ScrewAttack: Difference between revisions
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On March 8, 2008, "Handsome" Thomas Hanley announced that he was leaving ScrewAttack over co-creator “Stuttering" Craig Skistimas' decision to register the company without input from Hanley. Details of the events leading up to Hanley's departure haven't been entirely revealed, but according to the March 12, 2008 edition of the SideScrollers podcast, Craig Skistimas revealed that he made the decision to register the company without Hanley's knowledge or approval because of Hanley's lack of passion for the company and community.<ref>[http://www.screwattack.com/media/2008/SideScrollers_03_12_08.mp3|title=March 12th, 2008 edition of SideScrollers acknowledging Hanley's departure]</ref>. According to Hanley, he had requested times in the past that the both of them register the company together, as they were partners in creating and running ScrewAttack<ref>[http://thehealingtouch.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/news-of-the-now-handsome-toms-side-of-the-story/|title=Thomas Hanley's blog entry regarding his departure]</ref>, to which Skistimas would reply, 'No, let's wait'. Skistimas, in his opinion, stated that Hanley was no longer 'pulling his own weight', and that for the company to grow, things had to happen. |
On March 8, 2008, "Handsome" Thomas Hanley announced that he was leaving ScrewAttack over co-creator “Stuttering" Craig Skistimas' decision to register the company without input from Hanley. Details of the events leading up to Hanley's departure haven't been entirely revealed, but according to the March 12, 2008 edition of the SideScrollers podcast, Craig Skistimas revealed that he made the decision to register the company without Hanley's knowledge or approval because of Hanley's lack of passion for the company and community.<ref>[http://www.screwattack.com/media/2008/SideScrollers_03_12_08.mp3|title=March 12th, 2008 edition of SideScrollers acknowledging Hanley's departure]</ref>. According to Hanley, he had requested times in the past that the both of them register the company together, as they were partners in creating and running ScrewAttack<ref>[http://thehealingtouch.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/news-of-the-now-handsome-toms-side-of-the-story/|title=Thomas Hanley's blog entry regarding his departure]</ref>, to which Skistimas would reply, 'No, let's wait'. Skistimas, in his opinion, stated that Hanley was no longer 'pulling his own weight', and that for the company to grow, things had to happen. |
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Upon learning that Skistimas had registered the company by himself, Hanley gave Craig two choices: That he (Hanley) would be a part of the company like agreed at the beginning of ScrewAttack, and again at the beginning of the GameTrailers contract (namely being equal partners in the company), or Hanley would be paid on performance (the latter of which is how James D. Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd is paid for his work at ScrewAttack). Skistimas apparently rejected the offer, to which Hanley in response decided to leave, along with Perfect Liz. New School Mickey followed soon afterwards on March 13. Skistimas said himself that since ScrewAttack is a small company, he could not afford to do either. |
Upon learning that Skistimas had registered the company by himself, Hanley gave Craig two choices: That he (Hanley) would be a part of the company like agreed at the beginning of ScrewAttack, and again at the beginning of the GameTrailers contract (namely being equal partners in the company), or Hanley would be paid on performance (the latter of which is how James D. Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd is paid for his work at ScrewAttack). Skistimas apparently rejected the offer, to which Hanley in response decided to leave, along with Perfect Liz. New School Mickey followed soon afterwards on March 13. Skistimas said himself that since ScrewAttack is a small company, he could not afford to do either. Handsome Tom has since gone on to create his own website with Perfect Liz, New School (now 8-Bit) Mickey, and Announcer Geoff dubbed "The Game Heroes." |
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==Staff== |
==Staff== |
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Revision as of 23:09, 2 June 2008
| ScrewAttack logo. | |
Type of site | Video game entertainment |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Flower Mound, TX |
| Owner | ScrewAttack Entertainment LLC |
| Created by | “Stuttering" Craig Skistimas And "Handsome" Thomas Hanley |
| URL | www.ScrewAttack.com |
| Registration | Optional (required for posting on the message boards) |
ScrewAttack is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is currently being shown on GameTrailers as well. The name and logo comes from the screw attack item from the Metroid series.
History
Launched in 2006, ScrewAttack originally started with just one program – SideScrollers, an audio podcast hosted by the site’s creators Stuttering Craig and Handsome Tom. Over time, additional shows have been added and removed. Current programs on ScrewAttack.com include: The Angry Video Game Nerd, ScrewAttack Europe, Video Game Vault, Nametags, Life In A Game, Top Tens, Retro Remix, Captain S!, SideScrollers and PWNED! In February 2007, MTV Networks acquired rights to some of ScrewAttack’s programming (Top 10’s, Video Game Vault and the Angry Video Game Nerd) adding it to their GameTrailers service.[1] Since working with GameTrailers, ScrewAttack’s features have been downloaded over 51 million times.[2]
Putting an emphasis on community, ScrewAttack’s site’s users are treated with respect and are referred to as “g1s”. All g1s are encouraged to participate in the site by creating their original videos for “g1 Submission Sunday”, where users submit their videos for possible posting on the website.
On March 8, 2008, "Handsome" Thomas Hanley announced that he was leaving ScrewAttack over co-creator “Stuttering" Craig Skistimas' decision to register the company without input from Hanley. Details of the events leading up to Hanley's departure haven't been entirely revealed, but according to the March 12, 2008 edition of the SideScrollers podcast, Craig Skistimas revealed that he made the decision to register the company without Hanley's knowledge or approval because of Hanley's lack of passion for the company and community.[3]. According to Hanley, he had requested times in the past that the both of them register the company together, as they were partners in creating and running ScrewAttack[4], to which Skistimas would reply, 'No, let's wait'. Skistimas, in his opinion, stated that Hanley was no longer 'pulling his own weight', and that for the company to grow, things had to happen.
Upon learning that Skistimas had registered the company by himself, Hanley gave Craig two choices: That he (Hanley) would be a part of the company like agreed at the beginning of ScrewAttack, and again at the beginning of the GameTrailers contract (namely being equal partners in the company), or Hanley would be paid on performance (the latter of which is how James D. Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd is paid for his work at ScrewAttack). Skistimas apparently rejected the offer, to which Hanley in response decided to leave, along with Perfect Liz. New School Mickey followed soon afterwards on March 13. Skistimas said himself that since ScrewAttack is a small company, he could not afford to do either. Handsome Tom has since gone on to create his own website with Perfect Liz, New School (now 8-Bit) Mickey, and Announcer Geoff dubbed "The Game Heroes."
Staff
Current
US
- Stuttering Craig
- Jose El Mexicano
- Daily Destin
- Maxifent Corey
INTERNS
- HighSchool Ben
- Nervous Nick
UK
- Guru Larry
- UK Wes
Associates
- James Rolfe (star & creator of Angry Video Game Nerd)
- Jared Knabenbauer (star & creator of Nametags)
- Dom Van Deuren (star of Nametags)
- Josh Nys (star of Nametags)
Divisions
ScrewAttack USA
The ScrewAttack World Headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas. The site’s creator "Stuttering" Craig Skistimas and staff shoot and edit most of the ScrewAttack videos from there.
They hire several interns, that are often featured in the videos on the site, including "Jose El Mexicano", "High School Ben", and "Nervous Nick". The most recent additions to the staff are "Maxifent Corey" and "Daily Destin".
Screwattack Europe
The European office of ScrewAttack located in London, UK is being led by Guru Larry (Larry Bundy Jr.) and “UK” Wez (Wesley Lock), both of whom are TV presenters in real life on various video gaming shows and networks in Europe, such as XLeague.tv, Rapture TV and Game Network.
Their programs include:
- Games Yanks Can’t Wank, A humorous series showcasing and making fun of video games never released in the United States or Canada.
- Hack-Job, A Machinima based Sketch show.
- Pop-Up Review, A Review show, but posts up blatantly false, but funny facts about the game itself, Parodising television shows such as Pop-up Video.
As of the Beginning of December 2007 ScrewAttack.com also began airing episodes of ScrewAttack Europe's XLeague.tv Series Guru Larry's Retro Corner.
Iron-Man of Gaming
The Iron-Man of Gaming is a yearly gaming tournament presented by ScrewAttack and hosted by the Cyberathlete Professional League.[5] The concept was announced on SideScrollers and advertised as “big news” leading up to the final announcement.
Tournament
2007
The starting date of the tournament was August 30th and lasted until September 2nd at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. The winner was advertised to take home $1,000 US dollars and a ScrewAttack championship belt.
The tournament consisted of six games (three modern games and three classic games) to be decided on with a points-based system to decide the winner. The contender with the most total points is the winner.
The following games were at the Iron Man of Gaming tournament of 2007:
- Street Fighter II
- Pac-Man: Championship Edition
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Halo 2
- Madden NFL 08
- Dead or Alive 4
First place was awarded to Chris “Kumachine” Delp. Second place was awarded to Louis “Big Lou” Hughes.[6]
2008
The Iron Man of Gaming will host its second year at the Grapevine Convention Center in Grapevine, TX from June 19-22, advertising itself as "all consoles", "all genres" and "all eras".[7] This year the competitors will be competing for $10,000 US dollars. ScrewAttack registered members are eligible to vote on which games are being played at the event; five classic games, four current and one secret mystery game will be played during the tournament. [8]
It is expected that the 2008 point-scoring format will be similar to the 2007 tournament model.
ScrewAttack Shows and Featurettes
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SideScrollers
Members of ScrewAttack (usually Craig with Jose but there is no defined set of hosts (Craig stated this on a previous episode)) host a series of podcasts in a style of a radio show, updating g1s on new game info, weekly occurrences in the ScrewAttack domain and general news around the world. As noted on their program, they are currently seeking out an actual radio show representation of SideScrollers on satellite radio. The usual features on the show are "Hard News", a look at the latest news in the gaming industry, "The SideScrollers News Desk", which is filled with unusual news from around the globe and "Forum Questions", where they answer forum questions from members on the official forum. Often they will run contests with the forum members which originate directly from the show, the feature "Name That Video Game Tune" is one where it samples a short musical clip from an often obscure video game and lets the fans send in an email and guess which game it was to be entered in a contest drawing.
The show frequently runs short promotions and commercials during the show to advertise new content on the site, often using it as a segue into the next topic to discuss.
Video Game Vault
The Video Game Vault (VGV) is a series of approximately 2-minute-long or shorter videos by Stuttering Craig (with one special featuring the Angry Video Game Nerd, highlighting DuckTales for the Nintendo Entertainment System). VGVs usually do not follow the typical pattern for it to be entitled as a review, but rather the Video Game Vaults serve as a nostalgic, informative and humorous look at games; particularly looking back at classic games or video games that are infamous for a particular reason.
Hard News
A daily news program shown on the site that is on at 7:00 pm and is hosted by Daily Destin. The show is roughly 3 minutes long and is branched off of the Hard News segment on sidescrollers.
ScrewAttack Top Ten
Stuttering Craig tries to keep the Top 10 lists non-traditional by focusing on games which might not have received as much critical acclaim as another, instead citing that because it's their list, the list is automatically great. As well, they'll have Top 10 lists (such as the Top Ten Fighting Games) which only allow one game from a given franchise on to the list to allow more variety. Airing on GameTrailers, the Top 10 lists generally receive over 300,000 views. The most popular Top 10 list to date is “Top Ten Boobies [in Video Games]”, which has received over 950,000 views since February 2007.[9] Other favorites include “Top Ten Douchebags of Gaming” (more than 680,000 views[10]), “Top Ten Worst Fighting Games” (more than 620,000 views[11]) and “The Best and Worst Gaming Peripherals” (more than 590,000 views[12]).
The Angry Video Game Nerd
The Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN; formerly 'The Angry Nintendo Nerd') is a series of farcical retrogaming reviews by James D. Rolfe (born on July 10, 1980[13]), an independent filmmaker and professional video editor.[14] He reviews games for older systems, such as Atari 2600, Sega Mega Drive, PlayStation, and NES. The original music in the series' is played on guitar by Kyle Justin with lyrics by Rolfe. On August 8, 2007, Rolfe’s character was featured on the Opie and Anthony radio show.[15]
The titular Nerd character is an over-the-top video game fanatic, who tends to belittle the games he reviews althogh according to his FAQ he plays games purposely bad for comedic purposes. He derives comic appeal from his loud New Jersey accent, his excessive use of profanity, frequent displays of explicit gestures, and his heavy drinking of Rolling Rock and Yuengling beer. A particular characteristic are his comparisons of repulsive scatological acts to playing the game. He also uses varying amounts of physical comedy and occasional special guests: Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Spider-Man, “Shit Pickle” (an original character), Bugs Bunny, Leatherface and Michael Myers, and the Cowardly Lion. These character parts are sometimes played by Mike Matei (who also draws the show’s title cards) or Kyle Justin, who sings the theme song.
On November 19, 2007, The Angry Video Game Nerd Volume 1 was released on DVD. It consists of all the episodes before ScrewAttack's deal with GameTrailers to keep the new content exclusively on their site.[16] However, subsequent DVD releases will contain the GameTrailers episodes.[17]
Clip/Quote of the Week
The "Clip of the Week" (also is branded as "Quote of the Week") is a series of vignettes posted weekly that showcases offbeat and strange commercials, movie clips or promotions for products.
The New Adventures of Captain S
The New Adventures of Captain S is an online webshow which parodies cartoon and television shows of the 1980s and 1990s, particularly Captain N: The Game Master, Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, Saved by the Bell and Full House (opening credits).[18] Its basic premise is that a Sega gamer named Chad Belmont buys a magical Sega Genesis game, is pulled into his TV and given the responsibility to defend all of Videoland from the clutches of a villain named Game Genie and his minion NES. The action is accomplished by superimposing the actor’s image over the sprite of the main character in the game he’s entered. The show is usually referenced to by the main character’s catchphrase, “Everything gets the kick!” which comes from the Altered Beast sequence in the first episode. The first season has ended on May 16, 2007, but a second season is planned, as announced by show creator Chad Williams at MAGfest VI on January 6, 2008.
A special episode of Captain S was released in August 2007. In this episode, Captain S meets the Angry Video Game Nerd to join forces and save Christmas in July. Since Captain S is considered a family-friendly show, the AVGN’s language is heavily toned down and, at one point, censored (The latter causes the Captain S characters to react in shock).
While the title of the episode says it is non-canonical, an AVGN video seems to continue from where that episode left off.
Toilet Tuesday
A series of shorts created relating to people sitting on the toilet and playing video games. Movies can be submitted by g1s to be featured on the site.
g1 Submission Sunday
A segment in which fans of ScrewAttack submit their own videos to the site. Created by g1 SWAT Doctor[1], the segment evolved into a standard feature on the site. The videos vary from user created Video Game Vaults, spoofs of the site’s characters, Flash animation and other video game related material.
The Art in Gaming
A series of short videos that focus on the visual art in gaming. This show is more serious and an educational approach, compared to the usual easy-going and humorous, sporadic paces as seen in other ScrewAttack shows and features. As of 6th of March, four episodes have been released, Rygar, Vigilante 8, Bionic Commando and a feature over geometric shapes in gaming.
Unaware Steve
Unaware Steve, having not played a game since 1992, goes to gaming conventions and interviews gamers. The interviewee usually ends up agitated with Steve as he is quite annoying when he wants to be. The last time he went to QuakeCon he wore a "sophisticated" outfit which was just a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume. Steve is portrayed by Craig's brother Brad Skistimas of Five Times August[19], but whenever either of them are asked about it, both deny the accusation. More recently he has started a new series "Unaware Steve's Video Game Extravaganza." He reviews an old game, ussually giving obvious hints or adding in a different game somewhere down the line.
WTF Is That?
"WTF Is That?" is a feature where a still frame is paused and zoomed in to the point of blurriness and near absolute unclarity on a screenshot of a particular game. The purpose is to run a contest on which video game the screenshot is from.
60 Second Spoiler
"The Minuteman" takes popular video game titles, such as BioShock, Halo 2 and Half-Life and spoils the plot and ending in a 60-second video.
The Scoop!
Hosted by Highschool Ben, it is a short program highlighting the highs and lows of games, usually the "top 3" of both aforementioned categories.
Nametags
Nametags follows Jared and Dom in the daily grind at the video game store they work at as they battle with their boss, Josh.
In Episode 1, Jared, the main character, Dom, his buddy, coworker and roommate, and Josh, their boss, are introduced. Jared starts his first day working at a video game store and he deals with the boredom faced at any job and is afraid about his friend being graped.
In Episode 2, the store has to redecorate for the Halo 3 launch. The guys are not particularly excited about this as their least favorite type of person comes to the store for this game. We are introduced to Chad the "Gramer," who is a jock who plays Halo, Madden and Grand Theft Auto and says he's a gamer. Jared also goes on a date with Cheryl, a girl who came into the store and was set up with Jared by Dom.
In Episode 3, finds Jared in distress as he discovers Cheryl is a Gramer. He attempts to learn as much as he can about the games she likes to try and find some common ground. Jared eventually ends up breaking up with Cheryl, but will they reunite?
In Episode 4, A month later Jared is still recovering from his fallout with Cheryl. However, work is going good for him. Now, Josh is handing the store over to Jared for a week. Is this the worst mistake ever, or a blessing in disguise?
Life in a Game
Life in a Game is a comedy/adventure series produced by Enemy Crab Productions. It first aired on ScrewAttack in March 2008.
The show stars Guy, a normal person who has classic video game items, characters, and music affecting his everyday life. After fighting and destroying the Jackal, a mysterious boss character who had been stalking him, Guy is thrown into ever-stranger circumstances, from deadly chases to dance competitions. After defeating the reincarnated Red Jackal, Guy meets Frog of Chrono Trigger fame. The reasons for Guy's gaming-themed adventures, the threat of the Jackal, and the arrival of Frog are still unknown.
Previous Shows
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Bebop and Steve
This shortlived show featured Bebop, a hardcore gamer, and his roommate Steve, who hates videogames. There was only one episode ever shown before the series was taken off the site.
RetroRemix
Hosted by DJ Axis, this show features remixes of old video game soundtracks, with a more modern sound and rhythm (similar in execution to OverClocked ReMix). It often contains short interviews or information about the game at the beginning. However, with the departure of DJ Axis, the series has ended.
GameJew
GameJew was a former ScrewAttack series featuring Jonathan Mann a Jewish fan of Mario. In the story, The GameJew dons his red Mario hat and his red overalls, all while existing in real life situations, and composing songs relevant to games.
GameJew took part in the Austrian Big Brother Awards[20], produced the Mario Opera[21], and was featured in the January 15, 2008 edition of EGM Magazine after serenading video game guru, Shigeru Miyamoto[22].
From July of 06 to August of 07 the GameJew made videos. The reason the series ended is blamed on the signing of Jonathan Mann to Gamevideos.com, in an evident breach of his ScrewAttack contract.
As of Feb 27, 2008, Mann has recommenced production of GameJew videos which air Wednesdays.
Awesome Video Games
Awesome Video Games was a former show on ScrewAttack. It featured Chet and Ace, as well as their father, mostly known for his mustache. Despite many positive reviews, Awesome Video Games separated from ScrewAttack. The lifespan of this show on ScrewAttack was from September of 2006 until March 2007.
Although the series separated from ScrewAttack, Chet and Ace still continue their work, putting videos on Newgrounds.com, Youtube.com and their own personal site FFStv
References
- ^ "MTV Networks' GameTrailers Acquires Exclusive Rights To ScrewAttack Programming". GameTrailers. February 8, 2007. Retrieved June 10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Gametrailers.com - The Source For Video Game Media
- ^ 12th, 2008 edition of SideScrollers acknowledging Hanley's departure
- ^ Hanley's blog entry regarding his departure
- ^ Iron Man of Gaming at CPL event
- ^ “The Iron-Man of Gaming 2007 is complete!” at ScrewAttack.com
- ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31203.html Iron Man of Gaming Promo
- ^ http://www.ironmanofgaming.com/ Official Iron Man of Gaming website
- ^ Top Ten Boobies at GameTrailers
- ^ Top Ten Douchebags of Gaming at GameTrailers
- ^ Top Ten Worst Fighting Games at GameTrailers
- ^ The Best and Worst Gaming Peripherals at GameTrailers
- ^ James Rolfe (July 10, 2006). "7/10/06". Retrieved October 8.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Resume at Cinemassacre.com
- ^ James Rolfe (August 8, 2007). "Opie and Anthony". Retrieved August 14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Craig Skistimas (November 19, 2007). "Screwattack Merch". Retrieved November 19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ NEWS
- ^ Sega-16.com Interview: PBC Productions
- ^ Melissa Castellanos. "Second Cup Cafe: Five Times August". Retrieved March 22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Monochrom: MyFaceSpace, the musical - Boing Boing TV
- ^ CD Baby: JONATHAN MANN: The Mario Opera: Act One
- ^ Article Detail - Nintendo Wii News - QJ.NET