VG Cats
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2007) |
| VG Cats | |
|---|---|
| Link Finally Snaps The VG Cats strip "Link Finally Snaps" parodies the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. | |
| Author(s) | Scott Ramsoomair |
| Website | http://www.vgcats.com/ |
| Current status/schedule | Updates Occasionally |
| Launch date | 2001-09-09 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Video game, Parody, Gag-a-day |
VG Cats (short for Video Game Cats) is a webcomic written and drawn by Canadian Scott Ramsoomair. Published on occasion on its own website, it features the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphic cats, who often play the roles of characters in popular video games that are parodied in the strip.[1] Strips are usually presented in a large format and in full color. In the past, VG Cats generally updated once per week. Recently, updates have become less and less frequent, and [2] even pokes fun at the author's increased tardiness in updating.
The VG Cats website also hosts Adventure Log, the official Final Fantasy XI webcomic, also written and drawn by Ramsoomair.
Characters
VG Cats is not a storyline-based comic. Nonetheless, there are quite a few characters that are staples of the comic. Recurring characters in VG Cats include:
Leo Leonardo the Third
A green-eyed male cat with grey fur, enthusiastic but credulous. He is perpetually happy, despite his tendency to get hurt. Leo is typically the more foolhardy of the two cats. While he usually projects a general air of idiocy, he has shown signs of a deeper intelligence, or at least marginal quantities of common sense. Proven to have worms in comic [[3]]. His alter ego is known as "Brief Boy" and used to be Pantsman's sidekick. Named after one of Ramsoomair's real cats. Introduced: 2001-09-09, strip 1.
Aeris
A blue-eyed female cat with pink fur, is friends with Leo, though she hardly ever tolerates his stupidity. Though easily the most sensible character, she has a look of cuteness about her but a quick temper and little patience for the foolishness that surrounds her, and is almost always upset with the other characters. She is typically depicted as a sardonic voice of reason, or a sadist when encountering people who she feels are annoying. She is a fan and writer of slash fiction, and yaoi. Aeris is also named after one of Ramsoomair's real cats. She is also left handed. Introduced: 2001-09-04, strip 2.
Krug, Lord of the Unpleasant
A horned red demon of limited intelligence and a childlike demeanor, not to mention a voracious appetite (occasionally eating companions). He can be violent at times, and tends to talk in the third person. His alter ego is Dr. Van Kruglor, and is the archnemesis of Pantsman. Introduced: strip 26
Pantsman
The alter ego of the author, is an incompetent superhero who conceals his identity by wearing pants and sometimes underpants on his head. He also wears a pair of jeans around his neck, to provide a two tailed cape. He was introduced to help explain the inconsistent updating of the comic. Introduced: Strip 37
Johnny Evilguy
A greedy and unscrupulous antagonist named after an example character in the Neverwinter Nights scenario creation guide. He usually appears as a shop owner, in various circumstances, often trying to rid himself of a surplus of testicle-based produce. Introduced: Strip 52
Dr. FG Hobo
The late Dr. Hobo was an alley-dwelling lunatic given to telling absurd, rambling stories. He tends to speak with a drunken slur. Ramsoomair announced that Dr. Hobo is gone for good, but later the news post concerning this was edited, leading to speculation that Dr. Hobo might one day return. Introduced: Strip 64; Finale: Strip 183
Ternaldo
A collectible card game fan oblivious to the finer points of social interaction. Ternaldo enjoys Yu-Gi-Oh and Beyblade. He mostly resembles a Galka from Final Fantasy XI. Ternaldo is often used to represent the ubiquitous newbie or neophyte in gaming circles - someone who is overenthusiastic and completely clueless. Introduced: Strip 90
Minor characters
- GameCube, usually very cheery but extremely anti-online, but regardless good friends with PS2. He later passes away "due to a lack of original and exclusive releases".
- PlayStation 2, GameCube's more popular but somewhat simple friend; equally cheery.
- PC and Xbox seen only once in the comic appearing to be good friends, manage to trigger GameCube's anti-online attitude. An Xbox was featured speaking in an earlier comic, but without any anthropomorphisized traits, and later during a comedy routine alongside the Xbox 360. [4]
- Nokia N-Gage not often noticed, and later becomes a rather successful poet.
- Mrs. SNES is the mother of GameCube and Dreamcast.
- Sega Genesis, married to Mrs. SNES and the father of GameCube and Dreamcast. He is extremely disappointed at Dreamcast for 'dropping out' after two years.
- Game Boy Advance & GBA SP are depicted as stereotypical hip-hop street punks.
- Nintendo DS shown as a pervert with an obsession of having people touch him/her "down there".
- R.O.B. the doctor who fails to save GameCube's life due to his lack of mobility. He's one of the NES robots originally released with the NES.
- Wii is the little brother of the GameCube. He has not appeared in the comic yet, though he was mentioned and referred to as GameCube's little unborn brother.
- Dreamcast son of Mrs. SNES and Genesis. He is very angry at his father for always criticizing him.
- Major Payne. Was kicked out of the army for being a masochist, but seems to be more of a sadist. Introduced: strip 69.
- Mr Potatomoto. A joke on Shigeru Miyamoto's name and a parody of Nintendo. He is also Ramsoomair's favorite character [2].
- Mr Kutarchini. A joke on Ken Kutagari's name and a parody of Sony.
- PSP has been rarely seen, but seems to be un-wanted and un-used by his owner.
Print version
Template:Future book Ramsoomair has stated that the print book, scheduled to come out in early 2007, will instead be postponed to the holiday season, due to work on a new project. The same comixpedia.com interview indicates that the project in question is something that fans have often tried to do.
VG Cats in video games
Many people have tried making a game based on the webcomic. The most recent attempts have been a Flash game, a Half-Life 2 mod, and a 2D side-scrolling game. There have been a few completed projects, including a 2D platform / shooter hybrid game.
A Dr. Hobo inspired character is in the MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing, whilst a Leo inspired character named Vetkin is in the RTS Battle Realms.
Awards
VG Cats has been nominated for several Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards, winning 2 awards in 2005 and 1 in 2006.
- 2003: Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic
- 2004: Outstanding Character (Visual), Outstanding Use of Color, Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic, Outstanding Gaming Comic.
- 2005: Winner: Outstanding Use of Color, Outstanding Comedic Comic, Outstanding Short Form Comic, Winner: Outstanding Gaming Comic. Honorable mention: Character Art & Artist.
- 2006: Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic, Winner: Outstanding Gaming Comic.
- 2007: Outstanding Use of Color, Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic, Outstanding Gaming Comic.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- When employees at Maxis saw the VG Cats comic that parodied Spore they responded by remaking the comic using the in game models for all of the aliens. The Maxis version can be found here. Maxis also created models of each of the creatures featured in the strip (save for the green one) and sent them to Ramsoomair, as seen here
- Scott Ramsoomair is a good friend of Tim Buckley, creator of the webcomic Ctrl+Alt+Del. He is also, at least, an acquaintance of the writer of 8-Bit Theater, Brian Clevinger[citation needed].
References
| This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
- ^ Maragos, Nich (2005-11-07). "Will Strip For Games: Gaming Comics Online". 1UP.com. p. 3. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - ^ An Interview with Scott Ramsoomair of VG Cats
External links
