WTF PEOPLE!?! Gameshow Videogames

It's been a long friggin' time since I've done anything videogame related.  It is indeed a part of my roots obviously, and it wasn't my intention to abandon it for other ventures such as music, television, and other random stuff.  Even though those things are indeed awesome, I digress.  I want to get back to the root of why I started to blog.  I wanted to present an obscure look into videogames and other subsets as well.  And what better way to do that than to bring back an old classic, the WTF's.  Now the last What The Phuck was not an official WTF PEOPLE!?!, so this is bringing it back with a vengeance.  So that's why I'm bringing to the table a view on videogames that I feel that have been lacking by most people and professional reviewers, the gameshow genre.


I know, I've done a Gameshow Month earlier this year, and well, this is not something that I forgot to include with that.  This is indeed something in relation to my choice of videogames that I play and, well, it's just damn good, so deal with it.  So without further ado, here is my rant of all things gameshows to ever graced upon home consoles.


Of course you know about my obsession with gameshows if you follow me at all (BTW, happy belated 7,500th. episode to The Price is Right) but when it enters in a home in any other way besides the television set, the end result is questionable at best.  Board games aside, you have to also look into the main heart of what gets my attention; an interactive method where I become part of the show instead of a houseparty rendering when we don't want to break out Scrabble or Monopoly (both of which gameshows that did not live a long as they should've) is the ticket.  And what better way to become interactive with a gameshow outside of being a friggin' contestant is to play it's videogame.  But there's some flaws in such, and sure as hell, I'm here to exploit them.  Not to be a complete douche (which I can be), but to make the experience better for the end user at the end.  One main culprit is the Merv Griffin duet of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.  It does bring the table the richness of it's game, weather it is questioning an answer or buying a vowel, it's no different than it's board game doppelgangers.   It just allows an error-proofing method with having a virtual host be a proxy between the player and the game's objective.  I remember the first Jeopardy! game for the NES way back in '87 or '88.  I played the begeezus out of that as a youth because I was a fan and a trivia whore.  My friends had Wheel of Fortune for the Genesis and N64 when we wanted to take a break from Mortal Kombat and Madden.  It was fun to a point.  


With these types of games the only flaw, which is a big one,  is that once you're done with all the questions they present to you, you know what to expect.  Like I said, I played the begeezus out of Jeopardy! for the NES, and played it enough that I could get close to $50,000 in a single game if I time my daily doubles correctly.  Even with the computer at Kamehameha-Hard mode, I buzzed in within seconds of the question entering it in and keying it with my controller to become the Ken Jennings of the cartridge before there was even a Ken Jennings.  Ok I lied, there's a second flaw to this debauchery.  Keying in the friggin' answers are a pain the ass at best, especially on an NES controller, and with NES's limitations.  It pissed me off to no end playing my copy of it that the game's letter layout is alphanumerically listed and not QWERTY based.  It was even more of a pain because of system limitations (even stemming up to playing Wheel of Fortune on the N64) that the letter-selector-thingy wouldn't let you go to the other side once you're on the edge of a row of letters.  Obviously these games would be great for individual use on a PC or hell, even throw up a LAN party and play the hell out of that, of course if you were a bad ass back in the days of LAN parties, you were probably playing Unreal Tournament and I can see your point not picking up that.  I just know that with word games like these, a keyboard is a helluva good way to play it.


Now I bring to the table other gameshows that have entered into the realm of videogames.  The prize shows, most famously noted by that long running gem of a show, The Price is Right.  I grew up with the show, one of my earliest memories is watching this at my baby sitters while my parents were at work (said that watching the big wheel and screaming out "ONE DOLLAR" is a childhood memory of mine, but that's just me).  And since I never gotten to play the Atari version of the game I was crushed because there was not a console release of it for me to play, otherwise I would've done it in my youth.  Luckily when I bought my Wii about 3 years ago, one of the first games I got for it was The Price Is Right.  I was in Nerdtopia with I thought was the most original console out in the market and my most cherished gameshow that I watched for all my life in all of it's home console glory.  I spun the Big Wheel, I won both Showcases, I bid one dollar and won a chance to play, I played Plinko dammit, PLINKO!!!  The only thing missing was Bob Barker kicking the living crap out of Adam Sandler in tournament fight mode, but I digress.  It does have it advantages being the age of easter-eggs and all where if you unlock something you get to see an epic classic clip of the show.  Alas, it to fell to the monotany of once you've played everything, it doesn't present new stuff, just recycle the old prizes, hell, even the prize amounts are the same so I could get $65,000+ on a single game if the cards were right (I usually average around $32,000 if I make it past the Big Wheel).  And other games like that also fell to this trap like Press Your Luck and Family Feud, pretty much anything owned by Fremantle Media in this current age of gameshows.  It's not expansive.  Which is why probably the only app I play on a social network outside of Words with Friends is the Price is Right app on Facebook.  It's online, so there's always room for expansion.  


There's just need to be a way, and I'm pretty damn sure they could but either the game developers or the game producers don't want to include it, but have it so that if people want, they could pay for updated content.  In an age where gamers are on Steam to get new mods and there's an expansion pack for an MMORPG every friggin' week, what is stopping them to add such a thing on.  Hell, I would love to pay five bucks to get online expansion content on my game console for Jeopardy! or The Price is Right until the next version of the game comes out.  I'm sure that there's a lot of game junkies that would love to have that fix.  In an age where gameshows are interactive in the fact that they have play at home contents where people could call or text for a chance to win a prize or free third party advertising crap, why the hell not incorporate it for downloadable content on my PS3 so that I can beat Ken Jennings or play the accordion with Drew Carey on set with the Price is Right models.  Why deny us unsung sect of gamers that joy.  I think it's because the producers of the show don't give a damn about anything else but the show and just think that they could get a few bucks with a cheap-ass game.  That's a whole load of bullshit, and I don't care for it all that much.  Jeopardy! and Sony have a marriage on how it looks on set, they blatantly make sure that Sony is a presence on the show.  Why not bring a game and give me content to update via the Playstation Network, how friggin' ingenious!  But that would be logical, and we live in a would where videogames about gameshows are completely for the illogical, and that's just bullshit in my book.  In short, I do recommend that you at least try and pick up the games and play them.  I just with that there were more content to offer than what was, and that there was more of a following than just me and a bunch of desperate housewifes that watch nothing but soaps and GSN all the time.  So I'm just gonna leave you with that thought while I bring up my Price is Right mobile app and see if I can make it to the Showcase.  That and this following youtube video because it's funny and it's about gameshows.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Gameshows pt. 4: Parting Gifts

We all know what the winner gets in the end of most gameshows, cash and luxurious prizes galore. It's the main reason why we want to be on gameshows and why we watch. We like to see the spoils of their efforts and take part in such. But as far as the also-rans, well, they get stuck with parting gifts. An atta-boy for participating and some lesser prizes. Now it could be like they do in Jeopardy! now and give $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third or even better like with Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right and keep what you won. But alas most gameshows don't follow that principle. Now I don't know if it's something contributed to production costs of the show, if the producers are just a bunch of cheap bastards, or they're really strapped for sponsorship and would want to have something, anything, to promote. But for as long as they're competitive gameshows, nine times out of ten there will be parting gifts. And what a better way to end GAMESHOW MONTH than to close with what they try to shove off for their losers. So without further ado, here's to parting gifts and all the blandness and atta-boys that they bring to the show. 

Now a big thing with most gameshows back in the day were the board game version of their show. It seemed that everyone of them had the home version of the show. Yeah, like the one thing I want to do after losing on the actual show was to go play and lose the same game at home. They really tried to make it worth the effort and it worked as advertising for them away from the television. Some of more successful ones were of course Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, but others try to make a valiant effort. Two of which that sticks out for me were Fun House and Double Dare. Of course if advertising to kids (which I was at the time), you're gonna win with just about anything. But man, were they such a letdown. I remember I was five and it was Christmas when I got Fun House as a present. I was thrilled because the show itself was a gameshow for kids and Fox Kids (when they did have stuff for kids back then) played the hell out of that show. It was kids, chaos, slime, and prizes galore; everything that would've make me have a shit-eating grin for days on end. This board game however, was the epitome of 180 degrees. It was cumbersome to setup, the pieces would easily break or get lost, the actual activities in the game sucked in comparison to the gameshow itself, the whole friggin thing was a waste of my parents money to buy me. At least Double Dare had Gak or whatever Nickelodeon called their slime. Don't get me wrong, it still sucked in comparison to the show and all the other gripes were just about the same for both games. Not a smooth translation of the show to cardboard and plastic. And it was that way for most gameshow adaptations. I think I remember playing Name That Tune the board game and it totally bombed unless you were big into the swing and big band era of the 40's and 50's. Not to mention trying to listen to someone trying to hum a song they have no idea how; or if they do their tempo and pitch are so off that it was basically a totally different song. Basically, gameshows-to-board games are a lose-lose combination. 

Now just as you thought that that was the pinnacle of vanity, they stepped into the digital era with videogames. I still have my copy of Jeopardy! for the NES and I pretty much played the hell out of that that I was the Ken Jennings of my console. But there are many more than just that for take home incarnations. I remember when your only choice for gameshow videogames were Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (which were lame at best). As of the past decade or so it seems that every popular show had it's own game. Ranging from Price is Right to Millionaire to God knows what else. Hell, I got Don't Forget the Lyrics and The Price is Right app downloaded. It's just inevitable that they just seem to pop up in every medium. And I'm sure we all played a modified version of Jeopardy! in school for an interactive form of a study group. Or even when placing a bet with friends at one point someone might've used the term "Price is Right rules" to add a degree of not going over your wager. They just seem to be everywhere. The true parting gifts are that the fans take their favorite gameshow everywhere. 

But there were more than just the home game that were given to the losers. They received other useless crap like small appliances like phones, microwaves, or a lamp. Like they don't already have these. It's not even top of the line stuff too. It's stuff you might splurge on at Wal-Mart. Really, a damn cordless phone set for all my efforts trying?!? What really gets me is stuff they try to translate for monitory value like flowers once a month for a year or a $100 gift card for Home Depot or Applebee's. You can't buy me with power tools and tulips. It's just seems kinda cheap while others give out cash or their earnings the also-rans made in their efforts. All I want to know is that they should put more efforts in their parting gifts. Make it worth our while, at least $500 worth of stuff. Or hell, just cash. I don't need $1000 like Jeopardy! does now, $500 will work just fine. 

And that just about it for GAMESHOW MONTH. Normal ranting, randomness, and other bullshit will continue as normal next week. But as of now, I just want to leave you with one more tidbit, a parting gift for participating if you will. Because I'm such a Jeopardy! fanatic; next time you watch the Final Jeopardy! round, sing I'm a little tea pot with it. Yeah, who'd thunk that a moment of silence to write down an answer that could cost you thousands of dollars is related to a nursery rhyme. But for now, I'll think I'll stick with my Price is Right theme playing in my head... That, and Adam Sandler getting his ass handed to by Bob Barker...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Gameshows pt. 3 Station Identification

Now how the hell am I not going to do a whole month of gameshow ranting and not mention Game Show Network? That's just about as off as James Earl Jones not being the voice of Darth Vader. It's just not natural. Anyways, GSN had gone though so many changes in the decade or so since I've been watching it that it hurts my head just thinking about it. But none the less the channel is still up and strong. So here's my ode to the reason my cable bill is higher than it should be. 

I first heard about the network in the late nineties when the ending credits would roll at the end of Wheel of Fortune and it peaked my interest then. Of course I was a teenager then and no say on what would my parents would subscribe to on cable outside of the occasional WWF Pay-Per-View event. Hell, even if I did have a say it wasn't available from my provider at the time. It wasn't until about 2002 is when I was on my own and found a cable company that did have it. And like a junkie it sucked me into it's addicting grasp. I was amazed of seeing some of my old favorites of my youth like Card Sharks, Let's Make A Deal, $100,000 Pyramid, and even some forgotten freshness like Press Your Luck and the all popular Match Game. It was a gameshow lovers nirvana at that point; and then it got even better. They had they're own original shows like Lingo, Russian Roulette, Friend or Foe, and even a remake of Press Your Luck (and it was a good remake too)! Then as time goes on, some execs like they always seem to do, turned a great thing and totally jacked it up. 

It was inevitable. It always seem to happen to good things. It's not proven law that it happens 100% of the time, but a good 80% is enough to piss me off when it's that many companies and organizations do that. And GSN is no exception. It first started by shortening the name of itself to GSN, which I thought was good. And then they stopped production of some of their originals like Russian Roulette, and Friend or Foe as well as scaling down the running of classics like Let's Make A Deal with showings of classic Family Feud and new Family Feud back to back. That pissed me off cause they were one of the reasons I would keep it on GSN 24/7. They also had it so you could play their games interactively online while the show is on for prizes if you signed up with GSN.com; which I liked. But when my shows went and left like I mentioned, so did that feature. UGH!?! That bites! And then, they try to introduce new shows, original shows. And, well, honestly I'm indifferent about that. Some were decent like High Stakes Poker and World Series of Blackjack (but that's another vise of mine we'll discuss). I likes the competitiveness of that and the strategic gameplay of it. But some were just, not. Their remake of The Newlywed Game and their own twist on The Dating Game, Baggage, is alright at best. They make attempts to make it hip and fresh but not to make them even remotely close to come up the censors radar. Don't they even know that some of the funniest shit is when they say the hell with the censors and let it fly. That's why there's YouTube. All I ask is if anyone can find a torrent of some of the cooler stuff I mentioned just hit me up on twitter or my email on the contact page. 

One more thing about GSN that wad good in my opinion, and I would've hoped they would've expanded on, was that they did specials if you could believe it. They actually had special presentations about things that were either a great anomaly in gameshows such as Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck scandal. That was the story of a man who was so obsessed with the show he studied the patterns of the board to maximize his winnings to a record-breaking $100,000+ for the show. Or the one they did as the in-depth history of Match Game. That went as far as cast interviews of how lucid and wild it wad to be on the set of Match Game and its feeble attempt to revamp it in the early 90's. Once again, I WANT TORRENTS OF THESE!!! They were fascinating since it combined two of my favorite things to watch, documentaries being the other. They also did a few others that I remember such as an ode to the career and life of Chuck Woolery and his accomplishments so far at that time and even an ultimate quiz show challenge where they pooled the top 16 winningest contestants in all quiz-based gameshows to see who's the best in the field of quiz shows. Obviously Ken Jennings won, but that's another topic. The point is that they should've expanded on these. I would've loved to see an ode to Bob Barker or even a retrospect on how Ken Jennings set himself as the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of Jeopardy! champions. Or even a side by side comparison of Brad Rutter and Ken biding for the most winningest contestant in gameshow history. They could play it out like The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters did in their efforts to prove that Steve Wiebe is indeed the highest scorer on Donkey Kong. Or hell GSN, just show that!?! That's at least as competitive as high stakes poker and it deserves more than the attention G4 given it. 

Well, thats the end of my seemingly endless rant on GSN itself. If I continued at that pace we'd be here all night. But now it's time for me to seek what will week four bring for GAMESHOW MONTH. It'll be a doozy I assure you. Stay tuned.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Gameshows pt. 2: The rant continues

I left off in the auspice of just describing the different type of gameshows, and not really getting into full on WTF PEOPLE!?! mode. Well, you're in luck this week. Here's my praises and multiple gripes on the state of the gameshow. 

Like I said, I love gameshows. They're highly addictive for the most part and it shows my prowess on how better I could be on a show versus the actual contestants (producers of Jeopardy!, listen up here). That and I'm a trivia junkie, full of useless knowledge. Well, some people might call it full of shit, but I'm calling it useless knowledge. And in that layout I would lay waste to any opposition in a game of logic, wits, lyrical prose, and general knowledge. There's just seem to be a very satisfying feeling to know that you're first to know something before your opponents. And shows like Jeopardy, Millionaire, and other incarnations of the such are my heroin. Hell, catch me at a bar during trivia night and I become the drunken master of the quiz bowl. 

But that's enough bragging about me (for now), there's always seem to be for every yin there's a yang. And for every shining star, they're a black hole of talent that somehow make it past auditions to the actual show. These people are the reasons Stupid Game Show Answers exist. These void of answers and skill I understand that maybe the producers selected to amuse the viewership, and for the most part they do. It jus that it pisses me off on how the hell do someone lacking so much common sense make it to the show and not me. Granted I don't apply for shows like Family Feud or Lingo and I don't make it a regular habit go be in the audience of The Price is Right, but for some dumbasses it seem all too easy. Just answer me this producers, why?!? Why the hell these people?!? I mean outside of viral videos on YouTube and the honorable (if you want to call it such) mention at the before-mentioned link wouldn't you avoid such calamity. It irks me to no end. 

So we'd discussed the good so far with my obsession over trivia and other useless facts; and we'd discussed the bad with the lack of cranial mass with dumbass contestants. Now we go on to the ugly. The commercials. Now I know that without commercials there would be no television shows free to watch on network television or our cable and satellite bills would be out-friggin-ragous in the bad sense of the term. But what the hell is it with almost every commercial about diabetes and term life insurance. The only time I really want to see Alex Trebek outside of Jeopardy! is on SNL, not about pennies a day insurance that I'm 20 years too young to participate for. I understand demographic and all but look at The Price is Right. The general commercials is about Depends, Metamucial, and the lady that fallen and can't get up. Now look at the contestants, young college students with a Happy Gilmore complex, Jarheads from Camp Pendelton, a Latino from East L.A., and the occasional Canadian. Now, does that sounds like anyone that those products are for. Well, maybe the Canadian (and I probably just pissed off some people with that one). But really, know your friggin audience. Know who are viewing and adjust is all I ask. That's not to say make every other commercial sponsored by onlinebootycall.com but to cater to something a little more pre-premenopausal. 

And that's it for now. Stay tuned for more exciting rants and the fabulous showcase, coming up on the second half of GAMESHOW MONTH!!! (Queue Price is Right theme music and the lovely ladies).

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

WTF PEOPLE!?! Gameshows

Back to some of my vices that I just can't seem to shake. And this particular vice is so massive that one post isn't gonna cut it. This is GAMESHOW MONTH in full effect people. So sit back and let the over-obsessive ranting begin!!!

What is it about gameshows that draws our attention to them. How have we as a well cultured society even fathom having so many of them that we have a television network solely dedicated to it. (Then again we also have networks dedicated to soap operas, chick flicks, cartoons, food, as well as multiple networks for news, sports, and porn. But that's another discussion). Are we really that addicted to the idiot box for these things. Simple answer is yes, and here's my stance on them. 

Now just before we continue down this rabbit hole, I just want to say that I don't have anything against gameshows. I find them pretty damn entertaining. Some of my earliest memories is me watching The Price is Right with my babysitter while my parents were at work. Of course I was two years old then and very impressionable, so you could say that I started young. It was fascinating for me because of all the bright lights, loud noises, and all those flashy new prizes just begging to be won. It was like winning the lottery and scoring big in the casino all rolled into one because it was filmed for a national audience. But as I matured, so did gameshows, as well as my taste for them. 

From what I classify there are 3 types of gameshows. The quiz show, the showcase, and the cause and effect genres. Each one unique in it's delivery and all resulting to a win/lose outcome. The simplest of the three to go over is the quiz show. It's pure knowledge and logic based and it could range from general knowledge to wordsmithing to even specialized topics like pop culture and the like. A perfect example of this (and my personal favorite in this category) is Jeopardy! It a game of wits, smarts, and not just any Joe Schmoe can be a contender (anyone can be a contestant). You have to have logic enough to outsmart a computer and thumbs so blistered you'll make hardcore gamers envious. Others try to imitate it's formula for success like Lingo, Trivial Persuit, and even to go as far out as Who Wants to be a Millionaire. But hardly able to duplicate it's potential. Granted Jeopardy! wasn't the first quiz show made, others even stood ground for a while. But when you have self made celebrities like Ken Jennings that pretty much showed the common man that with a little effort and a lot of know how, the skies the limit. 

Now for a more humbling effort for a gameshow, the cause and effect type. This one rely more on what human reaction and interaction in the making of the outcome of the game. This is more present in games that either involve physical endurance such as Wipeout, Destroy Build Destroy, or Fear Factor; and those games that require partnership with a second person or a team like Lingo, Family Feud, or Win, Lose, or Draw. Both subtypes have similar variables such as it is unpredictable on what might happen outside of what is mandated in their rules and regulations. The excitement aspect of this genre is also it's downside, the reaction of their contestants in the constraints of the game rules. It works for some where in the case of Fear Factor where to win $50,000 you have to do stunts or eat exotic insects in a trial to be the last man standing. But on the flip side such as being partnered up with an illiterate dumbass that can't spell a five-letter word to save their live as is the case of Lingo or some wild off-the-wall answer you would get from (even worse) a family member like on Family Feud. Either way, it makes for great entertainment for the most part and draws the most people to it versus any other genre of gaming; contestant or viewer. 

And now we look into the showcase gameshow. It's pure and simple. Compete in individualized tests of knowledge or skill to win instead of cash, prizes; such as trips, appliances, or even vehicles. The most well known of gameshow that this references is The Price is Right; but it's not alone with the likes of Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, Pyramid, and Family Game Night. They're all follow the same formula of compete for a chance to win big or go home. Once again a proven system and able to withstand the test of time given the right timeslot and network. But that's the fate of any gameshow. 

So that's my synopsis of gameshows in general. Tune in next week for a further look into gameshows and the commercials that are so damn awkward and yet so definitive to them. Happy Gameshow Month!

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

P.S. Shotout to my friend Rob Mancini who works as a producer for Destroy Build Destroy, great job bro...

All of Live's Best Laid Plans

I sometime don't know what stuff I try to get myself into at times. I try to start up something (this blog for instance,) and when other things in life takes priority or if there is a sudden change of lifestyle, crap starts to hit the fan.

During the past few months I've been trying to do other things on the side. And when I mean on the side, I mean other stuff outside of my family, work, and this blog. One of which was another project with a friend of mine to review all things that makes us tick. We were going to put on a weekly commentary on weird shit from the Generation-X one off made for TV movie to the correlation of all the different gameshows that are on air or previously were. Needless to say, it's still haven't made the light of day and I still want to try it sometime. The thing is I have no time. Literally the way we have our schedules are so out of wack it's not even funny. It sucks, because I really thought that it would take off on the shear originality and randomnisity of it all. But alas, I suppose it was just never meant to be.

Another thing that came to my attention in recent weeks is that I was 'invited' to be part of a band that some of my co-workers wanted my talents for. They found out I've played bass (albeit I no longer have them) and they were in need of a bassist. I know, I know, that would've been sweet, but how are you gonna play without a bass. Two kickers here people. Number one, they had a bass for me to play and were willing to let me use it while playing. Number two, we have the same days off and the lieu of a schedule mishap was throw out of the window. The only problem is, there's no communication on when the practice is so for the past three weeks, there hasn't been jack on any practice time so yet another thing thrown out the window.

I mean, c'mon man... I just don't get it. It's hard enough to try to keep up with this (and trust me I am going to try to keep up on this more,) but to add on more crap to the picture?!? It's just insanity in my picture.

So this is my rant on some of the things (not all of them) that what I've been trying to do beyond all the other things I'm already doing, and the lack of time and/or communication on trying to get it done. The burden of trying to spread myself too thin. Don't get me wrong I'm great at multitasking, but when it requires a near act of God to try to get things moving... It's pretty damn hard. Yeah, why couldn't I've just said that in the beginning and it would've saved me some time and headache: 'it's pretty damn hard.'

Simplicity is bliss...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...