Sunday, May 13, 2012

Guru Larry Presents "Six Ways the Irate Gamer Can Improve"

And now for something completely different. Larry Bundy Jr (Guru Larry) has been creating reviews for years. Even back on a short-lived UK television channel. He's been in touch with countless other reviewers. Including the Irate Gamer. While he is friendly with him, he knows he has a massive number of problems.

Larry asked if he could an article showcasing things IG can do to improve his image. I said "sure".
Here is is, Guru Larry's Six Ways the Irate Gamer Can Improve. To differentiate from me, his article will be in blue text.

It’s amazing how quickly five years can pass on the web, we’ve seen eCelebs rise and fall,  get their own TV shows and movies,  even spew out official merchandise from faceless corporations.
…And yet, in all these years, Chris has not changed in the slightest, aside from producing less and less content as time goes on.

So you’re obviously asking yourself.  Do I hate the Irate Gamer?  And the answer is a strong, resounding No.  Absolutely not...  Since he entered our lives that warm April day of 2007, I can safely say that pound for pound I’ve found Chris far more entertaining than anything the James Rolfe has ever produced,  more than a lot of “angry reviewers”.

I’ve spoken to Chris many many times over the years and he’s always been extremely polite, pleasant and friendly to me.   And I always ignored internal politics, (Aside from Wez, I was the only member of ScrewAttack not giving him shit over the whole AVGN ordeal and would openly talk with him) and the opinions of others.
I do honestly like Chris and I want him to succeed!

So as we pass the fifth anniversary of his YouTube channel and his unexpected rise into power,  one can’t help thinking if he were start over again this year,  what pitfalls could Chris have avoided to become a stronger, more popular and ultimately more respected eCeleb in the community and more so,  what lessons have we learned that could still bring him to this level?
(Then again if he started this year, he’d probably be doing frickin’ zero effort Minecraft Let’s Plays)

So, without further ado,  I give you my six ways the Irate Gamer can improve…

1. Research Your Subject!
I’ll start with the obvious (and paramount) area first of all…

The information you write into your video sucks,   I’m sorry, but it’s true!  No matter how much you bury your head in the sand and deny it, or accuse people of being stupid/trolls for contradicting you, the lack of factual information in your videos was, and always is your biggest downfall.  Your level of accuracy borders on parody.   It’s long since replaced your stigma of being an “AVGN rip off”.
I mean, if the father of video games, Ralph Baer, himself calls you an idiot for your lacklustre research, you know…  It may be a hint to actually do some!!!

So, how can you improve?  Simple, just research as much as you possibly can before putting pen to paper,  erm, finger to keyboard.  You are a “journalist” after all!   Don’t just half ass information into scripts and then fill in the blanks with your imagination, like you currently do.
As Sherlock Holmes once said: “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit fact”

Also, Wikipedia is not your enemy Chris, whilst some may scoff at its information, a lot of it IS notable and backed up with credible references to various official websites, books,  newspaper/magazine articles or videos Etc. if you require further proof. This is where the art of cross-referencing comes to play!  I.E. lots of research.
And even after that, you’re still adamant of avoiding Wikipedia,  there’s always Moby Games (the IMDB of video games),  GamesPress, a trade site with information supplied by the publishers themselves and excellently resourced retro game sites such as Hardcore Gaming 101.
There’s a whole world of sourcable information out there on the interwebs Chris, you just need to put the effort in to find it!

2.  Stop Ostracising Yourself

This seems to be an area only I’ve really noticed over the years, but it has always been a major issue.
Chris has always ostracised himself from the video gaming community and YouTube in general.  He’s never once involved himself in forums, discussions, livestreams Etc.   He’s never once even made a Q&A to engage with his fans.
And aside from that Robocop review with Nick Huggett (SWAG) (which he then re-made MINUS Swag) he’s never once had a cross-over or cameo in a video. And that feels incredibly alien coming from someone who works on TGWTG ;D
 “What The Buck” doesn’t count,  (This plays with your irrelevancy you constantly pander to which I’ll go into later) What on earth made you think it would be a good idea to have a cameo from him?  He has as much gaming appeal to your audience as you do to fans of effeminate males who make bitchy remarks about third rate Hollywood celebrities.

A cross over video with another member of the online gaming community would give untold benefit to your reputation AND give you a new audience, far more stable than running competitions ever will (which I’ll also go into later).  Not everyone out there hates you Chris, and I know some would love to help you out.  Just don’t forget to credit them!
Of course, one might say he’s just alienated because of the vindication from the gaming community and twats on the radio, but if you’re not prepared to bite the bullet and speak to others, then nothing is ever going to change.

3.  Be Consistent with New Content…

Consistency is a MAJOR factor for any “eCeleb” on the internet, no matter what their subject/genre.  A fanbase enjoys  a routine where they can regularly check out their favourite show on a particular day of the week/month.   Being sporadic with videos, uploading when you feel like, will only stagnate your subscribers at best, lose them at the worst.   Look at what may be considered some of the more popular eCelebs, such as the Nostalgia Critic or Yahtzee,  they release new shows on a weekly basis, and the AVGN would (until recently) publish monthly.

It is understandable that some videos may take longer than a week for you to produce, so the way around that is to stockpile a bunch of videos and then release them as seasons,  kind of like how TV shows work. (also how story arcs are supposed to work).
You need to remember this isn’t 2007 anymore.  There is an infinitely larger amount of competition for your subscribers out there now and if you’re not prepared to put the effort in to provide sustainable content for them, someone else is more than willing to.

4.  Set in Stone Who your Target Audience Is...

You seem highly self-contradicting on who you want your videos to appeal to Chris,  you want to appeal to a younger/family audience by removing all swearing, and in the next video you’re “Effing” and “Blinding” again, instantly driving away that new audience you built.  So decide who you want the show for once and for all.  Again, it’s consistency.
Also choosing an age demographic isn’t solely about the language you use in a video,  but also in regards to chrono-cultural references.   Chances are the majority of the kids watching your show have no idea who the Hell Steve Urkel is as they weren’t alive in the 90’s,  (Hell,  even I didn’t know until recently and my only reference was “he did the original voice of Sonic” – But that’s regional cultural, rather than age).  So stick to references that people you’re targeting will know, instantly making the joke understandable and in-turn “funny”.

Also stop with the “random access humor” as Chris chan would put it.  If you’re going to include a joke, make it relevant to the subject.   For instance, How the fuck is randomly placing Hamburgular into the Robocop 2 review supposed to be funny???  Saying or adding something completely unrelated isn’t humorous, it just makes you look like a ‘tard.
Rubber Monkey Tuesday Cheesecake.    Was that funny then?  No.  So don’t.

5. Stop with the Competitions!!!

Seriously stop with the constant competitions!
Creating competitions as an enticement for new subscribers (which require a subscription as part of the qualification to enter) is ultimately a fruitless endeavour for ANY channel, because as soon as the competition is over, a huge chunk will un-subscribe from you.
On top of that, your competitions are so common and expectant, Most of your video comments consist of “PICK ME” regardless of the context,  and the actual “proper” shows that you want people to watch have terrible views because of so.
TL;DR The majority of your viewers are fickle fuckers whom only sub to you in hope of free stuff. 

It could also be a possible reason for your sudden loss of subs recently too, you were offering PS3s and iPods in the early days, impressive prizes.  But now you’re essentially offering junk in comparison, (home burnt DVDs and Mouse Pads (Mats)), which aren’t even worth the effort of typing in “PICK ME” to, so they’ll un-sub.
…And that’s for the people who AREN’T aware Mommy picks only the most loyal of fans to be bestowed your redundant homemade merchandise, making the competitions pointless to enter in the first place (a competition is derived from either luck or skill – NEVER loyalty, Loyalty is a Reward scheme).  So unless it’s a one off with a prize of a decent monetary value AND you’ll judge fairly and without prejudice.   Then stop.

6. Take Advantage of your Successes

Finally, this sort of relates to you again and your ineptitude of engaging your audience, but you really need to brand yourself better.
For starters,  you ARE the Irate Gamer,  so foremost you should prioritise and make Irate Gamer episodes above all else.  I Rate the 80’s,   History of Video Games, Haunted Investegations and Irate Gamer Neo are fun little excursions, but they shouldn’t be made in a way that will sacrifice production of your flagship show.
Your cast of characters also need to be streamlined, though you’ve managed to do that practically with The Wise Sage and Scottie due to your excellent ability of retaining friendships,  but characters like Wilson (or whatever you call him this week), Goro, Kool Aid Man, ROB the robot Etc (aside from you not owning the rights to them) should be one off characters,  not regulars. 

The Evil Gamer is crap, it’s just a slightly more energetic version of you in a wig. No personality,  He is hardly a villain when the Irate Gamer comes across as a bigger dick than him.
Shadow Overlord is also stupid, it’s obvious that the character had very little effort involved to any actual character design as it’s blatantly just you in silhouette doing a shit Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.  The “story ark” has been going on for so long because of your sporadic episodes, I couldn’t care less whom he reveals himself to be.   But I doubt we’ll ever see that as you’ve painted yourself into a corner with him.
And Tony Lawler, who looks like they were once just a “chibi” version of you, is just a one dimensional character (no pun intended) who is totally unlikeable do to only ever being able to show one emotion, aggression.  Again, he should have just been a one off character for your M.U.S.C.L.E. review.
Your best characters in my opinion are Ronnie the Skeleton, Cousin Joey and to a lesser extent Satan,  who really should be the antagonist of the show (rather than the Evil Gamer, Shadow Overlord or that Odyssey in a gimp suit)  and not your only friend who takes you out drinking as he’s evolved himself to be.
Finally, Your “catchphrase”  “…Game On” isn’t catchy and ultimately nonsensical, whereas one line you said catapulted you to Meme status (Bores and Doors) but never capitalised on the line every picked up on  “…Ya Thuink?”  Possibly because of my case in the second point,  you never engage your audience.

Conclusion
So that’s my list of six ways Chris could improve himself.  I highly doubt he’ll ever read this article and given the slim chance that he does, he’ll most likely be so set in his ways, he’ll assume I’m completely wrong and everything he does is the pinnacle of perfection.  
But if my advice has landed on deaf ears, as least take this into account Chris… having a large fanbase is a privilege, not a right.  YouTube gave you one hell of a foot in the door when they promoted you back in ’07 (if they had given that same gift to the likes of Armake21, UrinatingTree, Eebeto, Jedite1 or PlayItBogart who knows? they could have a million plus subs today instead of sadly fading into obscurity)   please don’t squander it any more than you have done.

If this was a video,  I’d end it with Hall and Oates,  “You’re Out of Touch” as the closing theme :D

Thank you very much Larry. You can see more of Guru Larry at TGWTG/Blistered Thumbs and his YouTube channel here. http://www.youtube.com/Larry
Hopefully Chris will listen to someone who isn't constantly saying "everything you know is wrong".

So where has Bores been? According to my Facebook informant, he was sick... again. People are getting suspicious that he's faking it to get out of making videos. I won't agree or disagree with this accusation.

142 comments:

  1. That's a pretty thorough tearing apart of all of Bores' work. So what does Larry like about his videos?

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    1. You don't have to like something to be entertained by it. It's what they call "So bad it's good" ;)

      I'm not sure if Bores ever get's to read Guru Larry's advice (if so, the Evil Gamer will probably just make fun of him whenever the next IG episode get's uploaded), but I hope he'll take it seriously. Any kind of improvement will multiply the quality of his videos.

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  2. From what I've heard, Chris and Scottie are no longer friends. Is that true?

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    1. Yes, Stella77 has confirmed that. Scottie isn't friends with Chris anymore. Mainly the way Chris treats him.

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    2. He did get Scottie's face smashed in with a hockey puck! ^_-

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  3. This is definitely one of the most inspiring rants I ever read. :D People, not just Chris, should definitely give this a read if they want to be good reviewers and storytellers and showing care to their viewers and fans. XD

    As for Chris, he's sick again? So soon? Something's not right...

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, I never thought of it as advice in general for reviewers, but looking at it, you're completely right!

      The lack of research in a lot of reviewers is one of my pet peeves. I can't say I'm 100% accurate myself, I've screwed up a few times on the retro corner, but I can only attribute that to lack of time as I was writing 5-6 episodes a night. But I honestly strive for being as accurate as possible in regards to information. I've even shown evidence in videos to back up claims recently.

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    2. Thanks for the kind words, I never thought of it as advice in general for reviewers, but looking at it, you're completely right!

      The lack of research in a lot of reviewers is one of my pet peeves. I can't say I'm 100% accurate myself, I've screwed up a few times on the retro corner, but I can only attribute that to lack of time as I was writing 5-6 episodes a night. But I honestly strive for being as accurate as possible in regards to information. I've even shown evidence in videos to back up claims recently.

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  4. Given the lack of enthusiam he tends to show, plus Stella77's comments about how he's never cared for video games, I think first and foremost he needs to start over by doing videos on a subject that he has genuine interest in rather than constantly trying to convince us he's interested in games.

    I mean there are two kinds of people in the work place. The kind who make money doing something they like (James, Doug, Lewis, Brad, Derek), and in Chris' case the kind who looks only at the money and doesn't receive enjoyment out of his job.

    For one thing, if he did videos on a subject he genuinely enjoys, he'd more than likely be up to producing videos more often.

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  5. I was going to argue with your opinion on which of Bores' recurring characters should stay, but then I realize that by the incredibly low standard he's set, they might almost have potential. Written well, Ronnie could become an amusing comic relief character, while Satan could be a decent antagonist, provided he were completely retooled. I don't buy Cousin Joey, though.

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    1. And whether you like him or not, Ronnie is pretty much the most original character he came up with AFAIK.

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    2. Oh man, you're right. "Jewish Skeleton" is the most original idea Bores has ever had. Wow.

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    3. I like Cousin Joey as a sort of comic relief kind of way. I'd never ask for him to be a central character, but he's kind of quirky and likeable.

      Ronnie is by far the best character he's ever created though, he even upstages the Irate Gamer character in some respects.

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  6. See Batdan, That is what Constrictive Criticism is.

    Not the crap you rage about here.

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    1. Does that mean Larry doesn't land on your Internet Hit List?

      Oh, and nice of you to recognize that Bores' videos (aka "the crap BatDan is raging about") is crap ;)

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    2. That is wrong. The stuff Batdan writes is constructive criticism as well, it's just written in a different style. No offense to Guru Larry, but it's just not as much fun to read if it doesn't have an edge. If Bores was just starting out, I could say Batdan's words were too harsh, but since Bores has been doing this for five years, has ignored any advice, and has only gotten worse, the venom in these posts is warranted. On a side note, I have mixed feelings about this post. On one hand, I agree with all of the problems that are pointed out. On the other hand, I disagree with certain other things. For example, his statement that IG was more entertaining than AVGN. I really don't understand that. Even without all of these flaws, Bores just isn't an interesting person to listen to. Second, I never found any of his characters even remotely funny. Anyway, I would like to again bring up the fact that the rage is warranted. In my opinion, there are two professional reviewers that warrant this rage. Bores and Armond White, who has also disregarded any attempts at improvement. Just sayin'.

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    3. No offence taken, I didn't create the article to be cutting towards Chris, like I said I have no hatred for the guy, I really quite like him.

      But he has never listened to my advice privately over the years, just replying a "thanks but no thanks" comment. So I thought posting my advice in a public area may be more productive.

      Then again I'm not naive enough to think that it'll change anything whatsoever.

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    4. Who really cares about being constructive when the creator of the work being dissected will never see it? Let alone pay any attention to it even if they do?

      I watched Film Brain and Obscurus Lupa's "Metal Man" review the other night. Did I honestly think they were hoping the people who made it would see the video and think on the criticisms the next time they made a movie?

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    5. Um what? All of BatDan's rants are constructive criticisms.

      So you accept constructive criticism from Guru Larry, but not constructive criticism from BatDan? What kind of dumb logic is that?

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    6. Hey, everybody, let's laugh at the guy with double standards! He can accept Larry's criticism, but not BatDan's!

      Hypocrisy much, Ozzy?

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  7. this larry guy is even more annoying than the irate gamer. At least bores it's so bad that it's funny... this larry guy is simply creepy.

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  8. "I can safely say that pound for pound I’ve found Chris far more entertaining than anything the James Rolfe has ever produced, more than a lot of “angry reviewers”."

    I hope Larry means this in a "So bad it's good" format.

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  9. Oh, and I'd also like to mention that after five years, it's far, FAR too late for Bores to improve. The best we can hope for is that Bores will make another shitty video (when, I don't know), and that Batdan to still be around to point out what's wrong it.

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    1. Since you recently made some comments today, I'd like a second opinion my previous comment.

      Does Chris come off to you as someone that was even remotely interested in video games, let alone producing videos about them?

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    2. I feel as Chris had a NES as a child, so he believes that his nostalgia inturns an automatic knowledge towards the subject and uses that as his fact base.

      None of the games on his "set" are those he owned as a child as Armake21 complained that he was sniped on eBay by Chris for a number of joblots back in '07.

      He does play "some" modern games by free will such as Counter-Strike, as he has a Steam account. Whether he buys many games is debatable as he only ever seems to review/talk about the shovelware shite that GotGame sends him.

      So the answer really is: if he is interested in games, it doesn't extend out any further than he needs to know in order to make a video.

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    3. Well then in line with my previous comment, the advice you gave, while good won't necessarily amount to much unless he really has passion for his work.

      If he doesn't enjoy what he's doing, then yeah it doesn't bode well for his work.

      That's not to say he shouldn't review games at all, but since it doesn't look to be a (major) hobby to him, maybe he should review games that he has a personal interest/disdain for.

      See, that's another weak aspect overall is that his videos give the feeling that he's trying to prove that he's a video games enthusiast when at best it's mild. Kind of like the high school student faking an interest in certain things so that the popular crowd will notice him.

      And it seems to be a reason for his random game references to (like Donkey Kong at the end of the TMNT video or The Lemmings at the end of the Yo-Noid video).

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    4. I agree. Personally, I think he might benefit from shifting the tone of his reviews to that of a layman's perspective, rather than that of someone with "20 year's experience". With the current rise in casual gaming, there could be a market for such a thing, and Bores' taste in modern games seems to trend more toward that than being a challenge gamer. Of course even then, he still ought to put more effort into his Neo reviews.

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  11. Big props to Larry. These advices are very good, not just for "internet celeb wannabe" but for everyone really. Pretty sad how Chris ignored all of this and trapped himself in his One Man Army Domain. I'm not an expert but i know a thing or two about video editing, i like giving advices to people who seem to have a potential and passion, most of them appreciates my word and it's overall a very good experience for everyone. How Chris isn't able to take a tip or two from someone with bigger experience than him is beyond me.

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  12. Mmm...the tone of this article got me thinking...

    Batdan, have you ever considered doing a list of what you think is Bores best work?

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    1. You really want him to post up a blank page? :D

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    2. Yeah, What are some of the positives amid the vast ocean of negatives?

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    3. I really don't have much to say that's worthy of an article. But here are what I think are positives.

      1. Editing
      If there's one thing Chris does do well, it's editing the videos. I like the use of Shadowrama on Shadow Overlord (even if the character itself is lame and pointless) and his split-screen effects have improved greatly in the last couple of years.

      2. Actually capturing footage:
      I'm reaching here, but the fact he uses a DVD recorder or capture device for footage is a big plus. Especially when you consider how lazy Chris can get.

      3. He can be "so bad it's good":
      This one is kind of obvious, but IG can be entertaining in how bad it is. These days he's been far more boring with all the short videos, but before that he could have gotten away with "so bad it's good".

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    4. @BatDanNight

      Lol. Well, that's alright. I just we have an article of a positive light but I suppose with a "vast ocean of negatives" like chris said, an article of positives maybe of a difficult task. Thanks for your input BatDan anyways.

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    5. Not Batdan, but adding to what he said, you have some reviewers that due to recording problems, you cann't always make out what they're saying.

      Bores on the other hand comes in loud and clear. You don't struggle to understand what he's saying.

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    6. Well, we DO struggle to understand what he's saying on occasion, but it's for an entirely different reason.

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    7. I definitely agree that Bores is really good at editing. In fact, I think that even his green screen has improved. If you look at his older videos that uses green screen (Chris and Scottie's Road Trip, Hell with the Evil Gamer and Devil Bores), then they were quite shoddy and mediocre at best. Even then, it's not something that I'd knock on him too much since green screen is not always easy depending on the Chroma Key. Though considering that he's been using Adobe Premiere nowadays (as evidenced in The Making of History of Video Games), then I'm guessing he's using Ultra Key feature, which was first introduced in CS5. That was something I used once in a video that I was editing for class, and compared to Premiere's regular chroma key, it proves to be very effective, and less likely to get jiggering green lines depending on how well your green screen is lit.

      As for the game footage he records, while I do appreciate that he uses a DVD recorder for his videos, I also sometimes think he should get himself an HD capture device to use for his NEO reviews. That's one thing I noticed is that the footage he uses for his NEO reviews are all recorded in a wide-screen standard definition format upscaled to 720p. So, I think having like a Hauppauge HD PVR would probably be best for him (I would also say Blackmagic Intensity, but then he would have to go through the problems of dropped frames).

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    8. You also can't record PS3 footage (using a retail machine) on a Blackmagic Intensity because of DRM encoding via HDMI.

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    9. True. With HDMI, you can't. But using component cables should do it.

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  13. Nice post, Larry.

    Keep in mind though, Chris is pleasant, polite, and friendly to a lot of people but it really doesn't take much to get on his bad side. All he needs is to be mildly offender or see benefit in backstabbing you and that's it. Don't be surprised if he reads this post, and don't be surprised if he's no longer civil afterwards.

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  14. Interesting points that Guru Larry made.

    As much as I dislike Chris, this is good advice he could he heed.

    There are plenty of people who watch Irate Gamer videos (Including Neo, Irate the 80s, and others) just to see how much worse they can get. In a way, they do become fun to see how badly-executed they can be, much like films such as The Room or Plan 9 From Outer Space.

    Chris does have proficiency in editing video and making visual effects, his weakness is his scripts, acting, and canyons in research failure.

    And for those who do dislike him, they have managed to channel their hate into positive outlets such as the scores of parody videos like FF2and3Rocks' Third Rate Gamer series. I have made three parody videos on my YouTube channel, and may have to tap into his History of Video Games series for material due to the lack of retro reviews (which seem to spawn the biggest memes for parodies).

    And being sick-that can mean different things for making web videos. Doug Walker recorded yet another video when his throat hurt, the Patch Adams Nostalgia Critic (and still had enough strength to yell at its manipulative drivel). Spoony did reviews after heart surgery. And I've had an intermittent head cold much of this year, but I've already exceeded my YouTube output for last year and am still putting out videos.

    Another point is output. If a video is only 5 minutes long or less, one should be able to get out more than one a week, not one a month or less. And the bulk of the TGWTG crew gets out videos ranging from 15-30 minutes every week and STILL have time for their personal lives. In addition to a few under 5-minute videos, I like to make at least one video that goes over YouTube's 15-minute limit a month, since they're letting me do that again.

    Very nice post, Dan. Maybe if Chris does take forever to get a new video out, maybe a Redux Recap is in order.

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    1. What is your Youtube channel? I'm curious to see your parody videos.

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  15. Ah, I just had a lovely 3-day talk with batdanmn.

    Such a good chap, thinking he has a leg to stand on.

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  16. Question for Guru Larry.

    is it okay with you that I put this entire letter as a PM to Chris Bores? It may just define himself as a whole. Will he have a revelation and start doing the right things and realize he's just human? or will he show that he's truly nothing more than a ego driven lunatic who always thinks he's right?

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    1. Could you send him the letter, but say it's from you, rather than me?

      I want to see if he has any reaction to this and to me (if I'm actually of any value).

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    2. consider it done. I'll get on it right away.

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    3. also, should I change anything when addressing this to him?

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    4. Just references about me really!

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    5. I sent your message to Chris Bores. (making sure to remove all references to you) this is what I got as a response:

      Thank you for your input but did you happen to notice it is called the "Irate Gamer" show, not the onoratodanny show? Maybe you need to be less obsessed with my success or failure and be more concerned with your own. Every one has an opinion and if I listened to them all I would not be true to myself. Try making a show of your own and get back with me, say, in 5 years. Good luck, Chris.

      wow. just wow Chris, you are a straight up asshole.

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  17. Interesting. Based on the accounts from STELLA77 and our experiences with him, I honestly doubt he'll take this into consideration.

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  18. Bores' output is flat-out embarassing right now. We are over five months into 2012 and Bores has yet to make a regular retro Irate Gamer episode. The series that brought him to this point. I don't think we'll see one anytime soon with him making excuses all year and E3 coming up which GotGame will send him to again.

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    1. Well, last year his first Irate Gamer episode released wasn't posted until the end of May. But you are right though, we probably won't see the next IG episode this month or even the next. In fact, the way Bores has been moving, I'm starting to wonder if he's actually going to be attending e3 this year.

      I also get the feeling that if Bores moves at this pace, then the year end list of the worst Irate Gamer moments might be reduced to the Top 5. Now that's just sad.

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    2. I don't think UbiSoft will let GotGame in because of that whole "blowing up their office" video. You're right. Five months and all that's come is 1 Irate The 80s, 1 History of Video Games, 2 Neo reviews, 2 Sketches, a Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles rant, and this bit about an E3 floor plan. No retro review, no continuation of that badly-paced storyline.

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  19. This article was good though I disagree with the "Bores stuff is more entertaining than anything James Rolfe ever produced." Maybe his angry rants have gotten stale lately but there are things like his Board James "Mr. Bucket" video that were very well produced.

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  20. Nice article. While Ronnie the Skeleton and Cousin Joey might be his "best" characters, that doesn't change that they are (IMHO) horrible characters. Ronnie is simply not funny; nothing he's done has even made me slightly chuckle, unless I'm laughing at how bad it is.

    Where I think IG went wrong is after he started and was railed for being an AVGN theif, he should have owned it. I think he should have just come out and said "Yep that was bad" and then embraced being labeled as that. Not in a bad way but in a way where he pretty much makes fun of himself. Don't take himself so seriously, almost because a parody. Make the point BE that it's "so bad it's good". I think fans would have embraced that and he'd probably be thriving.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I will take a Chris and Ronnie team up over Mike Matei and Inspector Gadget anyday...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh come on Kool-Aid Man. Why the hell do you keep destroying my house.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And now Archtool is comparing people who give money to "teh e baygerz" to people who are addicted to smoking. So yeah, he's still a holier than thou dickhead.

      And to those who are still hating on James for asking for donations, and those who donated, here's MY comparison: Have you ever bought one of those super mega stacker quadruple deluxe burgers at your preferred chain restaurant of you choice, when you know it'd be cheaper to just wait until you get home and make yourself a sandwich? Or gone to a video game store and bought a copy of that video game that you weren't quite sure about buying but what the heck, its on sale right now? Or maybe even went ahead and got a kind of expensive spa treatment even though you don't really need it because hey, you have a bit more of your expendable income leftover that you usually do? These, my friend, are all frivolities, which we believe will make our lives just a bit more enjoyable. Similarly, we hope that a small donation to a project we care about might just make it a bit better in the end. And for people who complain "There's no guarantee that the movie will be any good!", the same can be said for anything else! Maybe that burger will give you a stomach ache! Maybe that game sucks ass after all! Maybe your masseuse has clammy hands! These are all risks, and we are always aware of them! But at the same time, there is a degree of trust that we lend, which is almost never broken. I always trust that the guy working the grill at Burger King didn't put broken glass into my bacon stacker, I hold in good faith that Best Buy didn't swap out my newly bought copy of whatever game I just bought with a Sonic 06 disk, and although I've never had a massage, if I did I think I could trust the spa to not hire someone who'd sexually molest me. Similarly, I believe that, if nothing else, James Rolfe is a good man, and if I had donated money, I would have no regret in believing that he put every cent of it that wasn't taken by the taxman toward his movie. So to everyone calling people idiots for giving their money to something that's not a sure thing, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

      Delete
    2. Oops, didn't mean for this to be a reply to anything.

      Delete
    3. I honestly don't know why he cares so much about what other people do with their own money. Last year, the party favor budget for my wedding was instead donated to the American Cancer Society because my grandmother had died a month before the wedding. Some doofus decided to chime in with "o yea well ur jus payin teh ceos lol.". Did it matter to exactly what end every one of those three hundred dollars were used? Not one bit; we had donated money to a good cause in honor of a good person, and that's what mattered, and the fact that Archfiend thinks he's in a position to tell people what to do with their money makes me sick.

      Delete
    4. Just to compare. Bores had to fall quite far to get to the 1,000th most subscribe position. Archie to would have to climb about 5,479 places to get there. He isn't as popular as he claims and all his videos that get views are from him putting more popular YouTubers in his video headings.

      The reason Archfiend can get as much money as he does is due to the top end of the company doing well so he's happy to benefit from the people he claims are whores. If these people are Whores Archie is some guy who gets paid to suck the wet patch out of the sheets when they've finished.

      Delete
    5. Thank you for that delicious mental image, Clark.

      Delete
  24. I sent your message to Chris Bores. (making sure to remove all references to you) this is what I got as a response:

    "Thank you for your input but did you happen to notice it is called the "Irate Gamer" show, not the onoratodanny show? Maybe you need to be less obsessed with my success or failure and be more concerned with your own. Every one has an opinion and if I listened to them all I would not be true to myself. Try making a show of your own and get back with me, say, in 5 years. Good luck, Chris."

    wow. just wow Chris, you are a straight up asshole.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...So he played the "Let's see you do better" card and basically admitted to not caring about other peoples opinions. I could probably dissect this specimen of stubborn douchebaggery six ways till Sunday, but I'm pretty sure I would lose several brain cells in the process. So once again I am forced to turn to my good friend Twilight Sparkle to show how I feel after reading this:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8_ad8b1ziw

      Delete
    2. Also, do you suppose he might be any more receptive if he knew it was by GL? I doubt it, given that from what I understand he hasn't been particularly receptive to his offers of help in the past.

      Delete
    3. Any possibility of a screencap of his response?

      But I told you it would fall on deaf ears. I don't think it would have had any difference whether I had sent it or not.

      Delete
    4. to be completely honest, I don't know how to screencap pics.

      Delete
    5. Here's how to do with Windows (if you have it).

      1. On your keyboard there should be a "Print Screen" button. Press when you're on the message.

      2. Go into an editing program (MS Paint works) and paste it in. Trim the image so all the unneeded fat is taken and only shows the important parts.

      Delete
    6. I found this useful info too late as I ignorantly deleted the message.

      Delete
    7. Well at least you tried, DN. I guess it just goes to show, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

      Delete
    8. While it can be admirable to not care what other people think... well, let's say this attitude can lead to problems if you income depends on other people watching your videos...

      Delete
    9. @DynamiteNinja

      I would like to say do as Bores says since almost anything is better what he produces. Just pointing your camera at the screen would do as long your information is accurate and the jokes are relevant to the subject. It does not take much to surpass Bores. However, no matter how good your production would be...not matter how popular you get. Bores will always attempt to dodge your criticism...and very poorly. When you write a critique to send to Bores, you are just sending him is a blank e-mail despite there words written on it.
      Either way, you are wasting your own time and effort.

      Delete
    10. There's another thing I didn't really want to mention, but there's a rumor that Chris has some form of Autism/Aspergers, which might explain a lot of his awkwardness.

      Delete
    11. @BatDanNight

      only problem, I wouldn't have known where the screencapped pics go :(

      Delete
    12. All I'll say is "being true to himself" apparently involves writing people who criticize him into his storyline as minions of Evil Gamer. Who are "too dumb to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Just saying.

      Delete
  25. It seems batdanmn has FINALLY resorted to pulling the "ITT: x has bitched out." card on me. I was wondering when he would do so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're all a joke. You guys just like to pick on ONE ugly, fatass motherfucker. Get a fucking life you dumb cunts!!!!

      Delete
    2. So you mean we can get a life if we either pick on MULTIPLE ugly, fatass mofos or a single hot chick?

      Delete
    3. Where did this conversation take place?

      Delete
    4. Oh, in the video Roken shared in the last post. Just don't click that Dislike button, whatever you do.

      Delete
    5. Isn't he obsesed with the Nostalgia Critic? He posts up those numerous fake videos very quickly after NC uploads a new episode on Blip.

      Delete
    6. You must have a lot of patience dealing with a troll for 3 days. I couldn't do it.

      Delete
    7. Make that one week.

      You only need to remember to keep your cool while dealing with trolls. Otherwise you're giving them room to talk shit about you.

      Also, I think it's kind of fun to talk with a person that clearly just wants to irritate me. Anytime he says something even remotely offensive to my senses, I just think: "Meh, he's just a troll, it's not like I have to actually give a damn about anything he says."

      Delete
  26. Has anyone visited LadyBuggin777's favorites page on YouTube recently? Shit reads like a profile of a serial killer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *looks* Wow, that is a lot of Alex Jones videos. That's scary.
      I would not be surprised if she was a member of Infowars.

      Delete
    2. I'm surprised she likes Alex Jones, and not Ghost.

      Delete
    3. Yeah. She favorited a lot of this Alex Jones' videos. Who is he?

      Delete
    4. @UltimateCharm
      Alex Jones is a talk radio host known for his conspiracy theories and extreme right-wing views.

      He's accused the US government of 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing. He also heavily believes in the "New World Order", a conspiracy theory about a group turning the world into one totalitarian government.

      Jones gets off on fear through his site infowars.com.

      LadyBuggin believes in a lot of the same conspiracy theories.

      Delete
    5. He also did a rant video without a shirt on. Yeah, people will sure take you seriously when you do something like that.

      Delete
    6. Why worry about the New World Order? WCW went under years ago and every attempt to redo the angle has ended in failure ;)

      Delete
    7. @Clark: Oh FUCK, I LOL'd hard.

      @BatDan: Didn't Alex Jones also run that shitty onetruth website?

      Delete
  27. Meanwhile, Bores has already lost 700 subscribers today.

    Frankly, what Larry pointed out doesn't really matter nowadays. Bores is stuck and must make a choice between :

    - Keep going with the random crap and lose his subscribers
    - Going back to more regular IG stuff and keep a decent fanbase

    ReplyDelete
  28. YT might be having another purge today as my sub count has been down today too, but I'm still in the positive numbers.

    Fred lost 24,200 subs so far today, which is far more than normal for him too.

    But I honestly do believe that he can easily save himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He can save himself if he's willing to make an effort. That's the catch, and it's a big one. The longer he does this, the slower his output gets, and you kind of have to assume being the Irate Gamer has lost its magic for Chris.

      Delete
  29. Chris is back on at least one Top 100 list now...

    He's now officially the 87th most UNSUBBED channel on YouTube (also Fred is #1)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hey Guys, guess what?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDP-5NY-wUg&feature=plcp

    Tough that piece of shit is not doing the video, i can assure you the person who is there is doing it as a favor to him.

    i wonder what Lewis would think about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So because he got banned by being a disrupting moron he holds a grudge.

      Delete
    2. i was going to post it here, but never mind.

      Delete
    3. These characters, every single one, are all portrayed as being so horribly out of character that it's infuriating.

      I think that's why this review falls completly flat, however.

      Linkara admits he's not a follower of these games or the characters, so he completly misses the point on why these are so soul-crushingly bad.

      Fans of Street Fighter DESPISE these because it destroys every single character from what we've come to know and love about them, since.

      It's a shame that Linkara took on this comic to review not having this viewpoint of the Street Fighter fandom (Then again, it's half his fanbase's fault too, because much like the Sonic comic requesters, they seem to assume that he IS a fan of everything they are a fan of as well), which kind of makes this episode rather.... disappointing, as a result.

      I can't blame Linkara for this though, and bless him, he tries with this review, because if he's not a fan, then just he's not a fan and simply doesn't know the preferred characteristics of the Street Fighter cast.

      And the comic is requested by many, so he feels indebted to review it...

      I just think that's why the whole end product feels like a disappointment. Those that requested this comic must feel especially disappointed, having assumed that he'd know these things about the series going in... such as Ryu being a loner and a world traveler who lives for the perfection of his art, has NO relationship with Chun-Li despise this stupid comic's insistance, and Shadaloo in this comic, being reduced to classic buffoonish cartoon lackeys, not to mention every other character and their relationship's with one another being mangled past the point of recognition.

      Short version: This comic sucks horribly because it's about as terrible and mis-characterized as the Street Fighter US cartoon, which was similarly horrifically bad.

      Delete
    4. I don't get review requests, but if I did the response to something I don't know about would go like this:

      "I'm flattered you think so much of me you want my opinion on this, but I don't much about it so we're looking at two options. One, I go ahead with this anyway and make something missing a lot of important info that ultimately disappoints you, or two, me not making it so I don't disappoint people expecting a bunch of observations I'm not equipped to make."

      Delete
    5. Someone had the gall to make an unsound claim of Lewis being a hypocrite by making a sex joke when he claims to be a feminist. The example was the Captain Planet review, where he apparently made a sex joke in response to Linka's "blow" pun. All I remember him saying was "Speaking of blowing". Sound like a sex joke to you?

      Me neither. It comes across more like blowing as in "being of poor quality". That commenter is the one with the dirty mind, not Linkara.

      Delete
    6. Oh, and here's what the good Mr. Linkara has to say in response to this stupid video.

      "...I have no idea who or what you're talking about.

      And if they didn't like my show... well, whatever. People are allowed to have opinions. My kneejerk reaction is not to criticism, it's to complaining about things that really shouldn't be complained about. It's about being rude when one can be polite.

      I see plenty of negative reactions to my show that come up on comments and e-mails. It's okay if people have them. My problem is not the message - it's the delivery."

      In response to the accusation that Linkara was hired because no one else did comics.

      "[I]f they make that accusation, it should be noted that the Last Angry Geek was doing comic reviews back when the site featured Articles, AND he was friends with Doug and crew, it's just he said he wasn't ready to do video yet, but he was planning on it."

      Delete
  31. ok,ive heard from the real larry that this article is not made buy the real larry.ill give proof later.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fail. Stephen Glass can rest easy, that's for sure.

      Delete
  32. Interesting to see an alternative opinion set.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Watched Brad's review of Battleship. Apparently, Chris Bores is in the movie: http://thecinemasnob.com/2012/05/19/midnight-screenings-battleship-and-what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THAT explains the lack of updates! It almost makes sense!

      Delete
    2. Face it, Battleship is ruined.

      Delete
    3. What the f*ck is a battleship?

      Delete
    4. Didn't they playtest this Battleship?

      Delete
  34. Update from my Facebook informant.

    Bores changed his profile photo and cover photo (the picture at the top) to something about "The Pixel Demon". A pair of red eyes for the former, and the same red eyes and the words "The Pixel Demon is Coming" for the latter.

    First of all, didn't he say at one point the next "arc" would be the "Rise of Red"? Relating to the lead HAL bot character? Did he scrap this idea as well? God damn it Bores, plan your stuff!

    Second, do we seriously need another poorly-made evil character? We already have Evil Gamer, Shadow Overlord, and the HAL bots. I don't see how this "Pixel Demon" is going to be any better. Maybe you should focus on making the Big Bad look like a threat before introducing another new bad guy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So he makes up ANOTHER villain and foreshadows his coming with his facebook profile picture Oo ?

      Well, it's still a step up from introducing him with an HoVG episode...

      Delete
    2. He also changed his site to show the same thing.
      http://www.theirategamer.com/

      Boy, those red MS Paint eyes sure look intimidating. Pfffft.

      Delete
    3. Those eyes look like the type of eyes people draw when they're trying to spoof the work of Rob Liefeld.

      Delete
    4. so basically the "Pixel Demon" is going to tell the Evil Gamer to do something green screen related and Bores will just winter game while droning on about obvious facts largely ignoring what happens around him.

      Delete
    5. Could it honestly be more generic than the villains he already has?

      Delete
    6. What really bugs me is his BRILLIANT update post regarding the subject:
      "PIXEL DEMON!"

      That is NOT how you introduce what I assume is supposed to be a threatening villain. That's how you start a crappy internet meme.

      Delete
  35. Huh.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsXMnZlgTGg&feature=g-all-bul

    What do you guys make of this? Think this might have something to do the IG's decline in subscribers?


    @Clark

    The Nexus had a fair run... kind of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a feeling it was something like that. I saw a lot of great video makers losing subscribers and realized this was a site-wide thing.

      This is just crap...

      Delete
    2. Meh, I don't think that's why some people lose so many subscribers.

      When you look at the sub losses charts on VidStats, you'll see a ton of "old" youtubers people probably grew tired of (Dawson, Buckley, Fred, iJustine, De Franco, ...), people who got "famous" because of memes (Crocker, Zonday, lonelygirl15, ...), or left a while ago, or don't deliver what fans want anymore (Rolfe, IG), or are not hip anymore (whole bunch of singers apparently).

      Internet fame is often fragile and short and it looks like some Youtubers only realize that now.

      Delete
    3. I'm pretty sure something's up. Looking at various youtube channels both popular and obscure on social blade, it seems like pretty much everyone has suffered an abnormally large subscriber loss over the last five days. It can't just be a coincidence.

      Delete
    4. Yeah, I had that happen on my channel. About less than a month ago, I had about 643 subscribers on my channel. Now it's gone down to 588.

      Delete
    5. @lordlaharl Yeah, Youtube's removing dead and inactive accounts, that's what's going on. This isn't a weird conspiracy to promote some channels and bury others.

      Frankly, all I see is people bitching and moaning because they lost a certain amount of subs. The thing is, this is dead weight and it won't change a damn thing in terms of views.

      Delete
    6. Just goes to show how meaningless a subscriber count actually is.

      Delete
  36. @Thelone

    I have no complaints about it (hell, I only have nine subscribers so why would I?), but the problem I have is the fact that youtube fails to give people an understanding of what an "inactive account" constitutes. Is it because I haven't logged in for a few months? Well, what if I'm busy and don't have time to go on youtube?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not logging in to Youtube for several months is treason.
      Treason is punishable by deletion.
      Youtube is your friend.
      Not trusting Youtube is also treason.

      Delete
  37. Heh, scratch that. I have seven now. That makes me so...!! Indifferent.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Happy ten-day anniversary to this article.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Just an FYI; IG just uploaded a pre-review of Men in Black 3.

    ReplyDelete
  40. This is all very long...but how is anyone supposed to respect the advice from someone who starts it all off with "I can safely say that pound for pound I’ve found Chris far more entertaining than anything the James Rolfe has ever produced"

    IG is an insane hack who makes garbage. Rolfe makes some great creative things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Note that he didn't say good, he said entertaining. People are rentertained by The Room and Birdemic....doesn't mean they're any good.

      Delete
    2. What I've learned is that some things are just awful, however, it can be entertaining. Most, if not all, of Ed Wood movies, anyone? How about The Neverending Story III?

      Delete