There are lots about, but they all do it as a hobby. If there was money involved I'm sure most could step their game up.
Thing is, most of these games are niche enough that anyone watching the match would know as much as anyone casting the match (e.g. Quake, WC3, DotA). The difference is made when the caster has real inside info (knows the players involved for extra colour), or the game has reached the point where there's a potential lay audience (e.g. Street Fighter).
DeadfallI don't think you realize just how rich he is.In fact, I should put on a monocle.Registered Userregular
edited October 2009
I find "professional gaming" shows awful. Awful. For some reason I enjoy watching my buddies play, and I enjoy playing, but I absolutely cannot stand watching professional gamers play. Like that streetfighter clip up there. I don't think I could possibly care less about it.
But I did like Icons. Icons was good. That sort of "Behind the Music" video game thing.
That's kind of the problem when people roll out that SF3 clip. Without the background it's nothing special except for the crowd going wild (which isn't very effective without the background). There's no story to it, like you'd find in sports broadcasts, especially a broadcast of a tournament match.
If your only point is that people can go nuts about games, I guess it serves, but if you want to show that competitive gaming can be exciting and interesting to watch, has compelling personalities and a rich history, then it doesn't do the job.
That's kind of the problem when people roll out that SF3 clip. Without the background it's nothing special except for the crowd going wild (which isn't very effective without the background). There's no story to it, like you'd find in sports broadcasts, especially a broadcast of a tournament match.
If your only point is that people can go nuts about games, I guess it serves, but if you want to show that competitive gaming can be exciting and interesting to watch, has compelling personalities and a rich history, then it doesn't do the job.
Again, if you were going to get gamers' attentions, a professional gaming show would need to borrow heavily from Iron Chef. Iron Chef has the finest ingredients, gaming show would have the finest hardware. Iron Chef has constant commentary, you'd need to edit in the same amount of dialog after the gaming competition. Hell, you'd probably need to lower Fatal1ty down from the rafters for every episode; anything, so long as the producers clinch the spectacle. Sports broadcasters don't go far enough - you'd need to drown viewers in style or else they'll lose interest.
How often would you have to switch genres on a competitive gaming show? DDR one week and StarCraft the next?
You'd need to drown viewers in style because there isn't enough substance to sustain a half hour of actual show.
It's like that stupid madden show that was on ESPN2 for a while (maybe still is?) Tons of commentary and bad trash talk, and like three minutes of actual madden every episode.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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Watch some professional Starcraft. The fluff is not needed; competitive gaming should be as in depth and involving as any sport and I don't see the reason you would try and force people to watch it. Good production values are fine, but you don't need glowing puck trails. There's no reason to treat the audience like a bunch of gibbering idiots who need constant flashing lights and loud noises to hold their attention. Just deliver a good, professional product.
WHY would you switch genres in a competitive gaming show? There's already plenty of competitive gaming, you don't need to make it up. There's already tournaments and leagues, just follow them.
I've watched competitive starcraft, and anyone who wasn't pretty familiar with the game wouldn't have any idea what was going on or why it was interesting.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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This is the split - on the one hand, people didn't watch Iron Chef to learn how to cook. They watched for the glitter and the great looking dishes the chefs created under pressure. On the other hand, people don't watch golf on TV for the style. They watch the pros make impossible putts to improve their own game.
Can a broadcast of a StarCraft tournament be instructional?
It isn't a matter of it being instructional, it's a matter of it being something you are interested in.
People in the U.S. are interested in golf. Lots of people play it, and enough people are interested in it who have enough money to sustain a golf channel. Lots of people are interested in cooking, too.
Lots of people aren't interested in starcraft. In south korea they are, but not in the U.S.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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They're instructional, but they also have the star quality because they do shit that nobody who doesn't play Starcraft 12 hours a day can possibly hope to do.
If you just want lolspectacle flashinglightsomg! then there are a billion other competitive things to put on TV that wouldn't require the time, effort, or money that pro gaming would and aren't nearly as niche. You could jazz up some rock-paper-scissors if all you want is a reason for the audience to scream.
And competitive Stracraft is basically for people who follow competitive Stracraft, but there's still a lot that gets explained, and there's no reason that it couldn't be packaged with a pregame and postgame that would better explain the situation for new people.
that, and I maintain that no one has really figured out how to televise videogames in a compelling way. Maybe the SK channels have it figured out, but most of the televised/rebroadcast game tournaments I've seen are little better (or worse) than just watching a dubbed over video on youtube.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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I don't think it helps that the only people watching it are people who go out of their way to do so. There's no reason for them to try and broaden the appeal in that case. It goes double for other competitive gaming scenes.
CGS tried to do what you describe. They jazzed up the tourney and dumbed it down to a point where fans of DOA and fighting games in general were so put off they refused to watch. Seriously, this shit is borderline retarded -- they use no real tournament structure, some random match setup, the guys casting it have no fucking clue what's going on, but hey, they can talk really fast, so woo.
These players had to play on xbox 360 pads while only one of them had any experience with them -- SC4 is played on PS3s, most players use sticks. To top it off, they had to play standing up, facing a crowd, with some douchebag making completely random comments in the background. This caps off a completely contrived online entry process. Granted, these are all good players, though not nearly the best (even at the time), and this is probably the best anyone could have hoped for (the SC community was very positive about the whole thing in the end), but still. It's pretty stupid.
Watch some professional Starcraft. The fluff is not needed; competitive gaming should be as in depth and involving as any sport and I don't see the reason you would try and force people to watch it. Good production values are fine, but you don't need glowing puck trails. There's no reason to treat the audience like a bunch of gibbering idiots who need constant flashing lights and loud noises to hold their attention. Just deliver a good, professional product.
WHY would you switch genres in a competitive gaming show? There's already plenty of competitive gaming, you don't need to make it up. There's already tournaments and leagues, just follow them.
First of all don't bash the glowing puck, that thing is hard to see and I think it's fun. Like the first down line on the football field.
Second, I think it is hard to watch game tournaments unless I really love the game. Maybe if it were live and the pros were a little less calm. Pro gammers watch the screen like a hawk and hardly even blink, that it isn't easy to make fun.
A look at game tech might be cool, but what tech is the most interesting? Everything does seem to evolve pretty fast.
There is a balance any competition announcer has to strike between knowledgeable and accessible (retarded.) It's actually something that's pretty hard to do well, which is why there aren't very many really good sports broadcasters, despite many of them being former players or coaches.
That's the balance gaming has yet to strike. No one's figured out how (or whether) you can make it compelling for the purists that are you diehard fans, and accessible enough to attract any additional audience.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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Well, if the commentator can explain why such-and-such combo player A is performing is only possible while the opponent is pinned against the background or the finer points of rocket jumps, that would help a lot.
I've watched competitive starcraft, and anyone who wasn't pretty familiar with the game wouldn't have any idea what was going on or why it was interesting.
And how is this any different from any sporting event you'd find on TV?
When my fiancee first came over from South Africa she had no idea what she was watching when she'd watch American football with us. It took some explaining but she at least has an idea now.
I've tried to watch some Cricket... fuck, I don't know what the fuck that shit is about even with her explaining.
I'd say to go back and watch some of the end of season 1 and most of season 2 of the Starcraft matches on GOMtv. They do a very good job of explaining all the strategies and tactics behind what the players are doing, you only need a little bit of background in Starcraft (that is, you've played it before and can recognize most of the units) to get what's going on, and even in the beginning there's an air of exciting happenings. The production starts to pick up during season 2 and into season 3, and there are some great matches.
These guys only cover a very small amount of the total Starcraft scene, though; there's a lot more they could be doing if they had more $$$.
What was wrong with that exactly? Other than the random yelling guy who was supposed to be a coach or something I guess?
I'd guess you've never played the game? Maybe you don't play many fighting games at all, I don't know. This commentary was pretty offensive; they're basically just describing what's going on with no value added. I can't see anything you'd get from the play-by-play that you wouldn't get from just watching the match straight up, and they make a lot of mistakes besides.
I've watched competitive starcraft, and anyone who wasn't pretty familiar with the game wouldn't have any idea what was going on or why it was interesting.
And how is this any different from any sporting event you'd find on TV?
When my fiancee first came over from South Africa she had no idea what she was watching when she'd watch American football with us. It took some explaining but she at least has an idea now.
I've tried to watch some Cricket... fuck, I don't know what the fuck that shit is about even with her explaining.
It isn't different, aside from U.S. major sports already having a following and their basic rules being essentially cultural tropes.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
I'd watch a show that had more 'behind the scenes' stuff about the video game industry, but as it is most of the shows I've seen just air the same trailers everyone has already seen on gametrailers, and give lame reviews of games that came out a month ago.
I'd love something like Gamecenter CX to air here. A likable host playing some old or unique games with funny commentary and getting way too into it, without all of this XTREME!!! bullshit would be awesome.
I've watched competitive starcraft, and anyone who wasn't pretty familiar with the game wouldn't have any idea what was going on or why it was interesting.
And how is this any different from any sporting event you'd find on TV?
When my fiancee first came over from South Africa she had no idea what she was watching when she'd watch American football with us. It took some explaining but she at least has an idea now.
I've tried to watch some Cricket... fuck, I don't know what the fuck that shit is about even with her explaining.
It isn't different, aside from U.S. major sports already having a following and their basic rules being essentially cultural tropes.
I don't see how the major competitive gaming genres will be any different in the next couple of years. Even today; the overwhelming majority of 18-25 year old males in NA (and most of Europe) have a basic idea of the rules and ideas behind fighting games, FPS, RTS, etc. Good commentary could easily fill in the blanks.
That DoA clip is actually a perfect example: getting knocked off the bridge is a pivotal moment in the match, but if you didn't play DoA you'd never know it, so the commentator has to spend most of the 30s match explaining how that mechanic works.
I haven't watched the whole thing but that particular bit was actually better than I thought it would be.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
I've watched competitive starcraft, and anyone who wasn't pretty familiar with the game wouldn't have any idea what was going on or why it was interesting.
And how is this any different from any sporting event you'd find on TV?
When my fiancee first came over from South Africa she had no idea what she was watching when she'd watch American football with us. It took some explaining but she at least has an idea now.
I've tried to watch some Cricket... fuck, I don't know what the fuck that shit is about even with her explaining.
It isn't different, aside from U.S. major sports already having a following and their basic rules being essentially cultural tropes.
I don't see how the major competitive gaming genres will be any different in the next couple of years. Even today; the overwhelming majority of 18-25 year old males in NA (and most of Europe) have a basic idea of the rules and ideas behind fighting games, FPS, RTS, etc. Good commentary could easily fill in the blanks.
awesome, but 18-25 year old males aren't going to sustain a TV show (much less an entire channel) on their own.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
You really need someone to point out that getting punched off a rope bridge with a 30 foot drop onto solid rock below is a bad thing for the character on the receiving end?
Those 18-25 year olds are tomorrow's 30-50 year olds, I'd think.
And I'm pretty sure that 18-25 is a major target market, so there must be someone out there who thinks they can sustain something.
You really need someone to point out that getting punched off a rope bridge with a 30 foot drop onto solid rock below is a bad thing for the character on the receiving end?
You need to point out the effect it has on the match, yeah. Cause people don't know that, and the health bars are small.
ed: frankly, what else was there to even talk about? There isn't that much insight to be had into a round of DoA, especially for an experienced player.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
But the effect is has on the match is that it does a bunch of damage and moves them to the river. That's IT. Pointing out that whoever did it first won the match is about as useful as pointing out that whoever got the first big juggle won the match -- it's a statistic, nothing more.
Which I suppose puts them one step closer to most sports casters.
If you can't see the health bars, I don't know; hopefully broadcast quality would help that. Shouldn't be the job of the commentators to point out such a major part of the screen.
What no love for Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run? I love the way Victor and Tommy do thier shows and it is just the kind of thing that is as good for the casual as well as the hard core.
Yahtzee and two dudes from Australian Gamer were trying to get a show together called Game Damage that seemed kinda promising.
That's about all I have to contribute.
Looks promising, watching the pilot episode right now and it is a lot easier to listen to rather than watch, all 3 hosts seem so awkward and wooden (lol gamers) in front of the cameras. Were this a tv show, I probably wouldn't watch it, I'd download a podcast though.
Oh, and this really old, short lived show called Video Power, where kids would run through this arena thing and stick themselves with nintendo games and hurry to the end of the arena so they could keep the games they grabbed.
The only reason the gaming channels are semi-popular in Korea is due to Starcraft. If there was no Starcraft, then those channels would be off the air. Probably 60% of the content shown on the gaming channels here revolve around Starcraft. They'll probably have a couple hours dedicated to the FPS games such as Sudden Attack and Special Forces and then the rest is filled by fluff. They'll fill the time by showing stuff that has nothing to do with games at all like showing old reruns of some Korean comedy program or some random Korean music videos.
The reason the Starcraft channels here are so successful is because it has it's own built in audience. The Proleague is set up like an actual sports league with professional teams playing through a season and earning points to advance to a tournament. The two Starleagues are also done in a similar format except with a focus on individual players. People get caught up in the drama between the players and teams as much as they enjoy the actual play. I'd say it's similar to the popularity of NASCAR in the US. I know it takes a lot of skills to drive your car at those insane speeds around an oval track (minus Infineon Raceway) but I think most people are drawn to that sport for the story and drama between the drivers and teams than to actually watch the cars go around in circles for several hours. This is also why it's critical in getting a good commentary team for the televised events. Some of the game broadcasters in Korea are as famous as the players because of their great ability to draw people into the personal drama while simultaneously explaining the technical aspects of what is going on during the match.
If these other gaming tv series want to succeed, they'll need to focus on the drama between the players/teams instead of trying to spruce things up with the pageantry. When Ongame Starleague started off they'd dress the pro-players in these over the top ridiculous costumes and have them face off in faux space station sets. A lot of people laughed and it was hard to take the competitions seriously. The success of broadcast Starcraft came not because of the elaborate sets, laser lights, and fog machines, but because a player (Boxer) had the ability to capture the audiences' with his underdog playstyle. These days most of the pro teams have done away with the ostentatious costumes and instead players come out in more muted corporate sponsored uniforms similar to the sports teams here (almost all major sports teams in Korea are corporately sponsored i.e. the Samsung Lions).
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Oh man that takes me back. It's not still on the air is it? Last time I saw it(no idea when that was) on I swear they were doing a GBA game, but even that could be up to 8 years ago.
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Burden of ProofYou three boys picked a beautiful hill to die on.Registered Userregular
edited October 2009
I think gaming streams are often pretty cool to watch if the community of streamers is funny and interesting.
Gaming doesn't belong on the television though. It will never be done right.
Yahtzee and two dudes from Australian Gamer were trying to get a show together called Game Damage that seemed kinda promising.
That's about all I have to contribute.
Looks promising, watching the pilot episode right now and it is a lot easier to listen to rather than watch, all 3 hosts seem so awkward and wooden (lol gamers) in front of the cameras. Were this a tv show, I probably wouldn't watch it, I'd download a podcast though.
Depends, is it a white background or a black background behind them? The white background was their very first pilot, the black background is only a trailer, about 5 minutes long, but they released it several months after the first pilot after listening to a good amount of feedback very much similar to what you said.
Oh man that takes me back. It's not still on the air is it? Last time I saw it(no idea when that was) on I swear they were doing a GBA game, but even that could be up to 8 years ago.
Sadly, I don't think it is. And even if it was, I doubt it's worth watching without Nicholas Pickolas.
My favorite part was always when they had to pick the prize ball out of the garbage can at the end. In all those years I don't think I ever saw anyone get the red one.
Oh, and this really old, short lived show called Video Power, where kids would run through this arena thing and stick themselves with nintendo games and hurry to the end of the arena so they could keep the games they grabbed.
That was good shit.
That show was so confused. I watched it before the school bus came and I was jealous of the kids that won Neo-Geos and SNES and skateboards for 'stumping' Johnny Arcade with a tough question.
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Thing is, most of these games are niche enough that anyone watching the match would know as much as anyone casting the match (e.g. Quake, WC3, DotA). The difference is made when the caster has real inside info (knows the players involved for extra colour), or the game has reached the point where there's a potential lay audience (e.g. Street Fighter).
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But I did like Icons. Icons was good. That sort of "Behind the Music" video game thing.
xbl - HowYouGetAnts
steam - WeAreAllGeth
If your only point is that people can go nuts about games, I guess it serves, but if you want to show that competitive gaming can be exciting and interesting to watch, has compelling personalities and a rich history, then it doesn't do the job.
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That's about all I have to contribute.
Again, if you were going to get gamers' attentions, a professional gaming show would need to borrow heavily from Iron Chef. Iron Chef has the finest ingredients, gaming show would have the finest hardware. Iron Chef has constant commentary, you'd need to edit in the same amount of dialog after the gaming competition. Hell, you'd probably need to lower Fatal1ty down from the rafters for every episode; anything, so long as the producers clinch the spectacle. Sports broadcasters don't go far enough - you'd need to drown viewers in style or else they'll lose interest.
How often would you have to switch genres on a competitive gaming show? DDR one week and StarCraft the next?
It's like that stupid madden show that was on ESPN2 for a while (maybe still is?) Tons of commentary and bad trash talk, and like three minutes of actual madden every episode.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
WHY would you switch genres in a competitive gaming show? There's already plenty of competitive gaming, you don't need to make it up. There's already tournaments and leagues, just follow them.
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Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Can a broadcast of a StarCraft tournament be instructional?
People in the U.S. are interested in golf. Lots of people play it, and enough people are interested in it who have enough money to sustain a golf channel. Lots of people are interested in cooking, too.
Lots of people aren't interested in starcraft. In south korea they are, but not in the U.S.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
If you just want lolspectacle flashinglightsomg! then there are a billion other competitive things to put on TV that wouldn't require the time, effort, or money that pro gaming would and aren't nearly as niche. You could jazz up some rock-paper-scissors if all you want is a reason for the audience to scream.
And competitive Stracraft is basically for people who follow competitive Stracraft, but there's still a lot that gets explained, and there's no reason that it couldn't be packaged with a pregame and postgame that would better explain the situation for new people.
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Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
But there are some absolute travesties as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32MhG1CmFdg
CGS tried to do what you describe. They jazzed up the tourney and dumbed it down to a point where fans of DOA and fighting games in general were so put off they refused to watch. Seriously, this shit is borderline retarded -- they use no real tournament structure, some random match setup, the guys casting it have no fucking clue what's going on, but hey, they can talk really fast, so woo.
Here's another example.
These players had to play on xbox 360 pads while only one of them had any experience with them -- SC4 is played on PS3s, most players use sticks. To top it off, they had to play standing up, facing a crowd, with some douchebag making completely random comments in the background. This caps off a completely contrived online entry process. Granted, these are all good players, though not nearly the best (even at the time), and this is probably the best anyone could have hoped for (the SC community was very positive about the whole thing in the end), but still. It's pretty stupid.
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First of all don't bash the glowing puck, that thing is hard to see and I think it's fun. Like the first down line on the football field.
Second, I think it is hard to watch game tournaments unless I really love the game. Maybe if it were live and the pros were a little less calm. Pro gammers watch the screen like a hawk and hardly even blink, that it isn't easy to make fun.
A look at game tech might be cool, but what tech is the most interesting? Everything does seem to evolve pretty fast.
That's the balance gaming has yet to strike. No one's figured out how (or whether) you can make it compelling for the purists that are you diehard fans, and accessible enough to attract any additional audience.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
What was wrong with that exactly? Other than the random yelling guy who was supposed to be a coach or something I guess?
And how is this any different from any sporting event you'd find on TV?
When my fiancee first came over from South Africa she had no idea what she was watching when she'd watch American football with us. It took some explaining but she at least has an idea now.
I've tried to watch some Cricket... fuck, I don't know what the fuck that shit is about even with her explaining.
These guys only cover a very small amount of the total Starcraft scene, though; there's a lot more they could be doing if they had more $$$.
I'd guess you've never played the game? Maybe you don't play many fighting games at all, I don't know. This commentary was pretty offensive; they're basically just describing what's going on with no value added. I can't see anything you'd get from the play-by-play that you wouldn't get from just watching the match straight up, and they make a lot of mistakes besides.
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It isn't different, aside from U.S. major sports already having a following and their basic rules being essentially cultural tropes.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_jAVdB0nBs&feature=PlayList&p=7B203C76BB4D47C9&index=4
I'd watch a show that had more 'behind the scenes' stuff about the video game industry, but as it is most of the shows I've seen just air the same trailers everyone has already seen on gametrailers, and give lame reviews of games that came out a month ago.
I'd love something like Gamecenter CX to air here. A likable host playing some old or unique games with funny commentary and getting way too into it, without all of this XTREME!!! bullshit would be awesome.
I don't see how the major competitive gaming genres will be any different in the next couple of years. Even today; the overwhelming majority of 18-25 year old males in NA (and most of Europe) have a basic idea of the rules and ideas behind fighting games, FPS, RTS, etc. Good commentary could easily fill in the blanks.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
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I haven't watched the whole thing but that particular bit was actually better than I thought it would be.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
awesome, but 18-25 year old males aren't going to sustain a TV show (much less an entire channel) on their own.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Those 18-25 year olds are tomorrow's 30-50 year olds, I'd think.
And I'm pretty sure that 18-25 is a major target market, so there must be someone out there who thinks they can sustain something.
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You need to point out the effect it has on the match, yeah. Cause people don't know that, and the health bars are small.
ed: frankly, what else was there to even talk about? There isn't that much insight to be had into a round of DoA, especially for an experienced player.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Which I suppose puts them one step closer to most sports casters.
If you can't see the health bars, I don't know; hopefully broadcast quality would help that. Shouldn't be the job of the commentators to point out such a major part of the screen.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
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Looks promising, watching the pilot episode right now and it is a lot easier to listen to rather than watch, all 3 hosts seem so awkward and wooden (lol gamers) in front of the cameras. Were this a tv show, I probably wouldn't watch it, I'd download a podcast though.
Oh, and this really old, short lived show called Video Power, where kids would run through this arena thing and stick themselves with nintendo games and hurry to the end of the arena so they could keep the games they grabbed.
That was good shit.
The reason the Starcraft channels here are so successful is because it has it's own built in audience. The Proleague is set up like an actual sports league with professional teams playing through a season and earning points to advance to a tournament. The two Starleagues are also done in a similar format except with a focus on individual players. People get caught up in the drama between the players and teams as much as they enjoy the actual play. I'd say it's similar to the popularity of NASCAR in the US. I know it takes a lot of skills to drive your car at those insane speeds around an oval track (minus Infineon Raceway) but I think most people are drawn to that sport for the story and drama between the drivers and teams than to actually watch the cars go around in circles for several hours. This is also why it's critical in getting a good commentary team for the televised events. Some of the game broadcasters in Korea are as famous as the players because of their great ability to draw people into the personal drama while simultaneously explaining the technical aspects of what is going on during the match.
If these other gaming tv series want to succeed, they'll need to focus on the drama between the players/teams instead of trying to spruce things up with the pageantry. When Ongame Starleague started off they'd dress the pro-players in these over the top ridiculous costumes and have them face off in faux space station sets. A lot of people laughed and it was hard to take the competitions seriously. The success of broadcast Starcraft came not because of the elaborate sets, laser lights, and fog machines, but because a player (Boxer) had the ability to capture the audiences' with his underdog playstyle. These days most of the pro teams have done away with the ostentatious costumes and instead players come out in more muted corporate sponsored uniforms similar to the sports teams here (almost all major sports teams in Korea are corporately sponsored i.e. the Samsung Lions).
Looking for a Hardcore Fantasy Extraction Shooter? - Dark and Darker
Oh man that takes me back. It's not still on the air is it? Last time I saw it(no idea when that was) on I swear they were doing a GBA game, but even that could be up to 8 years ago.
Gaming doesn't belong on the television though. It will never be done right.
Depends, is it a white background or a black background behind them? The white background was their very first pilot, the black background is only a trailer, about 5 minutes long, but they released it several months after the first pilot after listening to a good amount of feedback very much similar to what you said.
Sadly, I don't think it is. And even if it was, I doubt it's worth watching without Nicholas Pickolas.
My favorite part was always when they had to pick the prize ball out of the garbage can at the end. In all those years I don't think I ever saw anyone get the red one.
That show was so confused. I watched it before the school bus came and I was jealous of the kids that won Neo-Geos and SNES and skateboards for 'stumping' Johnny Arcade with a tough question.