2010 has been a very busy year for me. I’m glad I accomplished a lot and am looking forward to 2011. My hope is to focus more on making that feature film!
Here’s my top 5 favorite videos I’ve made this year. Both AVGN and NON-AVGN. I decided to make two separate lists.
MY TOP 5 AVGN VIDEOS 2010
5. SWORDQUEST
It was a pleasure to talk about one of the most interesting stories in video game history. A failed contest, an unfinished game, and a bunch of missing treasures. Real gold encrusted treasures and a sword! The true quest goes on.
4. NINJA GAIDEN
The Nerd is all about showing how frustrating a game is. Sometimes I feel verbally limited. I need some kind of concrete example to prove how hard a game is. So that’s where the ninja came in. Ninja Gaiden was so hard, that you would need real ninja reflexes to beat it.
3. GAME GLITCHES
For a long time, I’ve wanted to do a video all about game glitches. Some of the glitches I encountered were really surprising. The “ClubberFuck” moment in the Rocky game was totally outrageous and I don’t know if I’d ever get that lucky again. Kevin Finn, who played the ninja, returns as the Game Graphic Glitch Gremlin.
2. HOW THE NERD STOLE CHRISTMAS
Narrative storytelling is what made this one special to me. The Nerd actually has a character arch and learns of the magic of bad games. I love those kind of stories about bitter characters like the Grinch or Scrooge who learn something at the end. The story is woven through the game reviews, so it accomplishes what you’d expect in a regular Nerd episode with reviews of “T&C Surf Design”, “Circus Caper” and “Fist of the North Star”. It was fun and extremely challenging to review the games in rhyme. It also helped me articulate the bad points about the games while keeping it fresh, and doing something DIFFERENT for once. (gasp)
1. DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE RE-REVISITED
The first Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde video wasn’t much of a game review. It was just an experiment to introduce the Nerd character. Since then, I’ve always wanted to go back and give a hard honest attempt at playing the game. That’s when I realized how impossible it was. I got so mad, I literally became my own alter-ego, The Angry Video Game Nerd. Getting my second chance at reviewing this game was almost therapeutic. The game is truly horrible in almost every way possible. It’s not too often I play something that gives me so much material to work with. It reminded me why I created AVGN in the first place.
MY TOP 5 NON-AVGN VIDEOS 2010
Honorable Mention: MONSTER MADNESS!
Of course. That was 31 videos altogether. I really enjoyed looking at some obscure horror films and bringing many of them to light.
5. BLOB TOWN
Considering it took two and a half years to finish, it had to be included on the list, even if it only came out a few days ago.
4. TORNADO REX
We had fun playing the game. I really enjoy cutting together a short video every once in a while that’s straight to the point. Doesn’t need to be a 10 minute epic. It was like editing an 80’s toy commercial. Bootsy’s song is still stuck in my head!
3. FOLLOW THAT MARSHMALLOW: A GHOSTBUSTERS TOUR
It was a blast running all around New York City with Brett. Recently I was on a tour bus and passed by the New York City Public Library. The tour guide mentioned “this is where they filmed “The Day After Tomorrow” but said nothing about Ghostbusters. Ugh! That’s why they need me.
2. MR. BUCKET
This is sort of a hint at the kind of comedy/horror films I wish to make in the future. I like doing things that are scary and ridiculous at the same time. This project took an entire month to finish, from the writing, all the way to the editing and sound mixing. I had to get the bucket out again to do some foley sound effects. By that point, I was so sick of looking at it, I felt the bucket was really going to come alive and stalk me.
1. THE DRAGON IN MY DREAMS
Basically, the story of my life.
EVERYBODY, HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
