everyone - you know the steps by now!

Predictable Nintendo Fanboys: Get really, really excited and start pretending that you never ever once said that this particular feature - which literally every other console manufacturer in the business has already been doing for at least six years - wasn't important and/or that Nintendo was better off without it!

Predictable Nintendo Haters: That's your cue to start acting like the "late-to-the-party" thing is really, really significant - and make sure to punctuate with an "Oooooh, super! I can't wait to play [insert-unpopular-Wii-title-here] online!"

Round n' round n' round we go! WHEEEEEEE!!!

Capcom Uses PS3 Exclusives to Flip Off Mega Man Fans

Hat-tip: ScrewAttack

Capcom does NOT have a good relationship with "Mega Man" fans these days. Series creator Keiji Inafune left the company last year, and the lack of (good) new projects in the series coupled with the cancellation of "Mega Man Legends 3" and "Mega Man Universe" has turned fans heavily negative on the company.

Capcom's irritation at the situation, along with irritating at the constant drumbeat for the character to pop up as a guest-star in the company's numerous crossover titles, HAS to have just a tiny bit to do with the content this trailer for PS3-exclusive characters in "Street Fighter vs. Tekken;" in which Mega Man is featured in a somewhat unexpected form...

More Street Fighter x Tekken Videos

Yup. "American NES Box-Art Mega Man."

I suppose on one level I have to admire the skill/audacity involved in this kind of "trolling;" but I can't say it doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. Of all the various types of "fanboys" who could stand to be brought down a peg... I feel like Mega Man fans - hell, fans of retro-gaming franchises OTHER than first-party Nintendo properties - are having a rough enough time without Capcom telling them to go fuck themselves. Though, honestly, for me it's not half as painful as watching twerpy "Cole" knock-out Ryu (yeah, right...)

Episode 65 Update (UPDATED!)

UPDATE! I am informed that "Episode 65's" technical issues have been resolved, and the episode should be back up for Advantage-member viewing later this evening. As set before, the episode will be viewable by all audiences Tuesday, January 31st.

Okay, so... "Episode 65" was supposed to go up for early-viewing by Advantage members today and briefly did a few hours ag;, but there were some technical issues and the video has been temporarily taken down. I can't offer any more details than that, but the problem being worked on and should be back up soon.

I apologize to any Advantage viewers who may have been inconvenienced by this delay. In addition, at this time the issue is not expected to impact the scheduled all-audiences debut of the episode this coming Tuesday, January 31st.

Seeking Musicians

Are you or do you know a musician who works in the "chiptune" (aka "old-school video-game style music") medium? Looking for a potential opportunity for work and exposure? Read on!

"The Game OverThinker" needs some new theme and soundtrack music, and I'm looking to work with some independent chiptune-style artists in order to get it made.

Here's what I'd be looking for - and it need not come from only ONE artist (as easy as that would make my opening credits...)

- Music in the vein of NES-era Capcom/Konami games, composed as repeatable loops.
- A short, punchy "intro" theme.
- At least 2 "action" themes.
- A "sitting around the house" theme.
- A "scary/bad stuff happening" theme.
- A "funny hijinks" theme.

This would be the terms of any deal: The ONLY thing I'm going to ask for is permission/rights to use the pieces in the show - the original artists will retain ALL rights to their work and can do whatever else they want with it, and I will put that in writing.

If this is of interest to you, please post some contact information in the talkback below (if posting anonymously, please include something for me to call you.)

EPISODE 64: "Beyond SOPA"

SOPA and PIPA are dead for now, and even the ESA has dropped it's support. This episode isn't about that... this is about what happens next...

ALSO! The "RetroThinker" story takes a surprising turn, and a bit of "tweaking" to the show-format is announced. Spoiler-ish discussion of all that and more after the jump.



Believe it or not, when I recorded the voiceover audio for this I had no idea that the SOPA/PIPA/ESA thing would tumble as quickly and as soon as it did, though I'm obviously happy for the serendipity. I hope I don't come off like a "downer," but I thought it was important in the midst of all the "fight the power!" mythmaking to acknowledge that the entertainment lobby DOES have a point about digital piracy being out of control and that at some point the same kind of mutual give-and-take sanity that prevailed in the downloadable-music fiasco has to prevail in downloadable-everything-else.

As to the ongoing saga of poor RetroThinker... well, if you think his situation seems unusual now; you won't believe what's in store for him next episode. I was a little nervous about this character/arc (still am, really) because it's a bit less of outright comedy as the AntiThinker or Ninja stuff, but so far I'm happy with how it's come together and very happy that people seem to have taken to him - for now, anyway...

Now, about the format business. Fun fact: Most of the live-action footage that you've seen since "Ninjamageddon" was shot over a few weeks in late October with some pickups in November; which has a lot (but not all) to do with why the change announced here (i.e. the bulk of the story/comedy stuff happening at the END of most episodes with just a setup teaser at the very beginning) is happening now instead of awhile ago - the footage had already been edited and finalized for "bookend"-style breakdowns. Now that I've "caught up" (Episode 65 will feature the absolute last of that "pre-shot" footage) I can start writing/shooting/cutting with an eye to "back-loaded" serious-part/silly-part divides.

ANYWAY! Next episode's topic will be of the educational variety; while the "story" segment will feature the return of a character not "seen" since before "War of The Thinkers" and a plot-turn that I have a feeling will be fairly divisive. So stay tuned for that...

The ESA has dropped it's support of SOPA. Holy shit.

Okay, kind of beside the point since the bill (and it's cousin PIPA) are both effectively dead, but still a pretty big deal and a HUGE moment for the video-gaming community. If nothing else, it shows that the same fervor that's often mounted in support of silly causes like Diablo III's color-scheme or "nerfing" of this or that feature CAN in fact be mobilized to effect real concrete change in the industry; and that in itself is an incredibly positive development.

In terms of business/politics/history, this whole series of events also represents a pretty massive shift in the entertainment-industry power structure - essentially, the tech/digital side of the amusement biz (video games, Google, Wiki, YouTube etc) were on the winning side of a legislative defeat while the film/TV side came out the (corporate) losers. The Internet is now "officially" more powerful than Hollywood - that's a big change, and the aftershocks will be felt for a long time.

For those who're wondering about the status of the Stand Together boycott... as of right now, I don't know. Speaking only for myself, I think that it's incumbent upon to me to acknowledge that they "listened to us" and rescind the "no E3 coverage whatsoever" blackout for my own blogs; but I don't think I'll be throwing them a party either - they never should've supported the bill in the first place. I'll clarify that further once everyone invovled in the initial boycott gets on the same page.

As to "what's next?" Tomorrow night (Saturday) at 10pm CST, I'll have a NEW episode of The Game OverThinker up for ALL audiences that - rather presciently, if I do say so myslef - has a few things to say about where anti-piracy legislation and the relationship between the entertainment industry and it's audiences in an increasingly-digitized age needs to go. I hope you'll tune in - it also features the announcement of some "tweaking" to the format of the series that I think many will find very pleasing.

Resident Evil 6 is Looking a Little Brown

Yeah, so... I'm just gonna be the guy who says it: This trailer for "Resident Evil 6" makes it look suspiciously like Capcom's zombie franchise has caught the Call of Duty virus. Maybe that's just a marketing thing, but it doesn't fill me with confidence.

New Episode Announcement

Head's up: EPISODE 64, which deals with SOPA and piracy, will debut this Saturday at 10pm CST... and because of the timely and important nature of the subject, there will be NO Advantage delay - it will be viewable by all audiences right off the bat.

ALSO: Episode 60 has made it's way to YouTube, so if you wanted to see it again now's your chance.

STAND TOGETHER - The Gaming Community vs SOPA and PIPA

Short version: In solidarity with ScrewAttack.com and other websites, I will not be attending or directly-posting any news coverage of this year's E3 unless the ESA (which runs E3) rescinds it's support for the SOPA bill. Longer version:



Please link, repost, tweet etc. this video/blog as widely as possible; and I stand with the others in asking that you encourage other gaming/web outlets to join the "boycott" of E3.

HOWEVER! please remember that regardless or what this or that person may feel about SOPA; not everyone is in a position to refuse to attend or cover E3 and should NOT be ill-treated if they opt not to join this particular movement of SOPA opposition - the last thing we need at this time is to splinter and fractionalize, so I don't want to see anyone pulling any "this or that site is still going to E3! Traitors!!!" bullshit, okay? Okay.

Lollipop Chainsaw Villain Reveal

The latest trailer for Suda51 and James Gunn's action/horror spoof "Lollipop Chainsaw" reveals the game's bad guy, "Swan," who has one of the most appropriate "goth kid" voices I've heard in something like this - he's not credited, but people are telling me it's probably Michael Rooker. (And, yes, that's Tara "Twilight Sparkle" Strong as the main character.)

"Indoor Kids" and HULK Plug TGO

Many, many big thanks to the great Film Crit Hulk for the nice plug for the show on the most-recent "Indoor Kids" podcast during a revisitation of the "Arkham City" kerfluffle. Have a listen HERE.


The whole thing was very interesting, but I'm especially glad to see someone come out strong on the notion (which has been on my mind as well) that the advent of voice-acting as a "must have" thing in modern gaming has been potential harmful to the medium in terms of storytelling - particularly in the case of JRPGs, which were once routinely held up as one of the BEST genres for delivering "big idea" narratives but became the stuff of punchlines once they had to start using voices instead of text.

Three More To The Tubes

The older-eps-to-YouTube-migration is now as up to date as it can be, with the additons of #57: Supreme Responsibility, #58: Heavens to Metroid Revisited and #59: Bat-Slap.

Sonic the Hedgehog meets Progressive Flo; Squicky Fan-Art to Follow

via Kotaku

Sega has lent out their maybe-not-"over"-anymore mascot to appear in commercials for Progressive Insurance opposite the company's own memetic spokesperson, Flo...



It's kind of cute until you realize the horrors it's going to spawn over in DeviantArt...

Video Games? THIS Is Why It's Hard To Stick Up For You Sometimes...

hat-tip: ScrewAttack

Presented without further commentary, an apparently-legitimate Japanese print-ad for "Soul Calibur V."

I'm reasonably certain this is Ivy.

Still More YouTube "New" Episodes, Plus Updates

Okay, here's the latest chunk of "new classics" now viewable on The Tubes: #54: Make It Rain, #55: What We Lost In The Fire and #56: Setting Sun.

Also, you may have seen earlier that I'll be busy at Arisia 2012...


Now, to show business: While I can't get into the specifics, I wanted to give people a head's-up that, while the production schedule of a series like this often makes "immediate" changes to format difficult, the concerns of many fans about the manner in which the "framing" skits are integrated into the main body of the show have been heard and a slight-but-significant "shakeup" in that format is coming soon (probably next episode, or at least an explanation thereof) that I think will A.) lead to better episodes overall and B.) be found agreeable by many.

Additionally, I wanted to say how glad I am that the "RetroThinker" storyline is being so well-recieved for the most part. On my end, he's a nice change of pace from the pantomime-slapstick of playing the two ninjas and the one-note douchiness of Anti-Thinker.

I'm aware that some are concerned that his "arc" is turning into a polemic against modern gaming; but to those fans I'd say please stay tuned and see where it actually ends up. I can't promise that everyone will LIKE where this character's "journey" is going... but I also don't think it's a direction many are "predicting" yet.

So, yeah... stay tuned for that :)

Here's Where The Game OverThinker Will Be at ARISIA 2012

Hey all!

As mentioned before, I'm scheduled to be at the Boston Area scifi convention ARISIA 2012 the weekend of January 13 - 16 at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Here's a quick rundown of panels/events (preliminary) where I'm schedule to appear (whole schedule available HERE)

Video-Gaming Panels in Boldface:
Friday 5:30 PM - "E.T. at 30."
Friday 7:00 PM - "The Future of Bioethics as Portrayed in Film"
Friday 8:30 PM - "Batman Through the Ages"
Friday 10:00 PM - "More Terrible SF/F Movies We Love"

Saturday 10:00 AM - "Gender and Video Games"
Saturday 1:00 PM - "Monsters in Motion: Harryhausen at Work"
Saturday 4:00 PM - "If You Liked Part 1..."
Saturday 10:00 PM - "The Death of PC Gaming May Be Greatly Exaggerated"

Sunday 1:00 PM - "Wonder Woman"
Sunday 10:00 PM - "Marvel Movies"

Monday 10:00 AM - "Star Wars at 35"
Monday 11:30 AM - "MST3K: The Panel"
Monday 1:00 PM - "The Alien as Metaphor"

Vox To Launch Gaming Site

Big news from the world of games journalism today, as Vox Media (the folks behind The Verge) have announced the launch of a gaming news site. To start with, they've hired up a murderer's-row of established industry talent: Chris Grant (formerly of Joystiq), Justin McElroy (Joystiq), Brian Crecente (Kotaku), Russ Pitts (The Escapist), Chris Plante, Russ Frushtick, Arthur Gies and Griffin McElroy.

Russ Pitts I know personally - he's one of the people who helped pluck your's truly out of YouTube obscurity and was a key figure in shaping Escape to The Movies and The Big Picture. Just wanted to toss he and his new compatriots some extra promotion. Good luck, guys!

More To The Tubes

Four more episodes have made their way to YouTube:

The Episode 50 Commentary
#51: Putting The Cart Before The Cloud
#52: Dark Days
#53: Things Learned In The Dark

EPISODE 63: "The Rose-Colored Reality"

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The brand-new episode is now LIVE a full day early! Hear The OverThinker consider whether our affection for the Golden Age has been overblown... and learn what became of The RetroThinker in the modern world!

New Episode Coming January 3rd!

Head's up! EPISODE 63 will debut for all-audiences this coming Monday, January 3rd, at 11pm EST. ScrewAttack Advantage members can get a special early look tonight (Friday) at the same time.

American Classic Arcade Museum Seeks Your Help!

hat-tip: Kotaku.
The American Classic Arcade Museum is seeking donations to aquire several rare classic arcade machines - including Discs of Tron! - from a private collector. I've made a donation, and I encourage any readers who are able/willing to do the same. Read on past the jump for details.

The American Classic Arcade Museum (ACAM) is located within a famous New Hampshire family entertainment complex called "The Funspot," which many of you may have seen in the film "King of Kong." While "Funspot" itself is a business, the ACAM is a registered nonprofit operation dedicated to not only collecting vintage arcade machines but also preserving them to be played by "Funspot" visitors. A private collector has offered to sell them five classic game machines that would be "new" to their collection - Space Dungeon, Mad Planets, Discs of Tron and Black Widow - and ACAM is asking for donations to raise the $1,840.00 needed to purchase the lot on their main website page via the "chip-in" widget.

Some of the happiest memories I have are of going to The Funspot during yearly family vacations to the NH area. The "museum" concept is relatively new, a response to the place's newfound prominence at the start of the Retro-Gaming boom - for the longest time they were simply a place that chose to keep their HUGE collection of game machines in working order rather than junking them for new ones. As a result, they have one of the BEST collections of vintage games - many of them extremely rare (they have a standup "Chiller" cabinet!) - that you can visit and play.

They have not asked me to post this information on these blogs - I am doing so to give back to both a good cause and a specific organization that has brought me a lot of good times over the years. I encourage any fans, readers etc. with a few bucks to spare to considering kicking some their way. The amount they're trying to raise is not very high, and you'll not only be supporting the good cause of classic game preservation - you'll be helping these games be placed in a REAL arcade where they can be rediscovered and enjoyed by new generations of gamers who might otherwise never have the chance. This is our gamer-heritage, folks, and it's important that we preserve it.

Here is the link once again. My sincerest thanks to everyone who chips in, and to Funspot/ACAM for doing what they do. I'm planning to visit the place again this Summer, and it sure would be a kick to take a turn at that Discs of Tron machine when I do.

The ENTIRE "AntiThinker Saga" is Now On YouTube!

Episodes 43 through 50 - which encompasses the entirety of the "AntiThinker" framing-story - are now up on YouTube. Some loved it, some hated it, now everyone can see it (or revisit it) and decide for themselves...
#43: Double Trouble
#44: AntiThinker: History
#45: AntiThinker: MegaMan
#46: AntiThinker: Zelda
#47: Quest of The OverThinker: Farm Team
#48: Quest of The OverThinker: The Zen of Grind
#49: Quest of The OverThinker: Retro-A-Go-Go
#50: WAR OF THE THINKERS (mini-movie)

Have Six More

Happy Holidays! SIX more "new classic" episodes are now viewable on YouTube: #38: The SGC Panel Part I and Part II, #39: The Emporer Has No Clothes, #40: Heavens to Metroid, #41: The Revolution and #42: Worst Person. Enjoy!

Seeking PAXEast Peeps

Okay, so... I went and submitted a "Game OverThinker" panel pitch to PAXEast (which I'll be at this year, in one capacity or another) and since I know some of my fellow games-industry-affiliated folks check these blogs I figured it'd be as good a place as any to see if anyone would be interested in possibly taking part as well, as it's my experience that an interesting group of potential panelists can help a panel get "picked up" (though either way, no real garauntee it actually happens as TGO is still a growing show and this is a huge convention.)

The proposed panel I've named "THE POLITICS OF GAMING," and it'd be exactly what it sounds like: a forum for panelists and the audience (mostly the audience, one hopes) to talk about gaming issues that have crossed over and/or into broader political discussions - the Red Cross issue, the Supreme Court decision, "Bioshock" as a critique of libertarianism, treatment of LGBT characters, Call of Duty etc as endorsements/condemnations of The War on Terror, all that sort of thing.

Though I'll take who/what I can get in terms of fellow panelists, ideally I'd like to get people with differing views on this or that from myself or from others. So if you're going to be at the show and would be interested in taking part (IF it gets picked up at all, of course) hit me up in the comments below - please identify yourself in posting "Anonymous"- preferably with some kind of contact info so we can talk shop.

Let's see what happens!

Four More For The Tubes

Four more "new classics" have made the pilgrimage to YouTube: #34: Waggle War, #35: A Response to Roger Ebert, #36: Who's Your Daddy, Mega Man? and #37: In Which I Defend Kinect. Go see!

Three More Make The Jump

Three more "New Classic" older-episodes have made the jump to YouTube - #31: "What's The Difference?", #32: "I Heart Bayonetta" and #33: "Building a Better Gamer." Go have a look :)

Episode 62: "Seeing Red"

The International Red Cross raises concerns about military games and The Geneva Convention. The OverThinker responds.



Even though the opening/closing skits are, as ever, strictly an "extra" thing; I hope people enjoy The RetroThinker as a character - he's a lot of fun to inhabit here and there.

First Three "New To YouTube" TGO Episodes Now Playing

Previously ScrewAttack-Exclusive "older" episodes of the show are now beginning to be posted to YouTube. The first wave, available for viewing NOW, are #28: COMPLEX ISSUES, #29: CONTINUUM and #30: A Tale of Two Games. Go take a look (#30 may still be processing, keep refreshing)

ANNOUNCEMENT: Full Episodes of "The Game OverThinker" Returning to YouTube!

Yes, for real.

First things first: NO, this doesn't mean that the show is leaving ScrewAttack or that my relationship with them has changed in any way - it hasn't. This is all about promoting the show: Making sure that the widest possible audience can A.) see the episodes and B.) learn where/how they can see them early and show their support if they so choose.

Starting soon (probably this weekend if not sooner) previously ScrewAttack-exclusive episodes will begin showing up on YouTube once they have reached a certain "age."

Now, the whole backlog is NOT going to get dumped there all at once. Instead, once the uploading begins it will at first be about one "older" ScrewAttack episode popping up every day or maybe every other day until we're "caught up." After that, 'newer' episodes will make the same leap once they have reached proper vintage.

2012 is going to be a BIG year for The Game OverThinker, and I can't wait to share it with everybody.

Big Picture: "If The Oscars Were The VGAs"

What if Hollywood's big award show sucked as much as gaming's?

The Escapist : The Big Picture : If the Oscars Were the VGAs

Only YOU Can Rescue The 1% in "Rainbow Six: Patriots"

I have my well-documented "issues" with the mega-popularity of the First-Person Shooter genre, but for the most part it's centered around their part in the blanding-up of the medium and the devaluation of the single-player experience. But there's a darker side to the whole phenomenon - namely, that it's helped to make the gaming medium a favorite new roost for the more despicable elements of America's political "right-wing."



While the film and television industry (with some noteworthy exception) doggedly avoided serving up the kind of NRA-empowerment/vengeance-porn some audiences were clammoring for in the wake of 9/11; the games industry pretty-much jumped in and said "let's do this!" - Neither Obama or even Bush could ever blast enough craters in the Middle East to slake the voyeuristic bloodlust of Team Nugent; so "Modern Warfare" and the like have been filling the void... and reaping enthusiastic "attaboys!" from wingnut nation for doing so.

It's an unpleasant development from any angle, but thus far it's at least been one-sided: Sarah Palin's America may love Military-FPS's; but thus far Military-FPS's haven't been (openly) loving them back - even "Modern Warfare" hedges it's ideological bets by dropping a "renegade American general" bad guy into it's assinine Neo-Soviet/Muslim/Illuminati/S.P.E.C.T.R.E. overarching conspiracy storyline. But that may be changing in the newest Tom Clancy-branded shooter, "Rainbow Six: Patriots," which just ran a new trailer on the excerable VGAs and in doing so revealed that the NEW villains you'll be blasting away at this time are...

...Occupy Wall-Street.

Well, okay, not exactly - the baddies are supposedly a homegrown terrorist militia called "The Patriots" who're as miffed at the government as they are at corporate America (so... the Sons of Liberty without all the cool robots and ninjas), but it's telling that this is the flavor they wanted for the big debut. It's an effective spot, to be sure, but it also carries an unmistakable implication that they've looked at the current zeitgeist and determined that their audience is more inclined to see the activists as potential terrorists and Wall Street as a threatened victim in need of protection. Is their calculation correct? Does the "Rainbox Six" audience look at OWS and see the American Al-Qaeda?

I'll admit, it'd be less "creepy" without Clancy's name attached. If you only know his "brand" from the movies you may not be aware of it, but Tom Clancy's stuff took a turn for right-wing fringe wackjobbery awhile ago; so it's not exactly a "reach" that his name would be on a "let's blast the hippies!" game - though I don't think he actual contributes to the content of the series anymore...

Fortune Street

From now on, whenever I'm feeling down in the dumps about the future of the gaming medium, I'll just try and remember that there's a game where the Mario and DragonQuest characters can play a version of Monopoly against one another... and that someone at Nintendo decided "what the hell, let's bring it Stateside!"



I feel like this is the sort of franchise (there's been a few of these in Japan already) that would've become kind of a "cult classic" in the West if it had come out in the PS2/GC era. Wonder if it actually sells decently here now, just on the Mario brand factor?

EPISODE 61: "Bells & Whistles"

UPDATE (AGAIN!) As it turns out, Shigeru Miyamoto is NOT retiring and may not even be changing his "official" title within the Nintendo corporation. They are now calling the Wired article that began this (apparently false) reporting - which is now being blamed for Nintendo's stock price taking a two-point hit today - the result of bad translation.

Think of this as a brief respite between "big stuff," as the very NEXT episode (next Friday!) features both a controversial topic and the introduction of a new character. Technically, this week has the "live" debut of Jack Lieberson: Ninja Senator, though he's been seen and heard before. Enjoy!

Scheduling!

Reminder: EPISODE 61 will be viewable by ALL AUDIENCES tonight at 11pm EST!

In addition, EPISODE 62 will run MUCH earlier than usual (next Friday, the 16th - time not yet confirmed) owing to the topical nature of it's main discussion subject (to be revealed soon enough.) ADVANTAGE members will be able to get an early look on the 13th.

ALSO: I am schedule to appear at the Boston-Area scifi/fantasy/etc convention "ARISIA" on all three days (January 13th-16th.) While I'm not yet able to divulge which panels and/or events I'll be appearing at, I'll also be up and around the area so any fans attending feel free to say hello.

Project Rainfall Wins One

After much fan outcry, Nintendo WILL bring "Xenoblade Chronicles" to the U.S... as a GameStop exclusive.

Now, will fans actually BUY IT; or will this be like every other 'hardcore' Wii title where everyone says they DESPERATELY want it and then it sits on the shelves (No More Heroes, Madworld, need I go on?)

"Skyrim" Fans, This is Your New Favorite Thing Today

I'm inclined to think that Nintendo may have made a substantial mistake in releasing "Skyward Sword" (which I'm loving, don't get me wrong) opposite "Skyrim" - but then, who could've realistically predicted that a new "Elder Scrolls" game would be THIS big of a hit (which is in itself good news) in age of COD?

Anyway, here's a cartoon from Harry Partridge:

I've Been Waiting Fourteen Years For THIS South Park Game

A little late to this news - found it while reading the "bigger" news about the South Park RPG...

I sometimes feel like 'genre' is an unappreciated thing in game design, particularly when it comes to licensed properties. How many times have you seen a movie/TV/comic tie-in game turn out shit because it's been saddled with some half-baked "innovative" design build when a perfectly serviceable title could've been had by dropping the characters/setting into a "basic" genre setup? The NES "Batman" is still the best Batman game (Arkham 1 comes close, Arkham 2 is NOT as good as Arkham 1); and it doesn't really re-invent the wheel - it's just a VERY well-polished NES-era platformer... BUT WITH BATMAN! The SNES "Star Wars" games were, when you get right down to it, "Contra with Star Wars characters"... and they were AWESOME!

So why, then, has it taken 14 fucking years for someone to put the "South Park" kids exactly where they've always belonged? Namely, a South Park side-scroller!?



So... yeah. It looks like "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" (which, given the number of games borrowing the style, seems to have done for the 'party platformer' what the original did for 'regular' platformers) ...BUT IN SOUTH PARK. Brilliant! Genius! Inspired! Especially the brief glimpse of being able to play(?) as "The Coon" right there at the end.

WTF, though!? - why didn't they just make this instead of the shitty shooter back in the 90s? When haven't there been like TEN of these already? It seems like the easiest call anyone could've made!?

Hulk (Incredibly) Smash Modern Warfare!

There's something pointedly "now" about the idea that FilmCritHulk - the eccentric movie-blogger who pens lengthy, deeply-academic yet immensely readable articles on film and film criticism in the "voice" of The Incredible Hulk - got probably his biggest "boost" in terms of internet publicity for a piece not on films but on video games.

In the wake of said piece, Hulk has scored a (well-deserved) high-profile gig on Devin Faraci's (must-bookmark) site BadassDigest. Now, Hulk once again turns his eyes toward gaming with an AMAZING piece breaking down the (de)evolution of the "Call of Duty" games and, in doing so, making a dozen or so absolutely vital points about problems (but also high-points) of the modern games industry as a whole. It's a MUST READ - and no, NOT (only) because he gives your's truly an extremely gracious shoutout.

Episode 61 COMING SOON (UPDATED!)

UPDATE! Episode 61 will debut for all audiences NEXT WEDNESDAY 12/7 at 10pmCST/11pmEST. ScrewAttack ADVANTAGE subscribers can get an early look TOMORROW at the same time. Remember, if you sign up for ADVANTAGE select "The Game OverThinker" as your show of choice so that your subscription supports THIS show :)

I don't have an exact date/time for Episode 61 yet (other than to say YES, this one will be available one week early for Advantage subscribers) but it's coming very soon. Until then, here's a new trailer currently running on YouTube that contains a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery teeny-tiny tease at upcoming episodes:

Is "GameGadget" The OPEN-SOURCE Platform We've Been Waiting For?

...Probably not, but I like the idea.

"Blaze" is a Europe-based gaming outfit that mostly specializes in making gaming peripherals and those dedicated all-in-one consoles and handhelds pre-loaded with retrogames that you see on mall kiosks around the Holidays. Now, they've thrown their weight behind a still-somewhat-mysterious concept called "GameGadget" that seems like the logical next-step from that particular business model: An open-source, Linux-based handheld (it looks like a plus-sized GameBoy Micro) that aims to be the "iPod of games."


Thus far the press-release from last week and images are the bulk of what's been revealed, but the basic idea is that the device (which DOES appear to have an SD slot) will interface with a proprietary version of the App Store, which Blaze/GameGadget is heavily angling for rights-holders to classic games (pre-PS1, most likely) to fill with their product. The press release makes a BIG deal out of this being a way for publishers to re-monetize their retrogames without much (or any) additional investment. They're also courting small/upstart developers to make new titles for the format, which they claim it's "fully compatible" with SDL and DirectFB.

I LOVE everything about this... except for the fact that it's being put out by a company without much of a profile otherwise - something that's going to involve a lot of back-and-forth between a dizzying number of (theoretical) partnerships needs some muscle behind it, or at least would seem to from my perspective.

I've maintained for awhile that something LIKE this - an everything-in-one-place app store for classic games - would be both a game-changer and an industry-saver; and it's INCREDIBLY frustrating that the main thing preventing it has been Apple's ridiculous resistance to having buttons on the various iDevices - which has severely kneecapped the variety of games most smartphones can (properly) run. Imagine carrying around every Atari/Spectrum/C64/NES/SNES/Genesis/TG16/NeoGeo/Arcade classic you ever loved - plus new stuff in the "golden age"/mobile style - to be there whenever and wherever you needed them? BLISS. Absolute bliss... and also a vital way of keeping The Classics alive and readily available to new generations without the cumbersome extra work of buying/maintaining used equipment and/or murkily-legal emulation. No more game design students walking around without a proper background in the origins of the medium on account of having been born after said origins were easy to get? THAT'S how you save the future of video games, my friends.

I would love, love, LOVE to see something like GameGadget swoop in and either A.) be wildly successful and put a giant dent into Apple's goal of iPhone becoming "The AllGadget" because of their silly button-phobia; or B.) be just successful enough to scare Apple/Android/etc into getting over their silly button-phobia and making one to compete. I'm just not sure GameGadget is actually the thing to do it.

BUT! The thing (apparently) comes out early next year, so we'll see. A man can dream, after all...

Desert Bus Has Begun!

The great folks at LoadingReadyRun have begun their yearly "Child's Play" charity drive, wherein they play Desert Bus - one of the worst games ever made - for your amusement. You can watch the live feed and donate HERE.

I'm scheduled to call in and shoot the breeze with them LIVE at 11am PST (2pm EST) on Monday the 21st, so tune in for that as well.

Happy Birthday to Shigeru Miyamoto

The greatest video-game designer of all time was born today in 1952. Bow your heads and take notice.

EPISODE 60: "NINJAMAGEDDON" (aka "The Mailbag Show")

Episode 60 can now be viewed by EVERYONE here! Did you're questions make the cut? Watch it and find out!