A Reality Show about Gamers?
Posted: September 6, 2010 Filed under: Techology, video games | Tags: Anthony "AJ" Mazur, Biggest Loser, Caesar Noriega, Faye Mata, female gamers, Gamer, girl gamers, Jake Pfister, Justin Wong, Jwong, Katherine "Kat" Gunn, Mike Labelle, Rachel Quirico, Reality television, Ryan Burnett, Sebastian Burton, swoozie, team fortress 2, Thirstee123, Vanessa Arteaga, Video game, WCG Ultimate Gamer, Wii, Wii Sports Resort, Women, Yaz Ammari 1 Comment »
TV has come so far....
Video games have been around for more than 50 years, and reality television for 30 years, so it is only natural that one day there would be a reality show about gamers. (Why it took so long for video games to become mainstream when cellphones became mainstream almost overnight, I don’t know.)
The only reality television show out there about gamers is WCG Ultimate Gamer, so being the gamer that I am, of course I would watch it. How could I not, when there is nothing else to watch on the internet?
My boyfriend refuses to watch it, calling it “WCG the biggest loser”. Harr di harr harr. His sentiments are tame compared to chat rooms and message boards. There is much hate for this show on the internet, and I am baffled by its existence. You’d think the nerds, freaks, and geeks would enjoy mainstream culture catering to them with a reality show.
I get a kick out of the show though, because I enjoy watching real people (or in this case competitive gamers) face challenges, come to self-realizations in front of cameras, deal with confrontation and stress, be drunk most of the time … and “be put to the ultimate test”. Here is a show about a group of people who think they are the best at my favorite form of entertainment (aww snap!). Watching this reality show is a no-brainer for me (WCG, and The Colony, baby).
WCG Ultimate Gamer is now in its second season, and as I write this, the 3rd episode aired days ago. I didn’t want to write about the show at first, because I tried out for it (you can read about that here), and became disillusioned when I was asked to perform only on an Xbox. I think some producers heard my complaints as this year, Tekken 6 (arcade style) and Mario Kart & Sports Resort for the Wii, were played this season. While the inclusion of other consoles perked me up, it also soured me since I absolutely own at those two games.
But enough exposition -
I could have been the classy 'Snooki', named Fruzsi
Posted: April 29, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, video games | Tags: Arts, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Casting, Jersey Shore, Programs, Reality television, Reality-Based, team fortress 2, Television, Television program, United States, Video game, World Cyber Games, World Cyber Games Ultimate Gamer Season 2, Xbox Live 2 Comments »
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
I tried out for a reality TV show about two weeks ago. No, not Chicago’s version of Jersey Shore … but the World Cyber Games Ultimate Gamer Season 2.
Sadly, I did not make it. Combined with my nerves and limited play time on the console, my Xbox gameplay left much to be desired…and as I found out after the fact, Ultimate Gamer is really “Best Xbox Player” and not the “Best Gamer across all platforms”. The show shouldn’t call itself “Ultimate Gamer” if it doesn’t include games from all platforms.
I understand why the emphasis is on the Xbox because this show is created by World Cyber Games… and in all honesty, I don’t compete in tournaments (just a gaming columnist here) so maybe if I took a spot on the show it would have pissed off some “hardcore gamers”. I still think I’m a better gamer than some of the girls from last season, though (sans Ciji)!
Lady Gaga is a nerd?
Posted: March 14, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Techology, video games | Tags: Arts, beyonce, Command and Conquer, Dune, fancy phones, Fex-M3, internet addiction, lady gaga, meta-cyanide, Music video, penis water gun, Quintin Tarantino, Reality television, Science fiction, Star Wars, telephone, Television, Tiberium, Video game 6 Comments »I know, I shouldn’t be jumping on the Gaga-”Telephone” video-page view-bandwagon, but I promise to stick to my focus: the poison diner scene, because it references geek culture and video games.
The most obvious thing to note would be that Lady Gaga is a nerd, or attempting to be one…. or her creative director is …. or Lady Gaga herself feels that it is important for the nerds to love her too by throwing in obscure references only they would get. The poison that Lady Gaga super-popstar-feminist concocts in the kitchen includes the following ingredients: Fex-M3 from Star Wars, Meta-Cyanide from Dune and Tiberium from Command and Conquer.
Can I imagine Lady Gaga reading science fiction and playing Command and Conquer late at night? Maybe. I mean, she was pretty wacky when she was a brunette so I can’t come out and call her a “poser nerd”. Most likely though, her creative director googled “List of fictional toxins”, since they cannot use real toxins for fear people would actually poison others, and this is the list that showed up. All of those toxins mentioned in Gaga’s video are on that list….
Moving into “feminist” territory:
By Lady Gaga using poison to commit mass murder, she is engaging in a stereotypical feminine form of murder. Women traditionally controlled the food, and you’d be surprised how many men have died throughout history by the hands of women using poison, and it was never noted or observed because men felt it was beneath them to go into the kitchen? There is a saying among the Hungarians that the bride Ildiko killed Attila the Hun on their wedding night by poisoning him. A nosebleed? Come on…. but it’s cute how the men back then thought the women were content enough and incapable of committing such nefarious acts.
So it makes sense in Lady Gaga’s music video homage to Quintin Tarantino that she uses poison instead of blood shedding phallic weapons (NSFW link). Why would Gaga, with her creative director, decide to use fictional poisons from science fiction and games popular with the males? The use of poison in a setting that asks for guns is too symbolic to ignore. But Commander and Conquer, Star Wars, and Dune don’t seem to be poisoning society like the bad man-made porn, hyper-sexualized advertising, and reality TV shows are… so why were these poisons used, instead of others on that list? Or maybe I am reading too far into this, and these toxic references are all just for some male geek love.
Famous girl gamer used in viral marketing campaign for 'Repo Men' movie
Posted: March 11, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Film, Techology, video games | Tags: Alternate reality game, Ciji Thornton, Geneva Conventional, Reality television, Social network, starslay3r, the repo men, Twitter, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios, Video game, Viral marketing, Wired 1 Comment »Wired, Universal Pictures, and Lone Shark Games launched an alternate reality game combined with a manhunt. It’s connected to the upcoming March 19 release of the movie Repo Men. In the futuristic movie, characters who have received replacement organs from “the Union” fall behind on payments have to go on the run from Repo Men. In the new game, four real people have gone on the run, and it is the job of the public to find them.
via Wired.com What’s This Crazy #repomen Thing on Twitter?
Ciji Thornton (StarSlay3r) is one of the very few professional female gamers out there, and I was personally excited that she was picked to participate in this viral marketing campaign. She’s already been in two gaming reality shows and proven her acting chops, so if anything, this will only further her career…. and maybe get her an acting gig? It’s all about the connections, lady. Ciji’s got that punk rocker/”guitar hero” look (complete with tattoos) that works well with zombie movies, futuristic post-apocalyptic flicks, and if any studio wants to make a film revolving around video games, she is a natural shoo-in. And acting wouldn’t necessarily prevent her from gaming….
Says StarSlay3r on her website:
“I did this for the opportunity to take a break from my normal life. I’m hoping to meet new people, experience new things, and experience life on the run to the fullest extent. I’m going to be keeping a notebook with me at all times so that I can log everything that happens so that I can share my story upon my return. I hope the fact that I have a decent size fan base will help me to make it the full 30 days by having them tweet misdirecting information, planting moles in the repo men chat rooms and leaving messages to warn me when the repomen are getting close to figuring out my location. I’m very thankful that I was one of the 4 chosen out of hundreds of applicants and I can’t wait to start my adventure!”
Sadly, after having been on the run since February 25, Ciji’s journey ended yesterday. Ms. Thornton was caught at a skating rink by Geneva Conventional who is now $15,000 richer, thanks to grabbing not just Ciji, but another runner named Usman Akeju. (Woah, this viral marketing campaign is giving out money!?) Ciji’s capture is disappointing for a couple of reasons:
One, Ciji cannot win seven grand now that she has been captured, and we know she has a daughter back in Michigan. Cue the Les Miserables song “Castle on a Cloud”…. j/k!
Second, the clue that led Geneva Conventional to the skating rink to capture these two, was just for Usman Akeju who had an “assignment” there. It appears that Ciji was just tagging along. That sucks. That’s what you get for being friendly, Ciji!
And… for those of you who want to get involved in the manhunt and win some money before the movie comes out, go here to enroll, …..and here is a more in depth post by the Alternate Reality Gaming Network about Ciji’s capture (including links to podcasts and the video of Geneva Conventional talking about her experience).
Gaming industry targets women with 'Project Runway' game
Posted: March 9, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Techology, video games | Tags: Atari, consumerism, Games, Heidi Klum, Nintendo, Project Runway, Reality television, recession, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Video game, Wii 1 Comment »
"give me moar money!" says Heidi Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife
Last Friday saw the unveiling of Nintendo’s newest game for the Wii console titled “Project Runway”. The game is a collaborative effort between Nintendo, Atari, The Weinstein Co (producers of the Project Runway TV show) and Tornado Studios. I don’t know whether to be insulted by this development, or pleased, as this game is clearly just for the girls. It doesn’t help when other media outlets say “This could be the future of gaming for women“. A fashion game based off of a reality show? Please! 40% of gamers are girls, and we were doing just fine before this game came along. If anything, this game ruins our cred as gamers.
First off, I am a little bit offended that this game is about fashion considering this will be “the future of gaming for women”. This game is clearly trying to get new girl gamers, and ignoring the already established gals that game. If any gaming company were to look at the games most popular with females, they would see that we like puzzle games. Just look at the casual gamers that like internet based games like Text Twist, Bejeweled and Mahjong Tiles, to DS games like Professor Layton. Did anyone in the industry stop to think about why the horror shooting games with puzzles (Tomb Raider series, Resident Evil series, Bioshock series) are more popular with girls than those that do not have puzzles?
Second, I am a little offended that this game is being marketed to 6 – 12 year old girls, and that this game is all about fashion and models on runways (Super model Heidi Klum is also in the game). Do we really need to make little girls that play video games feel bad about their weight? Do we need to start giving them body image problems when they are 6 years old (if we don’t already)? It is the 21st century…. why are we still boxing our genders? (Down with the system I say, quietly….)
Jonathan Anastas, Atari VP, was quoted telling the press:
“We really believe the core target audience is girls 6-12. Girls are starting to buy their own clothes around 13 and 14 and as they are learning to make their own fashion choices this is a way for them to interact and participate with style.”
via Victoria’s Secret “Angel”, Heidi Klum, to be in Wii game
Third, if I were to be one of those people that would use video games as a scapegoat, I could blame this game, and other games like it, for the vapid consumer society we live in and for the whole American way of living beyond our means. If I could say that shooting games are responsible for all those school shootings, why wouldn’t a game like this be responsible for Confessions of a Shopaholic and our recession?
Fourth: Think about it. The reality TV show “Project Runway” has drama and suspense. Contestants don’t like each other. The judges are cruel. Does this game have any of the qualities that make a reality series good? No.
As for playing this game, of course I will play it (will I buy it? No…). For the record, I love games that let you design costumes or have amazing character customization (and I will admit I spend hours on designing clothes/characters within those games), but for a game that is only about clothes and fashion? It will get boring and repetitive…. just like any ol’ shooting game.
PlayStation FAILS by not making reality show accessible off its console
Posted: February 19, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Techology, video games | Tags: Ciji Thornton, girl gamer, Hal Sparks, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, PlayStation Portable, Reality television, starslay3r, Television program, The Tester, Video game Leave a comment »
Ciji Thornton via jinx.com
A new video game reality TV show premiered yesterday, called “The Tester“. PlayStation is looking for a video game tester, and 11 contestants are competing for this very esteemed position. I was excited to watch “The Tester” for a couple of reasons:
Recent Comments