Dear Internet: Please Provide Alex Navarro-Related Content Ideas

"Alex Likes Games!" coming at you in 2013. Contribute to all our gaming education by digging into the games you like to play and convince us why we should think they're awesome. Think "Defending your movie" but with games and more happiness.

I think you should review screensavers from the 90s.

No, but you should cover free-to-play games. I hear they're popular with the kids--your target demographic.

No, that was the asshole comment which you told me to make, but free-to-play is a space not currently covered much on Giant Bomb. I personally have no interest in it, but it's only gonna get bigger (& better?), and there is an audience for it. It's also free, so you can spend your money on the things that matter. Like therapy and an umbrella.

Since everyone's pushing your strength at insulting bad things, I'll toss in ideas for something musical.

Idea 1: Do stuff with memorable game soundtracks and notable musicians who've done them? You can take that in any direction you want, from geeking out over Uematsu and traditional composers/arrangers, profiles on lesser-known composers for popular games, or cross into pop territory with stuff like the Beastie Boys (Grand Royal records / Jet Set Radio Future), David Bowie (Omikron), Nine Inch Nails (Quake), Mike Patton (voicework in a couple of games), HEALTH (Max Payne 3), and all sorts of other weird intersections.

Idea 2: Do stuff with the wild world of crazy out-there Japanese arcade music games? I'm pretty sure Chinatown Arcade (the original owners) had a damn Jubeat machine before they packed up for Brooklyn and turned into Next Level. That, Pop'n Music, anything ending in -mania; I don't how easy they'd be to find, even in NYC/Tri-state, but it'd be a way to go if you felt the urge for video content. Mostly because it'd be fun to watch you try to do something like this:

Idea 3:@Grimmy616 said:

Weekly Rock Band Review.

Or just digging around the library for stuff people might not have known came out. Maybe even RBN if you were feeling brave/suicidal.

I don't have much to add to this conversation other than I'm very excited to see more of you, man. I really enjoyed you during the final GOTY podcast.

• Wrestling promos (because current WWE in no way meets my pro wrestling needs)
• Weekly News Round-up
• Today in *insert year here* in video games - commentary and analysis of important events

Take the bombastica format to a montage of you playing games you have given 1-2 star reviews similar to your Screened Netflix Hell month you had.

You can also document your review process for games letting us see your impressions in "real time." It'd be interesting to see a behind the scenes on the review process for certain games. Anything from the highly anticipated to the garbage that seems to get thrown your way. I think we'd all like to see a montage of you going insane from playing something like Blackwatch.

I'm racking my brain to think of something clever and am having a hard time, but if there's any genre of game that you have a special connection to and feel like you'd have things to say about I think you should start there. I realize something like the old Screened features could be difficult to pull off with the recording and editing that goes into them, but I think something in the spirit of that could turn out really fun, or maybe that's just what the Encyclopedia Bombastica videos will become.

It'll be nice to see and hear you again though (no I'm serious), looking forward to it.

I'd love to see something, video or written, that gives a uniquely east coast perspective on games, events, or just life things that can relate to games, like this piece from May. I could see that as part of your column though. I'd really rather hear about games worth playing than bad ones to avoid that I probably would have avoided anyway. I know that stuff can be funny sometimes but it can get redundant if presented with any regularity.

Playing so bad that they're good games would be a treat. Playing shitty games does fit your role as the guy that'll review bad games.

As great as it is to watch you suffer I would rather see you maybe cover games that you enjoy that you normally wouldn't. Kind of like the video game equal to the Winnie the Pooh movie you enjoyed at Screened. Bring some whimsy.

Play.  Videogames.

@AckbarTheGreat said:

Dance for us...

This would also be okay.

Or you could re-enact every Nicolas Cage movie.....hmmm decissions, decissions....

Bring back This Ain't No Game.

More long-form video. I don't even care if it's about video games, as long as it's video and it's got stuff in it.

@TKFT44 said:

How about making Quick Look-esque videos of you playing games that you will hate, and that you know you will hate? There's never enough Alex Navarro making fun of games. Kind of the negative Encyclopedia Bombastica. If anyone should do it, it should be you. Or Ryan.

And I'd say only play games that are exceptionally bad or boring, rather than every cartoon license game or Carnival Party 37.

Probably start off with ET: The Extra Terrestrial for Atari 2600 or Superman 64. Perhaps revisit Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.

Name ideas: Severe Snarkolepsy, Alex Ridicules Bad Games, Ideaz.

This is an obvious suggestion, but I would watch it. God damn would I watch it.

Actually, knowing that War Z was absolute shit and it's created by your favorite developer I'd love to watch you play that while slowly unraveling and going mad.

Seeing how the San Francisco branch of Giantbomb doesn't seem to want to do another Endurance Run, you could always give it a go. If there's a game that you want to play but don't think you have enough time to do so, why not do it with an audience of several hundred thousand people watching and silently judging every move you make?

I'd say a "bad games throughout history" version of the encyclopedia is a no brainer.

I dunno man, I would love to see an Alex Navarro version of Jar Time where he answers questions.

segment called "This shouldn't be a thing" showing wither games that should not have been made, or just trends that need to stop. I know playing more bad games is not something you would look forward to ,but truthfully you are good at critiquing these things.

An annual or semi annual "Alex gives old Video Games Shirts to Goodwill"

See if you can beat users scores at songs in Rock Band Blitz... while someone threatens you with a knife.

@Abendlaender said:

@AckbarTheGreat said:

Dance for us...

This would also be okay.

Or you could re-enact every Nicolas Cage movie.....hmmm decissions, decissions....

Convey to us the stories of the Cage through dancing.

Alex's Hall of Lame. Shit games. Play em.

Encyclopedia Bombastica style QL's of notoriously shitty games from all eras.

@TheSolution said:

Take game concepts, such as Boss Fights, and show a great example and an atrocious example. Then discuss what makes one terrible and one great.

i actually really like this idea. video demonstrations would help flesh out what the concept is all about and such. like a more directed encyclopedia bombastica. it would also leave the floor open for alex to point out how bad something is, which people seem to love judging by the response here.

I always liked the video content you and Matt Rorie used to do for Screened. Besties, Half-Good, Defending Your Movie, Remake Rematch... have you considered doing something similar to those features, Alex? Like, taking the concept from one of those and applying to a game?

List of games that would be better with Nick Cage.

review wii ware games.

@elcalavera said:

Big Rigs 24/7.

Edit: And yeah: Yay, more videos of Alex!

I always loved your Besties, Remake Rematch, Defending Your Movie, Half-Good, etc. features on Screened. So something like that. I know all that stuff's scripted, but you're pretty damn good at writing those. Also, some workplace-appropriate-heterosexual-but-verging-on-homoerotic-analytical-man-love between you and Rorie would be welcome. I still miss Screened, damnit! You up and ditched Rorie--for good reason, sure, as he did start to sort of devolve in way toward the end there, along with all the other business stuff--and I still haven't found a movie podcast that satisfyingly fills the Behind the Screened Door shaped hole in my soul. Man, Screened. What the fuck... Oh, and can you, like, review some movies again? A.V. Club's all well and good, but their reviews rarely ever bring me to audible laughter in the way some of yours did.

If it werent for Encyclopedia Bombastica, I'd say Alex should cover lesser known games in a series called "Here's a Thing!"

Angry Video Game Nerd, because that hasn't been done before.

I love you Alex..but revisiting shitty games cause you're winner!

i think that adding to Encyclopedia Bombastica by talking about like weird games that you really like that nobody else thinks about would be a really cool thing for Alex and the rest of the staff to do, after all project quicklook everything ain't gonna complete itself

Skype in Rorie and just talk for a few hours... and talk about movies. That's all.

Whenever you record, you should have a random Nic Cage movie playing in the background. "The Alex Navarro/Nic Cage Power Hour!"

I always like "reviews of games the person liked but didn't get enough attention". Dark Cloud will always be an example of that for me. I loved it, but I don't feel like anyone else did.

Discussing good/bad examples of frequently used tropes, or countdowns of a specific voice actor's best roles/composer's best works also works.

You are at your best when you interact with awful things so something to do with awful games. Bad Game Breakdown, you play an awful game until it breaks or until you break.

I remember they've gotten Alex on Skype before for something, but have they ever played on a Quick Look or TNT with him for a game he was reviewing? I think that'd be pretty cool.

More Alex is a good thing no matter what he is doing. I'd suggest stuff but the best stuff has been mentioned a dozen times already.

Just a weekly playthrough of Blackwater?

What about a look at the evolution of the Lego game franchises?

Attempted Endurance Runs of terrible games

@GlenTennis said:

I'd love maybe some sort of Hall of Shame. Let's be honest, you're a magnificent when ripping things to shreds so I'd love to see some shining examples of turds in gaming picked apart by you.

THIS. I'd love to see something to the tune of the opposite of Encyclopedia Bombastica. Play the bad games!

The consensus seems to be something with bad games. I'd also welcome a revival of This Ain't No Game, but I think Ryan's pretty much used up all the terrible (great) game-based movies. 
 
I'd like to see you fight polar bears with your mind, is that plausible?

Being that you are in NY, how about couch time with people that work in the industry (East Coast) and play a game new or old with them. Or just talking game history with them.

Do whatever man. Experiment and don't feel that you are tied down to any one thing.

I don't know what you should do but be sure to call it "So that's a thing now" or something along those lines.

You have a very unique attitude and are probably the best writer on staff. A smart, unique, weekly written thing seems to suit your talents the best. Also you are the only one that cares about sports games. I think Vinny and Jeff have wrung all they could out of the "I don't know sports but i'm showing this game" joke as they possibly could. It would be nice to see some legitimate sports game quick looks.

It would be cool if you were skyped into the bombcasts. Is there any reason that doesnt happen? Looking at the amount of work you've done at the end of the year (the number of reviews at the very least, not to mention the articles you throw up here and there) it feels unfair to let your voice go unheard.

I would totally be in favor of you doing more interviews and stuff, especially with entities on the east coast.

Maybe have a weekly / monthly indie game showcase.

Above all i'd like to see more content involving you interacting with the rest of the staff. The character of the GiantBomb editors and the charm of watching them interact as they cover games is why I pay for the site.

If I remember correctly you have a kitty. So as long as you include the kitty in as much as you can I'm good. Honestly I really liked the defending videos and other such things you and Rorie did over at screened. Would enjoy seeing those for video games.

• Take a game concept / trope / franchise and elucidate / rave / rant. Highlight high points, low points, your opinion on things, etc. Sort of like Sidegrades / Here's What You Missed on Screened. I hope I'm not turning you into a one-trick pony...
• Pull back the curtain a bit? How's it working on the East Coast, any differences between the West Coast, getting back into journalism after doing time in development.
• Do whatever you want?

I'd like to see Alex playthrough a game (a "let's play", if you will), but I don't know if that's permitted.