Hey Everyone,
This post marks my first real post here at Giantbomb.com, but I have followed this site since the first ArrowPointingDown Beta Podcast back in February 2008. I consider myself a long time fan of the guys behind this site, so I decided to break down their personalities. After all, these guys are why this community exists in the first place. I would love to know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts.
Jeff Gerstmann – The Raw Talent
Why does Giantbomb.com exist in the first place? Jeff Gerstmann. This guy brings so much to our beloved online videogame community. What is Jeff’s appeal? I believe it lies in his raw talent and ability to communicate about video games. As far as I know, Jeff dropped out of college. If you do not believe me, listen to the mini-Bombcast with Ed Boon back in 10/24/08 where Jeff says to Mr. Boon regarding Mortal Kombat:
“I’ve been a huge fan of it for years… I missed large sections of high school because I could go play Mortal Kombat II instead… I stopped going to a college class… I basically dropped out of college because I wanted to go to Reno to see MK3 for the first time.”
I am not suggesting Jeff is stupid because he did not go to college. Quite the contrary, I think Jeff is a brilliant guy. His natural talent has brought him into videogame journalism superstardom. Jeff has made videogames his raison d’être. Think about it. What did he do when he got the can from Gamespot? (I still wish I knew why he did. People do not get fired for nothing) He created his own website about videogames with more liberties to do basically whatever he wants. Jeff is the only videogame journalist I know who appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss the Dreamcast and who is quoted in at least two New York Times articles. It is quite astonishing to see what Jeff has achieved based on his raw talent to understand videogames and to communicate what each game he plays is all about.
Ryan Davis – The Showman
Ryan has such a showmanship to his personality that I cannot help but want to call him a celebrity. Not only is Ryan host of our beloved Bombcast, but there are more videos of him on Giantbomb.com than there are of the other three principle characters. This Ain’t No Game has a large part to do with this. Speaking of which, who saw this feature coming? TANG has become an instant favorite feature on this website, and I attribute its success to the charisma Ryan exudes on screen. Ryan’s natural ability to appear on camera is not entirely surprising. During the 11 episode of Getting To Know Gamespot, Ryan discussed what his role used to be at Gamespot.com. Early on, Ryan said this:
“I also have kind of ended up doing a lot more video stuff for the site… I like to help out a lot with the video review process, kind of help coach other editors to try to get a little more effusive video reviews out there.”
When asked what he would do outside of the videogame industry, Ryan said this:
“I think that I wouldn’t mind trying more TV Radio stuff. I think based on the experience that I’ve had here with doing on-camera stuff and doing the Hotspot, I find that stuff fun. You know? Just kind of get on there and goof around, I wouldn’t want to do anything to serious.”
Of all the members on the Giantbomb team, Ryan is the most natural on camera. On a personal note, I always get a kick when I know that he is featured in a video on the site. For Heaven’s sake, Ryan also posted a video of himself giving a tour of his house! Now, c’mon, would someone who hates being on camera willingly do such a thing?
Brad Shoemaker – The Scholar
Brad graduated from college as an English major. His writing is perhaps the strongest of the four main guys of the Giantbomb crew (although that’s my opinion). For those of us who remember Brad’s Gamespot.com days, we remember he spoke in a monotone and wore glasses. Seriously, nearly all famous scholars have glasses. Somehow, though, his dull deliverance on camera became part of his appeal and most of what he said actually made sense and, well, downright sounded smart. You guys can read his articles and reviews to know what I mean. A few quotes from him on the Bombcast have also surfaced that make me believe of all the dudes in a basement in Sausalito, Brad has the most erudition.
During the Game of the Year 2008 Edition of the Bombcast, Brad made a case for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts to be the year’s best game by saying this:
“I love the personality of it, the writing, the kind of fourth wall busting meta-humor. They were so self-aware, referential, self-deprecating, they made fun of everybody without mercy. I thought it was clever as hell, really funny, extremely well written… really what pushes it over the top is just the mechanics of it. It’s the fact that the vehicle building is so easy to get into and so sort of robust… but then the second necessary component of that is that it feeds so directly into the missions that you have to do.”
During the Bombcast from July 8 2008, in the last ten minutes Brad addresses the fallacy of the “10 year cycle” for the lifespan of videogame consoles:
“I get the impression that when companies like Sony throw this phrase around people think, ‘O.K. that’s the only console they’re going to have for 10 years.’ But if you look at the ‘longtail’, to use the marketing term… look at the way the Playstation One business worked out. I mean, they had five years as their console and they brought the PS2 out, but they kept making PS1 games for a little while, some third parties did, but it kept selling… PS2 probably will be selling games until the end of the PS3’s 5 year cycle. I don’t think the ‘10 year cycle’ ever means, ‘We’re going to make one console and milk it for 10 years,’ it’s just that these things have a lifespan beyond the next iteration of the product.”
I’m not exactly sure why, but these particular quotes have always stuck out to me as something someone with a higher level of education would say. For these reasons, I am saying his erudite personality makes Brad the Scholar.
Vinny Caravella – The Racist (or at least someone obsessed with racism)
Don’t get excited by the title I have selected as best to describe Vinny’s personality. I want to be upfront and that say of the four main guys working at Giantbomb.com, Vinny is my least favorite. Don’t misunderstand me when I say that because I LOVE Vinny, but if I had to make of a list of my favorites, Vinny would be on the bottom for me. I hate to admit it, but I like it when Dave fills in on the Bombcast whenever Vinny is out of the office.
When Ryan introduced Vinny in the first Bombcast since the site launched on July 22, 2008, Vinny blurted this statement:
“All journalists are racists!”
In the Bombcast in the following week (29 July 2008), Ryan had trouble pronouncing the name an Italian guy who wrote in an email. Before Ryan could make a guess, Vinny interrupted with:
“Say it, you racist… Cannoli! Just say it! You know you want to say it!”
(Ryan made an even more racist statement by saying the guy’s last name was “meatball”)
Finally, a few Bombcasts later (I cannot find it for the life of me) a discussion took place on what a Toboggan was. Before the discussion could continue, Vinny said:
“You racists bastard, it’s called a turban!”
While Vinny may have gone through an obsessive racist phase, he has one redeeming quality – he is a self-proclaimed fan of Dragon Ball Z. I, too, am a HUGE fan of DBZ and revel in how much the rest of the family at Giantbomb.com hate the hell out of it. However, Ryan did give a rather glowing review to Budokai 3 when it was released. In fact, he did come off as the resident DBZ fan at Gamespot.com. I guess the torch has been passed on to Vinny. Even though Vinny is a racist, at least he is a Dragon Ball Z fan. In my book, that makes me love Vinny.
So there you go! Feel free to tell me why I am spot on in my assessment, or why I am dead wrong. Either way, we all love Giantbomb.com and the personalities behind them.
In summary:
Jeff Gerstmann – The Raw Talent
Ryan Davis – The Showman
Brad Shoemaker – The Scholar
Vinny Caravella – The Racist (or at least someone obsessed with racism)
If you disagree with me, please make your own assessment. I would love to know what you think!
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