Game Tapes 11: Angela Pickles

sorry if it was distracting - we recorded this when I was coming off of a really bad cold a few weeks ago and I still hadn't fully recovered.

I don't understand how these 90s B-roll clips are so consistently messy. It's like they're all being played by someone who's never touched a video game before.

I was so excited to see Jeff in the thumbnail, but after reading so many comments, it seems like this was indeed pre-recorded a ways back. Darn. :(

Giant Bomb Infinite should be all Jeff videos until Jeff is back from paternity leave so that people can get their fill for now.

@benpack: Your Cuphead quick look was the best work you've done. In it you know your stuff, you're prepared, ready & willing to work. Jokes fly, but they aren't the main point of the video. Veeery different feature, very different mindset. Sarcasm isn't a bad thing. There's a lot fun to be had with B-roll, old games & new, but when someone is chaining "Haha, fuck this game" - jokes together and constantly trying to get the cameras attention, it becomes irritating. That's the point of my dissatisfaction.

Calling you a dick, was a very poor choice of words, I'm terribly sorry about that.

I'm not gonna answer for this cat specifically, but I'll provide some context that seems appropriate.

There's nothing actually *wrong* with you. At least, not anything substantial. It's just the situation with Patrick Klepek all over again.

There's a very passionate core of users and fans of this site that are old guard, and we've been here since before the site was even named and we followed the debacle with Jeff and his original dismissal from Gamespot all the way through the original Making of the Bomb, through Whiskey Media, all the way to today. There have been high highs, but perceptively low lows as well. The nostalgia is a heady brew, and somewhere deep down inside, we all know that those really wild days that gave us the first Big Live Live Show LIVE and the surrounding scruffy industry redefining content are all very much in the past and we'll likely never see the energy be replicated, least not at the CBSi building.

Like Patrick (hell, like the fucking move from the couch to the desk), you represent forward movement, movement away from that hallowed era that is more about nostalgia than actually being categorically better in a material way. People were awful to Klepek, I'm talking shameful in a way that would occasionally drift into the criminal with how many threats he would get, and deeply personal and vile considering the kinds of things that were said when his father died and he had to weather that experience as an internet "celebrity." In contrast, Jeff never had to endure that kind of pain, but Patrick did not because he was white knighting progressive issues, or highlighting the changing culture of modern gaming, or his cadence and chemistry on podcasts. People just didn't know how to properly express that he embodied the fact that the time that provided a lot of meaning and joy for them was gone forever, and they couldn't just come out and say it like that because then they'd have to acknowledge that they were prioritizing the comedic stylings of a videogame website above common decency.

And that's really the root of it. People take this place *VERY* seriously. In both directions. I benignly asked when Jeff was coming back a few videos ago (like, that exact wording, no more no less), and there was backlash that I was attacking you, other staff, the state of the site, or was ignorant of Jeff's life outside this entertainment portal. I knew the guy was on paternity leave, and that's great, god bless him and his wife. But it was just a question, one of those things said specifically so I can stop being ignorant, and somebody got cross with me about it almost instantly. Perceptions are questioned all the time at the expense of substance, because there's an overbearing emphasis for each user about what Giant Bomb means to them, and knives will come out if you challenge those perceptions in any direction.

I'll bet bottom dollar people call you a dick because it's easier than taking a really good look at why they feel the way they do about this site, and what that says about them. Truth is, this is just a job you have, just like everybody else there. Good or bad, right or wrong, your demographic and the realities of the job market you've found yourself in almost guarantee that you'll move on to bigger and better things, much like how Patrick moved on. People will still be weird about this site, but you'll still be you and it'll come into greater clarity that the audience is an ungodly beast divorced from reason or shame. No matter what, even if you start turning water to wine on a live stream, or surprise us all with a whiteboard A-to-Z of clean, perpetual energy using items out of a kitchen cabinet in between Ranking of Fighters, people will call you a dick because you're doing what they wish they could, but can't. They crack jokes at your looks, voice, and humor because Jeff likes you and doesn't actually know who any of them are. They hate you because they ain't you.

Don't know if that makes you feel better, but that's about the long and short of it from what I've observed.

@syz9000: thank you upvote!

Wait a minute. GB features a game tapes video featuring Rugrats... and the next day CBS announces it is merging back with Viacom?! I think this video is clearly what finally broke the ice in negotiations.

@lord_punch: Alone. You will die on that hill *alone*.

Lap 1/3 dog

Jeff can recite all of the cutscenes from Minnesota Fats by heart.

About 44:00 to 46:00 is comedy gold.

The amount of racing game footage that was just driving into walls is baffling. "Please show everyone how bad the handling is"

I really enjoyed Love, Death + Robots and thought it was great for what it was: short snippets of different artists' talents with mini-stories baked in. Great little popcorn videos.

Can't wait for more of it.

I'll just add on to the point about playing to the camera. You're probably aware of it already but whenever you're not watching a video or playing a game, you are constantly looking at yourself in whatever monitor is showing the audience feed. Just ignore it, act naturally, and have faith in the producer to switch to whatever shot is best for the show.

I also like Ben (his Gnog Quick Look is still one of my favorites on the site), but I agree with having Jan in these videos, he definitely improved the mood in the last one he was in.

I feel like these shows like Demo Derby and Game Tapes are at it's best when you have someone somewhat nostalgic, someone curious about it, and someone who knows all the information. That's why the original combination of Dan, Drew, and Jeff worked because they fitted those roles. I feel like Jan brings in some of that curiosity/nostalgia that the old team used to have, combined with a good back-and-forth with Jeff.

Game Tapes are absolutely my favorite GB feature. Jeff doing the “TV anchor” voice kills me every time.

The only time I got mad at Ben was when he poopooed Wind Waker. What on earth!

I liked Road Rash Jailbreak on PS1, primarily because of the cooperative sidecar mode. And especially because of the taunt button. I don't know whether it was good, but it was very stupid.

Jailbreak seems to be what the Road Rash shown on this tape (26:52) evolved into. Interesting.

28:33

I'm really enjoying watching Ben fall asleep midway through.

The site would fall apart in 6 months without Jeff.

I hope they prerecorded a bunch of these game tapes for us to enjoy while he's busy with more important stuff. Shows like this and the old games show age in years not weeks.

What an absolutely garbage post. Games journalism is a profession. Guys like Jeff, Vinny, Alex, Brad have worked a long time to be good at it. That's why they're liked. The audience having a mixed reception to a new face isn't about "nostalgia" going up against the "new guard". This is show business. Not every TV show makes it past the pilot. Not every actor gets cast after their first appearance.

I don't dislike Ben, but having a lisp and knowing less about video games than the other people around the table isn't the fated future of video games journalism us old timers just have to accept. Premium sites like Giant Bomb are built on on-camera personalities. Ben has one. It's pretty distinct, some will like it and some not. That's the nature of the business. It's nothing personal and has nothing to do with times changing. I'm sure Ben is a wonderful guy in real life.

It is fair to say though that many of the subscribers got onboard at a time when premium membership didn't mean paying for Ben Pack.

The main thing I saw in the Xena b-roll is Xena getting hit from above by a giant boulder. They REALLY liked that shot they used it twice.

Tell me more about how liking or not liking somebody's personality is "nothing personal."

Brad, to answer your question about what happened to WCW: their new parent company saw that they had lost 62 million dollars in one year and said "fuck this!"

@the_lord_fagan: It's an act. They perform for a living. Not being entertained by someone's shtick on-air doesn't mean you dislike them personally. It would serve you well in life to learn this fundamental distinction.

You speak with such authority, like you know them in real life.

I really appreciate you making my point that some people watching this site's content have lost perspective and cannot tolerate anyone pointing out that they are exactly the kind of "fan" who takes this all way more seriously than a normal person should, considering we're talking about a comedic video website of mostly young men recording themselves playing videogames.

Serve me well in life to learn this fundamental distinction...the fuck are you trying to accomplish with that nonsense?

No, I don't know them and that's the entire point.

I'm trying to establish for you that disliking someone's work is not the same as disliking the person. This is entertainment. They're professionals. People are allowed to prefer one entertainer's work to another.

You're the one spouting nonsense theories about the fan base and drawing sketchy connections to societal change in an effort to hamfist topics close to your heart into a video game website. That is the epitome of "taking things too seriously".

Parts of audience saying "I think X is funnier than Y and wish for more content featuring X" is not "taking things too seriously", it's the natural feedback to any entertainment product.

@teo22: Sure, Jan.

Enjoy the crusade.

This entire thread is predicated on someone calling Ben "a dick". Not making some reasoned, benign comment or criticism, just a straight up personal attack.

Don't jump in all holier-than-thou with this "oh, they were just commenting on this actor's performance, how dare you suggest they were besmirching his character" nonsense after the fact. Trying to retrospectively justify someone else's shitty behaviour is still shitty.

FINALLY.... JEFF HAS COME BACK.... TO GIANT BOMBBBBBB

Chubby Kaz

Go back and read the post you're referring to. Contrary to what you claim it does not call Ben a dick. It says Ben "tends to appear as a dick in all of [GB west content]". Big difference. That's commenting on his work. Something crucial you seem to miss time and time again.

I'm not saying "appears as a dick" is the perfect phrasing for this feedback but luckily others in the thread have already worded it better.

How Ben comments on games live on-air is his work. If parts of the audience feel Ben's snarky humor comes across as dickish that is perfectly valuable feedback. It is not an attack on his person. This is a competetive business, thousands of people try to get paid for playing video games. Customers have a right to comment on what is effectively the casting of the show.

Imagine the reaction if a TV show added a new character 7 seasons into the show and made half the episodes center around him. Then cast someone with no previous acting credits for the role. The reaction from the Giant Bomb audience has been pretty lenient when you put it into perspective.

Ben is still new to this job. Go watch GB content from 5+ years ago and compare that to the newer stuff. They've all gotten better at it over time. Critiquing the rough edges around the new guy's performance is neither a personal insult nor nostalgia.

I would totally recognize Ricky Carmichael, at the state fair or at 7-Eleven or at Taco Bell. Though I would actually first think "wait... is that Ricky Carmichael?" and then quickly google images of him, and then I wouldn't say anything to him, and then I'd excitedly call or email my dad about my encounter with stardom.

Road Rash 64 is really good.

From my memories Force Commander for PC was fine and looking at the reviews it seems like the console version was terrible. The Matrix 4 is real.

Goddammit, Ryan would have crushed it in these Game Tape videos.

A perfect example of why THQ went under.

I played some Enter the matrix at a kiosk and it made a pretty good impression back then. It's one of those games that whenever i see it i'm like hmm.. maybe i should check it out.

That Xena game doesn't look too shabby neither i say as a Drakan fan.

I fuckin' <3 Sled Storm. Shit soundtrack, though, apart from Dragula, which was eternally on repeat.