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Pilot for Game Damage, aka 'that show with Yahtzee and two guys'

4:20 PM on 12.17.2008, Jim Sterling 48 comments

     Internet Shows

Let's face it, that's what this show is. If it ever does get picked up, it'll be known as "That show with Yahtzee and two guys." This is a pilot for Game Damage, a show that Yahtzee, of Zero Punctuation fame, and two guys, of Australia, are hoping will make it big.

I must point out that Yahtzee reminds me of Jarvis Cocker in this, from his dry delivery to aloof way he chooses to sit. That's okay though, because I really like Jarvis Cocker, especially when he's with two other guys. 

What do you reckon on this then? Any good? Has potential? Personally, I can't help but feel this could easily have been a podcast, since the vast majority of it is based around three people sitting on a couch who, to be fair, look a bit uncomfortable in front of a camera. Of course, practice may loosen them up a bit, but I don't think anything will allow me to understand a word of what that chap on the right is saying. I don't think it's his accent, either. He's just not talking right. 

Anyway, this is Game Damage. It is a thing on the Internet.


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Gibbo's Avatar
Gibbo at 12/17/2008 15:44
I don't think this worth just for Yahtzee, as the other two guys just seem like generic video game blogger/journalist people
konrad hazen's Avatar
konrad hazen at 12/17/2008 16:25
Yahtzee is brilliant as usual, but for the rest: meh
Necro-bestial Anal Butt Sex's Avatar
Necro-bestial Anal Butt Sex at 12/17/2008 16:28
just give the show to yahtzee and be done with the other two
Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 12/17/2008 16:31
Is it just me, or does the contrast between Yahtzee and the 2 other people manifest itself onto the design on the back wall where "GAME" is behind Yahtzees head and a blood splattered "DAMAGE" behind the others?

Just seems incredibly apparent he can explode them with his mind.
adwhammy's Avatar
adwhammy at 12/17/2008 16:35
I liked the skits and features but the chatting on the couch thing would be improved wildly by a desk and swivel chairs.
Rhyno's Avatar
Rhyno at 12/17/2008 16:38
Yahtzee was good in this, but I'd rather watch a 5 minute review of him once a week than a 30 minute show.

Other than that, the "skits" were ok. Funny the first time, but they got old fast.
Mikular's Avatar
Mikular at 12/17/2008 16:41
I just love the guy on the right who keeps looking at the wrong camera. And Yahtzee's performance seems a bit forced.
greeneggsnsam's Avatar
greeneggsnsam at 12/17/2008 16:51
It's uncomfortable for everyone when they're talking to each other but looking at the camera. Ugh. Yahtzee's funny in this, though. He needs to speak slowly more often.
PappaDukes's Avatar
PappaDukes at 12/17/2008 16:51
The Duke Nukem: Forever skits were hilarious.
ShadokatRegn's Avatar
ShadokatRegn at 12/17/2008 16:58
I'm really not sure what to think of this - Yahtzee has been losing his focus on game reviews, and it's kind of getting annoying...I guess we'll see at this point?
trunxkam45's Avatar
trunxkam45 at 12/17/2008 16:58
haha "mighty spacemen of the future"
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask's Avatar
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask at 12/17/2008 17:00
Yahtzee and the two straight men works pretty well I actually. I enjoyed it.
Diverse's Avatar
Diverse at 12/17/2008 17:04
Yahtzee looks like a nerd rapist.
Mista Smegheneghan's Avatar
Mista Smegheneghan at 12/17/2008 17:06
I think the other guys are from a journal/comic.
Static Jak's Avatar
Static Jak at 12/17/2008 17:06
Duke Nukem Forever parts made me laugh.
Mikular's Avatar
Mikular at 12/17/2008 17:09
Hm. On second thoughts:
Guy on left (Yahtzee): REALLY uncomfortable, looks at the camera a bit too desperately and talks too slow, I'm too used to his machine-gun style delivery.
Guy in middle (Yug - Seriously?): Looks slightly paedophilic in his enjoyment when he looks at the camera.
Guy on right (Pat, or something): Incomprehensible.
Geurge's Avatar
Geurge at 12/17/2008 17:16
This seems like it could be ok if the presenters get more comfortable with the camera. It's kind of like On The Couch with Zane Lowe...except about games and not music. And I haven;t watched it all yet, but having some big name guests could help as well.
ZServ's Avatar
ZServ at 12/17/2008 17:30
I dig it. :]
ChrisFurniss's Avatar
ChrisFurniss at 12/17/2008 17:34
horrible. Yahtzee is hilarious, but does not belong in front of the camera. The shots back to the middle guy giggling at yahtzee's stuff is pretty annoying too. And what is with the EXTREME opening intro? That seems like something yahtzee would make fun of, not participate in. Make this a podcast, not a tv show.
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 12/17/2008 17:34
The guy on the right, is the white version of Forest Whitaker. I'm telling you. They are related somehow.
NinjaGoesWhaa's Avatar
NinjaGoesWhaa at 12/17/2008 17:35
1:12 into the "show", I find myself officially bored with it. I tried to watch for longer, but started to get angry. Three and a half thumbs down. I'd say stick to Zero Punctuation, but even that has been lacking recently.
moshakirby's Avatar
moshakirby at 12/17/2008 17:36
TOO. MUCH. PADDING. I'll stick to blogs.
pascuz46's Avatar
pascuz46 at 12/17/2008 17:42
This isnt that good. Yahtzee defiantly feels like the brains behind it all but I dunno. I prefer Zero Punctuation better, this would probably be better if it as a Pod cast, I just got board watching this.
CharleyTony's Avatar
CharleyTony at 12/17/2008 17:52
I watch yahtzee's show every week and I really like it. I can see what these guys set out to do and it's not bad.
What I would recommend to those 3 would be to actually work on making a podcast of their own, work on their chemistry a little. A weekly podcast could work as their "business card" if someone was in fact looking to create a video game show for tv (or for the internet).

Remember, pilot almost always look awful and awkward, even for the best shows on TV.
Chaos Mage's Avatar
Chaos Mage at 12/17/2008 17:53
That was really lame, and boring.
Dyzon's Avatar
Dyzon at 12/17/2008 17:53
I think this has the chance to be a really funny, really informative show, it just has to find a balance between the two and possibly get rid of the guy on the right. Yahtzee is a comic genuis and I think he just has to get comfortable with the format and crew. His Zero Punctuation videos took awhile to get quick and greatly witty but they finally did and now there's no stopping them.

It could be a nice mix between Top Gear and Electric Playground but only time will tell.
Lemon's Avatar
Lemon at 12/17/2008 17:55
I enjoyed it all the way to the end. If it were a vidcast I would subscribe. Also, any show that shows clips of Deus Ex is O.K. in my book. I laughed at Master Chief slowly realizing he had no pockets to carry his wallet in at the diner,and the Duke Nukem skit was pretty funny.

Maybe Revision3 could air them for a while to test the waters.
grasslunatic's Avatar
grasslunatic at 12/17/2008 18:40
Zero Punctuation is good this is rubbish.
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 12/17/2008 18:41
I'll watch it later.
Slique's Avatar
Slique at 12/17/2008 18:52
The couch moments need more of a natural feel to them. Looking rigidly at the camera while reading from an autocue just doesn't work, and the close-up shots of their faces seemed really out of place. It'd work a lot better with a Top Gear-style layout, where the guys could just chat while facing eachother and make it much more natural. Also, was it me or did Yahtzee look really bored? By the end of it it seemed like he didn't even want to be there. Although his Adventure Games feature was pretty awesome. Kudos for that.

As for the other co-hosts, the guy in the middle was okay, if a little scruffy looking (after all, this is being filmed, at least make an effort), but the guy on the right was just horribly awkward. He had almost no charisma whatsoever.

The show definitely has potential, but it needs a bit of reworking, both design (that greenscreen backdrop was a bit of an eyesore) and technical-wise. Still, it's early days.
bart999's Avatar
bart999 at 12/17/2008 19:18
I forced myself to sit through 10:49 of that.

Fucking wretched. Seriously, that was all kinds of fail. I'll give it 2 more chances but that was def strike 1.
Citizen Erased's Avatar
Citizen Erased at 12/17/2008 19:27
That wasn't too bad.
Fuck if I'm getting it for free then why the Hell not?
Could be a lot worse.
Yahtzee was pretty funny in places...and the Duke Nukem Forever sketches were fun.
Docherty's Avatar
Docherty at 12/17/2008 19:42
Didn't really get it myself. I mean I'm sure yahtzee was trying to give the other guys a chance, but you think they could of been a bit more clothing co-ordinated? It was like 2 freshmen sitting next to the Artful Dodger.

I only hope they can cut down a newer episode. Not Quite G4 yet. Another thing, they should probably have Yahtzee sit in the middle, he's going to be the only reason to watch for most people.

Any one else think the guy in the middle looked a bit like John C. Riley?
A Ton of Berries's Avatar
A Ton of Berries at 12/17/2008 19:45
Well, if the whole thing didn't feel like half an hour of two guys with a giant hardon for yahtzee, it would have been better. But I suppose it might improve when they stop giggling at every word that trickles out of his mouth like giddy little schoolgirls and get their act together. It's got yahtzee-based potential, but they might want to cut the running time down by about half.

Yeah and also, the DNF skit was incredibly cheap, but I still laughed.
dyzzy's Avatar
dyzzy at 12/17/2008 20:27
It's quite clear that they need somebody behind the scenes that has experience with the television format. Said person should do his/her best to bludgeon that knowledge into these three. The consensus seems to be that the couch bits are cringe-inducing at best. And come on: pick a skit and do it, but why on earth would you repeat it so many times?

I'd give them the chance to get things together though, if only for the guarantee that anything with Yahtzee in it will get a good viewership, even if it does suck.
Orionsaint's Avatar
Orionsaint at 12/17/2008 20:39
Yahtzee sounds like Mr Bentley (Jeffersons) or a young Christopher Lee.
razerangel's Avatar
razerangel at 12/17/2008 20:55
Ewww. I enjoy Zero Punctuation but this was horrendous. Really the third guy was terrible on camera, was really scruffily dressed and the whole thing was forced. This is clearly a pilot so the master chief bits should be chucked into a large chemical fire. The skits have been done before in various forms and need to be re worked to be funny. Please shot the third guy then rework the show, its just like every other game show on the planet.
Wack's Avatar
Wack at 12/17/2008 21:30
I quite enjoyed the "Duke Nukem Forever Developers" bit.
ace of knaves's Avatar
ace of knaves at 12/17/2008 21:42
Hmm...potential. The best part was Yahtzee's pretty damn good explanation of what happened to the point-and-click adventure games.

It's just a bit unnerving, because no matter what I'll always think of Yahtzee as his adorable 2D counterpart.
zanthox's Avatar
zanthox at 12/17/2008 22:52
Pretty good. If they can keep up the random funny clips and interesting personal parts it could turn out quiet well.
I would prefer a podcast though. Yahtzee will pretty much pull me anywhere.
Dr Terror's Avatar
Dr Terror at 12/18/2008 06:24
The Yahtzee bits are good, he can actually do it. The guy in the middle can do it but needs a lot of work - they need to ditch the guy on the right cuz he's just awkward & unnecessary. Skits & rants are good - more natural commentary about games is needed - discussions about topics for 5 minutes where the straight guy feeds Yahtzee material to riff on. In its current state its lacking focus/substance but I'd watch it for a few episodes yet before decrying it.

There's a vidya game show in Aus on the ABC - Good Game - & its full of horrible pantomime & overacting - Game Damage is better than that, but its gotta aim to do better if it wants to get ZP status. I'd like to see it be anti-G4 - take Xplay & remove the MTV too-cool-for-school bullshit and be real about games & the shitcanning of them. Probably wouldn't sell tho.
Soulwax's Avatar
Soulwax at 12/18/2008 06:56
If Yahtzee wasn't in this it would be called Brain Damaged.
nefas's Avatar
nefas at 12/18/2008 10:19
I like the format but there needs to be a little bit more depth to it. The MMO segment was just absolute crap and made all three invovled looked stupid. Who is going to take them serious when they play the open 20 minutes of an MMO and then give an impression?

The best segment is on the indie games, they should do a bit more there.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 12/18/2008 17:21
This is pretty lame...
Uniquenamehere's Avatar
Uniquenamehere at 12/18/2008 20:21
The 2 on the right are co owners of australiangamer.com
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