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Video Game TV: Can It Ever Be Good?

Posted by Amber Ahlborn



In a recent post here at 61fps, fellow blogger Bob Mackey dredged up from the pit of nostalgia GamePro TV. I am pretty darn sure I watched this when I was younger. I think there was another show even earlier in my childhood that reviewed games on the Nickelodeon network that I would watch. Looking back I wonder at how awful those shows were. More recently there were things like G4 which showed numerous programs aimed at the gamer audience. I don't think even the ones that continue to survive are what I would call great. Why do Video Game TV shows suck, and can they possibly be done in a way that's appealing?

For a preview/review show, I think the movie model should be followed. It seems that previous video game shows that did try were dragged down by attempting to appeal to twitchy children with short attention spans. They really suffer from the camp cringe factor. A straight, serious approach with some industry news tossed in might work.

Reality shows (ugh) are numerous these days. They're mostly tripe and trash but they are popular. A reality gamer show might actually be interesting. Heck, how about a sitcom starring three roommates, each a hopeless fan of a different console?

So far, the best “TV” for gamers is right here on the Internet, with the likes of Yahtzee and The Angry Video Game Nerd our soap stars. So, if you were a screen writer and wanted to do a TV show for video gamers, what would you do? Surely our ideas could be no worse.



Related Links:


The Angrey Video Game Nerd Says a Bad Word: Deadly Towers

Yahtzee on E3: Are We Gaming in an Age of Uncreativity?

Play It Again, Sam


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

Roto13 said:

I think the main problem with video game TV shows is that it always sounds like the hosts are going out of their way to sound like retards. News flash: The coolest people in the world are the ones who aren't desperately trying to seem cool.

August 22, 2008 11:50 AM

Amber Ahlborn said:

Yeah, that definitely falls under the camp cringe factor.  The best hosts are the ones that don't try to be walking references to pop culture.  Pop culture is transient, always changing.  You may be using the cool words one day and sounding like a loser the next.  

August 22, 2008 12:02 PM

Nemo Incognito said:

Don't try to stay on the bleeding-edge of industry news and only report the newest things, it will be outdated by the time it gets to screen.  Don't be the tools of the big publishers and just report the same things that are appearing everywhere else.  Show viewers what a huge variety of games (and games-culture) exist, past and future, here and abroad, great and small.  Show lots of footage because that's what TV's good at.  Trailers for new games, pros at tournaments, speedruns/superplays or other videos of note.  Do features that cover companies/developers/characters/systems/series or highlight lesser-known games (but DO NOT ghettoise it as a 'retro' section).

August 22, 2008 12:42 PM

About Amber Ahlborn

Artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia's prized possession is a certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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