Let's send Rorie off in styyyyyle

As announced early on in this week's Bombcast, mastermind of Alpha Protocol and community guru Matt Rorie is riding off into the sunset for a new job and new opportunities elsewhere. As a former mod I can say with absolute conviction Rorie is just as nice behind the scenes as he is in front of a camera, and he did so much for this community that the site won't be the same without him.

Now, that said, I want this to be a happy thread. Rorie's good people and he deserves some popped bottles and puppies galore. Give him your regards, and share your favorite Rorie clips or memories in a comment. I know I'll be curious to see where he lands, and I'm sure wherever he goes, the place will be made spectacularly better for it.

Rorie rules. He's got such a decorated history between Gamespot and Screened and Giant Bomb. He's a master of showing up for 5 minutes and making an immediate impact.

Rorie is wonderful. And he loves cool art.

I'm very sad to see him go, but I'm happy that it sounds like he's leaving for something that's great for him (whatever that is). Lord knows he's earned a change of pace from all those support emails.

He will be missed much more than he knows. Especially on these forums. I just hope that wherever he's going they have LOTS of chompable puppers!

BEST BUTT IN THE BUSINESS.

It’s too hard to pick an Extra Life high point, so I’ll go with a relatively recent entry in the legend of Rorie. That ham pendulum story on UPF (which got captured in an animatic last year) was absolutely buckwild to witness live. The story itself was hilarious and expertly told, the frequent interruptions on Rorie’s side as other things caught his attention were perfectly timed, and driving a rally car on treacherous roads at a very high speed in that game was the cherry on top. What a perfect, deranged sequence.

Really happy that Rorie got something that was too good to refuse, no one deserves it more than him.

Rorie's such a great dude. Always brought up the mood. Just a fun and thoughtful guy (and occasionally out of pocket lol). His opinions on Screened were always so eloquent and well-supported. Even if I ever disagreed, it was impossible to not respect his take or the way he communicated it.

His commitment to the GB community was also clear. I remember him being open back in the day to meeting up for a beer with folks who happened to be in the neighbourhood. Always struck me as such an unnecessary and bold thing to do (esp since my mind tends to think of reasons not to do that kinda thing before any reasons to do it), but so dang sweet and gracious. Also always got the sense that dude was puttin in mad work dealin with account/order issues and the most delightful of spam emails.

Yeah, just a great dude. I wish him well! If you read this, Rorie, wishin you well, man!

And yes, I have 1000% adopted his chomping approach to puppers. Chomp em up.

I met Rorie at a Screaming Females show ~6 years ago. I didn't tell him I knew he was from Giant Bomb, but he just turned around and started chopping it up with me and my buddy. I bought him a drink when we got in and moved on. It was cool to see him as the exact same person I had watched online for so long.

Thanks for just being a good dude, Rorie. Maybe I'll run into you around Oakland.

Interested to hear what he's going to do. Tech support at Team Shifty? Hope they'll do a special UPF with him or such, cause there hasn't really been a send-off stream since Alex, Brad and Vinny left, I guess?

I can't name a specific moment right now, but I did always enjoy Rorie suddenly making some sort of macabre comment out of the blue and causing everyone else to laugh and/or look worried.

Also, great musical taste. Got me into Joy Formidable back in the day, and I'm pretty sure Sleater Kinney as well.

First, who could forget "Don't Call Norm!" (embedded video should be time-stamped to 4:17)

Second, although I'm currently experiencing the black screen bug for old premium videos, Rorie reads through some wonderfully ridiculous support email nonsense starting at 1:40:04 for the March 9, 2018 UPF:

https://www.giantbomb.com/shows/unprofessional-fridays-03092018/2970-11548/premium-video

Video download still works at least.

Another sad blow. But I'll keep it positive. Thank you Matt Rorie. You have been a rock for Giant Bomb for many years and you will be missed. Good luck in your future, and I hope whatever your goals are now, they become successful in time.

Best of lucks and lots of puppies in your future, good sir. As one of the few members of the staff that still visits these damned forums, I salute you. Being following this man since its early times in screened, specially the podcast he did with Alex, which was a constant source of entertaining and interesting conversations.

Thank you very much Rorie! You are a true legend and have shaped this site in a massive way.

looking forward to seeing you being announced as COO for Jeff G‘s enterprise. ;)

Rorie is such a pure soul, I adored watching him through the years. Best of luck on whatever comes next!

Rorie is literally the most helpful I've ever encountered a support person being. Above and beyond, every time. That alone makes him irreplaceable. Whoever snagged him away from us knows what they're getting.

o7

I always remember his love of coffee and everything coffee flavored.

Thanks for everything Rorie - especially everything you've done for the community. You've been a real star at GiantBomb both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Such a solid fucking guy. I wish him the best

Top lad

Not much else to add really. The site will be lessened without his presence

I know he said it isn't happening, but that's just proof it's happening:

MATT RORIE'S ALPHA PROTOCOL II : Revenge of the soul patch

Wish for the best for Rorie. Will miss you.

Rorie is a national treasure, it's a shame to see him go, but I appreciate everything he's given over the years. Hope to see him around now and then, if schedule in any way allows it. What a cool guy.

Thank you for everything Rorie. I'm especially grateful for your fantastic Dark Souls coverage, which was what got me into those games. <>

Godspeed, Rorie. All the best.

Ah man, Rorie was a huge influence for me back in the Screened days. Gonna miss that man. A couple years ago I threw together a supercut of all his puppy reviews from the Whiskey Media Happy Hour days:

https://youtu.be/EAmOP1LZjVw

I don't know how you replace someone that wore all the different hats that Rorie wore, and the years of knowledge of doing it for this site specifically, to keep this place running smoothly without just hiring a whole division of people. I'm sure he'll do great in his new career as a sleepwear model.

EDIT: I suppose I'll just repost my artistic recreation of my favorite Rorie moment.

How can you not love Matthew "2 Redbulls" Rorie?

And when the video games went away, after the intro... the polymorph bit at 4:22 is one of my favorites.

It's always bittersweet to say goodbye to someone who has made such a positive impact on a community. But, let's focus on the sweet part and send some well-deserved congratulations and good vibes to Matt Rorie on his new journey! Here's to hoping he finds even more success and happiness in his new role. And of course, let's not forget to celebrate with some bubbly and lots of cute puppies - because who doesn't love puppies? Cheers to you, Rorie! 🍾🐶

Last of the OGs. Hope you go on to bigger and better things.

Love me some Rorie, wherever he is and wherever he may land. Here is an admittedly low quality photo of our family dog Ella taking a nap when she was still only 8 weeks old.

Best wishes Rorie!

Rorie was a delight at every single live show, he and Alex on Screened were so incredible when I was going through some shit and those watch-alongs were wonderful, and I'm glad he's leaving on his own terms.

Alpha Protocol is underrated and deserves a sequel.

Seeing Rorie on videos was always a treat! He had great taste in games and Alpha Protocol still fucking slaps.

@citizencoffeecake: Don't forget his documented disdain of low fat cream cheese for Bagel Friday!

#Pour4Ror

(credit to ben pack for coming up with that winner- wish i could remember what stream it was on)

anytime one of these transitions is announced, the GB faithful assemble in the quiet, dusty town that is these forums and i tend to fantasize about posting a devastating, heartfelt tribute to the exiting staff member so they understand they're appreciated. truthfully i usually end up keeping things short and sweet, but i feel like this guy deserves a few extra sentences.

i gotta that say this one stings...with the regular 'on camera' folks it's easy to point to gaps in the schedule or an empty chair on a video and so the perceived loss is evident. i think in matthew 'matt' rorie's case that absence will be less immediately tangible, but it really does feel like GB is losing a bit of it's heart with this one.

this is coming off as more dramatic than i intend, so i'll just say this much- in every interaction the Rordawg (whether on camera, in these forums, or in DMs) comes off as an exceedingly DECENT and authentic person- and the countless anecdotes in these forums and elsewhere are proof positive (seriously- i've lost count of the accounts i've read that amount to "i was passing through SF and messaged him for a beer on a lark, and THEN IT HAPPENED.")

which is all to say, thanks rorie! you really will be missed, and good luck all our best- don't be a stranger! (and if you ever come eastward for a Screaming Females hometown show, i'll buy you one!)

PS- i sincerely hope rorie finds a place to share his written thoughts every now and then. i'm sure it was likely just another agenda item for him- but back in the spring of 2020 when a sense of normalcy was utterly shot, getting a newsletter with as an opener had me in stitches:

Folks, if you’re anything like me, you are probably pretty tired of BIG BRANDS sending you emails detailing what they think about the new superbug and how they’re holding up while attempting to weather the storm we’re currently experiencing. By a rough count I have received over 200 emails from various companies who desperately want me to know what they’re doing to prepare/outlast COVID-19, mostly written as though I need to know what my bank’s line of succession would be in case its president and C-level suite is rendered unfit to perform their duties. It is exciting to me to know that Domino’s Pizza is moving the families of their executives into the Cheyenne Mountain bunker to ensure operational stability in case of disruptions to the chain of command, but, honestly, I think most of us have more pressing and immediate concerns for our family and friends.

I gotta say, I’m really, truly gonna miss Matt. It was always a delight to have him on and wonder what sort of HR violation he would say next. Also, last of the Whiskey Media folks. I had that old Whiskey Media shirt that had the graphic of all of them on the rollercoaster. I’ve imagined that like the Ramones meme of photoshopping out all that died, eventually leaving an empty wall, and now that rollercoaster is empty too. Sad times, but I’m excited for Rorie to pursue new opportunities. I hope there will still be some way to see him somewhere in the future, just being himself.

Screened forever!

I love everything about Rorie. His vibes, his manic energy, the way in interjects inappropriate anecdotes into normal conversation. I love how self-aware he is about all of these things as well and then just continues being who he is. He's always been exceedingly pleasant and prompt when it came to support issues. It felt special getting support responses back knowing they were from him and clearly hearing his voice reading back the emails about my account issues. He writes much the same way he talks.

I always wished he was more of a front-facing personality on the site. I love whenever he pops up on content. Rorie has been the backbone of Giant Bomb for so long though. Despite not being on camera all that often, I enjoyed knowing he was still there, doing good work behind the scenes.

I wish him the best of luck on his new endeavor. Any place would be lucky to have him. Much like our precious puppies, we don't deserve Matthew Rorie.

I remember making this for some Rorie related thread not too long ago.

I don't even know where to begin celebrating Matt Rorie. A lot of the time it's felt as if he's been doing everything on the site all by himself. Not saying this to in any way diminish the work of everybody else who has worked hard to keep this place running, but Rorie's always been there. Trouble with my account? Rorie's got it covered. Store issues? Rorie looks into it. Write a short question in the YouTube comments of an old video? Rorie replies with an answer mere minutes later. Not to mention his utterly delightful vibes whenever he's been in front of the camera. Losing Rorie is a blow that can't be overstated, just like having Rorie join your operation is a blessing that can't be overstated.

Rorie, I wish you nothing but good luck, happiness and success with whatever it is you've got lined up. Thanks for everything you've done for us and the site throughout the years, you beautiful, beautiful man.

long live rordawg

Thank you Matt Rorie for being a pillar of this community.

<>

Thanks Rorie!

Hope the drinks fridge is at a suitable temperature wherever you go next.

Rorie!

My all-time-absolute-favorite! So much love for you and thank you for all the hard work you have done for this site.

Apparently Street Fighter IV wasn't doubled back and tagged onto whichever UPF this was, but as a Token Manic Drunk myself Rorie always stood out to me most because I made a random comment about what some character in the background of a stage was doing (I vividly recall it being a market of some sort but do not vividly recall exactly what stage it was, and I'm pretty disappointed in the internet for not having a comprehensive gallery of stages to peruse) and Rorie calling my comment out. Years later it'd inspire me to use my low status of Giant Bomb Premium Subscriber to hear some off-hand comment from Ben Lindbergh on the short-lived Achievement Oriented podcast from The Ringer, way back in the days of Medium and comment sections, and suggest he reach out to one Vinny Caravella for more perspective and not only did he do it, they did a whole pod about it.

Shout out to a real one. Nobody could ever love Rainer Maria more, or puppers less.

@permanentsigh: thank you for posting these!! Hilarious to revisit these moments.

Good luck, Matt Rorie! Thanks for everything over the years <3