Kotaku: Comedy

Mega64 Interviews Keighley With Team Crecente, N'Gai, Totilo in the Wings

Brian Crecente — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:00:00 MDT

True story, Stephen Totilo, N'Gai Croal and I were walking out of a taping with Geoff Keighley when Mega64 were walking in. I was going to ask for an autograph but Marcus looked like he was recovering from an all-night coke bender and was laying into the make-up artist about his hair. He stopped yelling and looked over at me and seemed to smile, I thought it was a good sign and went over to say "Hi." But when I walked up he asked me to go get him a box of cream filled donut holes, a tub of extra smooth peanut butter and some latex gloves. So I decided it was probably time to leave.

Colbert Invokes Katamari, Tetris, Mario While Mocking Japan's Election Coverage

Brian Crecente — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:00:00 MDT

Video games got a little face time on the Colbert report last night when the show’s namesake let loose on Japan and their grab-and-peel election coverage technology.

That’s the best you can do?
I happen to know that you have robots, slapping machines, human Tetris, Katamari and sex bots, you could have just written the candidates names on meat hats and let a lizard pick the winner.

Colbert got into such a froth he actually used Mario’s name in vain. I've moved the vid to the jump because it was hanging up our page for some reason.

GTA IV: Jack Thompson Edition

Brian Crecente — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:00:00 MDT

I'm posting this video, from recently formed game comedy group Glitch the System, mostly because it helped me come to the realization that I can use the word Thompsons to define naught bits, as in: I just kicked some guy in the Thompsons. Make a note, I plan to use that a lot.

E3 Floor Plan Revised To Match Your Inner Cynic

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:30:00 MDT

That E3 floor plan released a couple days back? Looked pretty! And yeah, I guess it's accurate, but what's accuracy compared to a tandem bike that's being propelled by cynicism in the front and comedy in back? It's nothing, that's what. Here, then, courtesy of the-minusworld is an alternative E3 floor plan for your perusal. And while the majority of it is going for laughs, I can assure you, I'm yet to see a Square Enix booth that's anything but a large, tightly-monitored sex-guessing hutch.

E3 2008's Rapidly Shrinking Floorplan Revealed! [the-minusworld]

First Review Of Life, The MMO

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:20:00 MDT

Reviewing games has its place, but there's no cast-iron rule that says we always have to review games as though they were games. We could, for example, do more of what MetaFilter poster Razzle Bathbone has done, and look at life (like, real life) as an MMO. And review it.

Players are encouraged to focus on social interaction, which can be engaged in in a variety of ways. In fact it's extraordinarily difficult to solo anything whatsoever in Outside, apart from basic skill and knowledge accumulation quests. One of the major forms of social interaction in the game is based largely around the addition of new players to Outside, and is both complex and, in comparison to the storyline-driven romance quests of, say, Baldur's Gate or Mass Effect, they are immensely difficult.

Brilliant.
The Myth of the Media Myth: Games and Non-Gamers [MetaFilter, via Boing-Boing]

G4 Launches The MMO Report

Mike Fahey — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:30:47 MDT

Hungry for MMO news several days to a couple weeks old yet sprinkled with some hit or miss humor and delivered by a cheesy pseudo-news anchor? Look no further than The MMO Report, G4's new weekly online only television show that tackles hard-hitting issues like virtual penis lawsuits. Casey Schreiner does an admirable job of updating us on the goings on across the MMO multiverse, with only a few stumbles here and there to keep things real. My favorite segment, of course, was the What the F@&# Second Life?!?!?! segment, which I fully expect to appear on somewhere down the line.

Sarcastic Gamer Sings Shadowrun Hate

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:20:29 MDT

To commemorate Shadowrun somehow making it to into the top five in Xbox 360 game sales last week, Doc Adams and Lono over at Sarcastic Gamer lovingly crafted a song parody that sums up my feelings about the RPG-based FPS quite nicely. It's called "Bad Game"

"Bad Game turned out to be one of our favorite projects so far," said Sarcastic Gamer's Creative Director, Jeromy "Doc" Adams. "We got to use a cartoon voice for this song, because it seemed to fit the subject... Well, that and none of us could sing as high as Daniel Powter."

Tell me about it. "Bad Day" kicks my ass in Singstar every freaking time, and I get awesome scores at "Skater Boi" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Go figure. Sarcastic Gamer is also holding a contest for the best music video for the song, with the winner receiving either a copy of Shadowrun or a box of granola bars. "Given the nature of the game, our money's on Nature Valley."

Bad Game: The Shadowrun Song [Sarcastic Gamer]

SARCASTIC GAMER 'TAKES AIM' AT SHADOWRUN Releases New Parody Song: "Bad Game"
Monday at 12:01am (central), Sarcastic Gamer readers discovered a new parody song.

Bad Game (The Shadowrun Song), is a parody of Daniel Powter's Bad Day and offers listeners an abrasively funny review of Fasa's Shadowrun. The Song also takes aim at several other titles that have been less-than-successful so far this year. It was co-written by Jeromy "Doc" Adams and "Lono".

"Bad Game turned out to be one of our favorite projects so far," said Sarcastic Gamer's Creative Director, Jeromy "Doc" Adams. "We got to use a cartoon voice for this song, because it seemed to fit the subject... Well, that and none of us could sing as high as Daniel Powter."

The song is available as a 128 kbps mp3 at the following URL:

http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/2007/08/bad-game-shadowrun-song.html

In addition to the song itself, Sarcastic Gamer is also offering fans the chance to compete for prizes, by creating their own video for Bad Game. "The winner's video will become The Official Bad Game Video, plus the winner will receive their choice of a free copy of Shadowrun, or a box of granola bars," said Adams. "Given the nature of the game, our money's on Nature Valley."

Mega64 Greatest Hits DVD

Kim Phu — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:20:00 MDT

Mega64, in all their comedic glory, are releasing a greatest hits DVD that includes all the mayhem they've caused including a one whole disc of skits, an extra disc of video game commercials, and of course never-before-seen footage from the past. The trailer includes some of the brighter moments the crew have shared, including the infamous cameo from Shigeru Miyamoto. There will be no more need for squinting at the pixelated clips after DVD comes out on July 26th. You can keep the movies and your eyesight in the comfort of your living room. Kim Phu

Mega64 Reveals 'Greatest Hits' DVD, Juarez Visit [Game Set Watch]

Microsoft's $100,000 Xbox Live TV Contest

Mike Fahey — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:23:45 MDT

Are you tired of the comedy offerings available via Xbox Live? Think you can do better? Then Microsoft and the New York Television Festival want to hear from you. They've announced the Xbox Live Originals contest, which give aspiring television producers a chance at having their original comedy pilot made into a 6 episode series for Xbox Live, complete with a $100,000 budget, which in real television just about covers drugs and snacks for one episode.

Simply submit your best efforts before June 29th, 2007 to the contest website. It can be animated, live-action, sci-fi, horror...anything as long as it is funny. In fact, this is an excellent chance to find out if you really are amusing or if people just like to humor you, much like writing for Kotaku. Hit up the website for the official rules, and hit up the jump for the official press release. Michael Fahey

It's Showtime: Microsoft Invites Contestants to Create an Exclusive TV Show for Xbox LIVE

Xbox 360 and the New York Television Festival team up to host Xbox LIVE Originals contest, offering a chance to produce original TV programming for Xbox LIVE.

NEW YORK — April 16, 2007 — People can not only play games and watch premium entertainment content on their Xbox 360 , they can now create content for it, too. Microsoft Corp. and the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) today announced the Xbox LIVE Originals contest, granting aspiring television producers the opportunity to create a pilot that could be chosen for the first original series developed specifically for the Xbox LIVE online gaming and entertainment network. Microsoft will award the winning entrant a $100,000 budget and an opportunity for a six-episode commitment to air the television series on Xbox LIVE, the largest social network in the living room. The pilot episode of the winning series is scheduled to debut this fall at the third annual NYTVF, the industry's first showcase for independent television, before being featured exclusively on Xbox LIVE, home to a community of more than 6 million people worldwide. This marks the first time that user-created entertainment content will be available worldwide for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

"Not only can aspiring TV producers from across the globe try their hands at creating new TV shows, but because of Xbox LIVE Marketplace, they can now win a chance to have more than 6 million people worldwide see their work," said Bill Nielsen, senior director of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft. "This is an incredible opportunity for us to participate in the festival, and we are thrilled to be able to bring community-created TV content to the Xbox community for the first time."

Xbox LIVE is already home to more than 1,500 hours of full-length films and TV series in the United States. This contest will showcase the user-created content alongside films and TV shows from many of the top networks and studios in the entertainment industry.

"The New York Television Festival has always strived to give artists opportunities to get their voices heard in the industry, and we think that showcasing their work on the Xbox 360 will give our artists unprecedented exposure," said Terence Gray, founder of NYTVF. "The Xbox LIVE Originals contest acknowledges that new technologies are enabling artists to tell their stories in innovative ways, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, one of the top digital distributors of online entertainment content, is a great place to showcase the talent that takes part in the NYTVF. The NYTVF is proud to join with Xbox 360 on its groundbreaking initiative to create and provide original programming."

To participate in the Xbox LIVE Originals contest, entrants must produce and submit a short comedy pilot running between five and 15 minutes long. Submissions will be accepted from April 16 through June 29, 2007, from contestants in any of the 25 countries currently supporting Xbox LIVE. A group of selected finalists will be shown on Xbox LIVE Marketplace's video-on-demand service in July, and a winner will be announced at the end of the month. The creators of the winning pilot will receive a budget of $100,000 and an opportunity to produce six additional episodes of the comedy series for Xbox LIVE, and the first episode will premiere at an exclusive event at the 2007 NYTVF in September. Official rules to the Xbox LIVE Originals contest are available at http://www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com/2007_contests_xbox.htm

Clip: True Gaming Legends Confidential: Pac Man

fdemarco — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:00:00 MDT

Tabloid TV has yet to release it's stranglehold on America, especially on channels like E! which are dedicated to turning up the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry. One of the great things out such outlets are that they are so cheaply done that they are easy to parody. And that's just what the makers of True Gaming Legends Confidential have done, taking the mick out of E!'s own muck raker "True Hollywood Story." This episode deals with the rise and fall of two of gamings most beloved characters, Pac Man and Dig Dug. Watch in amusement and terror as Pac Man's meteoric rise to fame gets him everything he ever wanted and leaves poor Dig Dug drunk and flailing in the gutter like McWhertor at game launch party. Flynn De Marco

Flynn De Marco

Gas Powered Games Next Title a Comedy?

Brian Crecente — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 10:00:01 MST

GamesIndustry reports that Gas Powered Games, still entrenched in the final tweaks for Supreme Commander development, are already hard at work on hyping their next title: a console comedy.

You've previously worked as a stand-up comedian. Would you ever do a comedy game? Do you think that's worthwhile?
"Actually, well, we've got something we think is going to be very funny, very entertaining... When you get this next game, a couple years from now, and you're like, 'Okay, finally, I get to check out what this guy's talking about,' you're going to sit back, you're going to relax, you're going to enjoy yourself. And you're going to go, 'Oh, I know what he means now.' That's the next thing I want to try to do."

Very funny indeed...Brian Crecente

Powered Up [GamesIndustry, via 1Up]

Clip: The Bowser Hates Mario Club

Mike Fahey — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:40:51 MST

Well it starts kind of slow and the ending is amazingly lame, but there are some truly funny bits hidden within this clip of the Columbia Chowdah Sketch Comedy Group's Bowser Hates Mario Club routine.

"It goes without saying the bullets should have big angry faces!" I've often wondered how that whole manufacturing deal went down. The whole bit falls apart once Mario shows up, but maybe it was planned that way to help recruit new members. Michael Fahey

Bowser Hates Mario Club [YouTube - Thanks Paul!]

Clips: Video Game Stand-Up

Brian Crecente — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:00:50 MDT

Remember my friend Owen S. Good, the struggling stand-up? I posted some of his joked on here a while back. Well, he finally got a video up on YouTube showing some of his video game bits.

Owen is part of Geek Comedy Night at Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale, Calif. — known to gamer cognoscenti as the place where the first Pong machine was installed in 1972. September's shows are the 13th and 15th, October's are the 11th and 13th.

Word has it that there's going to be a show in San Jose with a video game theme soon. Brian Crecente

Geek Comedy Show

Stand-Up Comic Routine: "The Nintendo Entertainment System. What's Up With That?"

brownlee — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 05:00:41 MDT

Kyle Cease is a stand-up comic who probably needs to pause for breath a little bit more and let the jokes sink in a bit, but he's got a very funny bit on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. He invites us to imagine a world where every thing, not just the NES cartridge slot, could be fixed by puckering up your lips and blowing. I think me and my girlfriend already live in that world. Florian Eckhardt

Meet Alan, Video Game Junkie

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 01:22:12 MDT

Back when Saturday Night Live was still funny, the sketch comedy show served up hot pippin' plates of giggle pie like this. A total classic! Brian Ashcraft

Thanks, Jarod

More Here [SNL]

Second City Does Machinima

Brian Crecente — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 01:44:19 MDT

This odd bit of machinima has been making the rounds latetly. It's an Unreal love story that was put together by an alumni of the Second City comedy troupe. It's sorta Hair meets Red versus Blue.