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New TV comedy series about Gamers... help the cause!
benmakesmovies
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Helloooo Penny Arcade,
Like most gamers, I've been an avid fan of this site for quite awhile... and finally I've found an excuse to join the forums.
I have written and produced what is called a "spec pilot" for a television series about Gamers. This scripted comedy series isn't some crappy corporate attempt at making a connection with gamers; it's authentic (for better or worse).
You can check out information and trailers of the pilot at the show's website: http://www.putgamersontv.com/
I would love to hear what you think. Good, bad, really bad. If you like what you see, then help us get the word out there! The gaming community itself is what will make this show happen, and so as of right now it is in your hands.
Like most gamers, I've been an avid fan of this site for quite awhile... and finally I've found an excuse to join the forums.
I have written and produced what is called a "spec pilot" for a television series about Gamers. This scripted comedy series isn't some crappy corporate attempt at making a connection with gamers; it's authentic (for better or worse).
You can check out information and trailers of the pilot at the show's website: http://www.putgamersontv.com/
I would love to hear what you think. Good, bad, really bad. If you like what you see, then help us get the word out there! The gaming community itself is what will make this show happen, and so as of right now it is in your hands.
benmakesmovies on
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And is this the same "sitcom" that was posted a while back, before the forums going down. I remember that one being an insult to the senses.
If this is site whoring, then feel free to delete this post. I personally think that this is an extremely relevant bit of news that many people on this site will be interested in. If not, then flame away!
Good: Unlike most "Gaming comedies", it looks to focus on more than just "Lolz, we play video games. We arz gmerz!" that comes with a lot of shit. This pleases me.
Bad: The comedy is a tad...forced. Some of the jokes seem to rely too heavily on throwback references and poorly timed gags.
Overall: Gaming isn't really the best to focus comedy on. I mean, look how well that worked for most of G4tv's programing. Most "gamers" don't enjoy being pandered to in large doses (Quick joke here and there is fine. Making the subject an entire hook...not so much).
The acting can use a bit of work and the humor needs to be a bit snappier it places. When it came together, it was great. When it fell apart... it fell apart. I'm not so sure it would work at regular "show" pace with a real story but I haven't seen nearly enough to make an opinion on that yet.
Edit: Most painful part? The first 15 seconds, hands down. The CJ soul joke had a good setup and no payoff. Oh, man, he doesn't have a soul. Why not? South Park worked that very same joke from the race angle so I'd avoid it altogether, but I'm just saying. No soul = not funny unless there is some good, funny reason why.
Edit 2: Girl with rainbow scarf wins both "character I can still remember" and "best acting".
The characters though, even in that brief trailer though, already started to annoy me. I'm not sure if I would be willing to sit through the normal sitcom running time. Then again, if you're going for short skits, I could see it working.
But yeah, like someone mentioned, gaming humor is a pretty niche market you're aiming at.
Good luck with it.
Yeah, I definitely don't live in LA... so thankfully there isn't any chance that I'm going to see you!
Thanks for the feedback. I have to say that I disagree with your thought that Gamers don't want something like this, but I guess that that is what the next few weeks will tell us!
Also for the record for everyone else: this is *not* a sitcom. Ewww. Laugh tracks break my heart.
Some of the actors though... cringeworthy. = /
Good luck to you, man.
Ah okay, I get what you're saying. That is definitely a legitimate concern, and one that I'm sure we'll fight against. Although the trailers may not do the best job of conveying this, the show is designed to appeal to more than just an audience of hardcore Gamers. As douchey as this sounds, most of the non-gamers who we've "tested" the pilot with seemed to understand most of the jokes. Hopefully I'll be able to post the full pilot online in the near future.
At any rate, thanks again for the feedback!
Post the first ep if/when you can, I'm sure that will give us a much better idea of the show than the trailer could. Anyway, good luck with this.
I say this as someone who has played video games their whole life, collects them and has a tattoo of Luigi. I wouldn't watch a show about gamers.
Edit: On TV. As a youtube/podcast thing it could work.
if it doesn't cost too much and the guy likes doing it and has it on his site, I'm sure if it's even half-decent he can build a following.
And if that's not enough (which it wouldn't be for me, not for long) you turn your fanbase and what you've learned about writing into something else.
worry about how good it is, not the market. that comes later.
edit: except NES games stopped being made in 95. not 89. In the alternate trailer...
I also have to agree with everyone else that I don't think it would do to well on TV, there isn't an audience for it outside of gamers.
Umm... We ARE different. We like to play video games.
There's nothing wrong with making a show about a subgroup of people. It's been done many times, about many different groups.
And very rarely do they actually work on a wide, broadcast medium.
On the internet, it could work. Honestly though, a show like this wouldn't survive its first two weeks on the air.
And playing video games doesn't really make us too much different these days with gaming slowly spreading.
yes...spreading...spreading like the virus it is...
Put me in your movie!
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PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
Yeah. Its not bad, per se. The scarf girl and the collector kid seem to be the good parts of the show, maybe CJ as an extreme. The older brother? The Vampire LARPers? Too deep end. They are annoying, unrealistic, and just not really fun to watch. Not even to laugh at.
Try to keep it more real. Pure Pwnage had that angle going on, really well, until episode... 9 or so, I believe, when the whole gamer army thing started going. Before that, it was basically a story about a guy who just kicked ass at gaming, really hard, and didn't really understand reality very well, looking at it through gamers eyes.
All I'm saying is, don't go too extreme. Make gaming a focal point, but make the characters a little more subtle, where they could be seen as not being crazy gamers, if not in context. Right now, it feels like its trying too hard.
Each character should have their thing. The collector goes to great lengths to get nintendo games. Maybe someone never gets off of WoW(older brother possibly). Maybe scarf girl always talks crap about games, but secretly goes and plays counterstrike at one in the morning. But have these people do things that aren't game related. Otherwise, the show will get very trite, very quickly.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
Responses like this piss me off.
There is a fine line between give and take with projects like this. Obviously, yeah, he's producing entertainment that he hopes other people will see, but at the same time, he's doing it for free. With his own funds. Simply to entertain you. What right do you have to make such demands? There is such a thing as being a bad audience member, and such a pompous reply is a classic example.
Are we here to make him feel good, or to try to give him our honest opinions, so that he might have a chance making this into reality?
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
What the hell did I just watch?
He asked for honest opinions, not asshole remarks. There is a difference between "you should use a boom mic and a better camera" and "Peon! Get a boom mic and a better camera and maybe, MAYBE I'll care. I probably won't, though."
I suggest you learn said difference.
It's the Okkusenman song.
http://okkusenman.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOgnlaVHR0I
The trailer used it.
"Primer" got shot for $16,000 using good will and sample footage rolls from Kodak and Fuji. The award for best cinematography at Sundance went to a documentary that was shot on a camera that is affordable to any indie-filmmaker. The use of bounce, i.e. large flat blocks of styrofoam, can be used to shape and mould light in scenes that could use a touch up. A decent overhead boom and mic can be had and plugged into consumer level equipment for a mere $350, increasing audio quality DRAMATICALLY. Some acting guilds require that you do a certain level of unpaid work per year, so long as you fill all the paperwork out, and there's tons of talent out there willing to do it for free.
Simple and easy homebrew solutions to low-budget production exist, and I'm sorry if I sounded crass and uncaring, but I'm blunt sometimes.
I suggest you learn to read who write's what. My post wasn't like that, but still. Also, you're reply was "He's doing this for free, with his own funds, simply to entertain you". No, he isn't. He has a small budget. The trailers were made to appeal to network heads. He was letting the OP know how he felt, and what he thinks might change his mind.
Some people talk in an arrogant tone. Some people need to grow a thicker skin.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
Look, I remember when I was starting off too and I might've been a bit harsher than I needed to be. Let's leave it at that and move on?
It's cool, I'm just venting steam because I've heard similar comments about projects that I've done in the past.
For a while, I was making HTPC software on another forum, and, while I got mainly positive reviews, I'd occasionally come up with shit like "Um you're retarded why the fuck don't you spend $XXXX and get so-and-so devkit so you can fucking make something that I would want to use?" sort of comments, which really gets under my skin.
But that really comes down to my design philosophy. When I make something, anything, I always create it with the idea that I'll create something that I love first, then release it to the public and watch them love it. So, in the end, my projects end up being for me first, and for the public second. Almost as though releasing my source code is an after thought.
[Edit] And if you wanna see how good a $3500 camera can look, go here. It's a DVX-100a, and most shops will rent them out for peanuts.