NINJAMAGEDDON: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH!

PLEASE NOTE: This is all coming together fairly quickly, so do not be surprised if these details change.

Episode 60: NINJAMAGEDDON (aka "The Mailbag Show") is all about acknowledging OverThinker fans, and as part of that "thanks guys" we've elected to dramatically shorten (for this episode only) the now-customary one-week "split" between when Advantage users and everyone else gets to see it.

Instead, NINJAMAGEDDON will debut for all audiences tomorrow - Monday, November 14th - at 11pm EST (10pm CST) - on ScrewAttack.com; while Advantage users will have the opportunity of seeing it 24 hours ahead of time tonight at the same 11pm EST time-frame.


I'm really happy with how this one came together. Compared to "War of The Thinkers," this (the story/sketch part) has fewer FX and setups - it's basically a single extended 3-way fight scene - but it has a more cohesive running aesthetic i.e. replicating "gonzo" low-budget kung-fu movies and Japanese Tokusatsu series... though the end result ultimately owes more to the notoriously silly 80s ninja movies of Godfrey Ho. Here's some clips of his film "Ninja Fantasy," to give you some idea of what you're in for:





But that, of course, is just the garnishes. The REAL point of this episode - the important part - is the collection of great questions offered by fans and viewers. I got hundreds of questions, and tried to pick a solid mix funny ones, show-related ones, gaming ones, positives and negatives. In total, about 20 questions made the final cut. Is your's one of them? Tune in and find out Monday, November 14th at 11pm EST.

MAILBAG Entries CLOSED

It's 11/12, which means the Mailbag submissions are now closed. With luck, I'm hoping to have the episode ready for air sometime this coming week, hopefully before the weekend. Stay tuned.

NINJAMAGEDDON

As you may have inferred from the banner, Episode 60 - aka "The Mailbag Show" - now has a title. More news including airdates and schedules coming soon, and remember to ask you question 3 posts down BEFORE the 12th (this Saturday) if you want it to be considered for the episode.

Has The First Truly Great Video Game Movie Been Made?

Below, the trailer for "Gyakuten Saiban" - known to Western gamers as "Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney" - directed by the legendary Takeshi Miike...



I've said it for years: Adapt the games that have their own wholly unique aesthetic and put it in the hands of filmmakers who "get it." If I'm to be proven right, all the better that it be by Miike.

EPISODE 59: "Bat-Slap" (UPDATED!)

11/08/11 UPDATE: URL of video has changed, links and embeds updated accordingly. If you've tweeted this page before, please consider doing so again for the newness.

Episode 59, which was inspired by the Film Critic Hulk/Arkham City blowup but heads off into MUCH bigger territory than just that one incident, is now available to be viewed by ALL audiences HERE. (embedded after the jump)



REMINDER! The "special topic" for Episode 60 referred to at the end there is the "Mailbag," so go HERE or HERE and ask your question if you haven't already - asking will close on November 12th!

MAILBAG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Game OverThinker: Episode 60 is now in production. Fans and viewers already know that this episode will feature the the big battle between OverThinker, CryoThinker and PyroThinker; but the important part - the topic - hasn't been revealed until now:

It's MAILBAG time!



I'll be answering questions from YOU in the episode! Here's how to submit one: Just post it in the comments section of this blog (or the comments section of where you see the accompanying video) and there you go! Not every question will get in, obviously, but I'll try to get as many of the best/funniest/most-interesting/etc. to fit as I can. (I'll be doing the picking because, y'know, my show and all...)

NOVEMBER 12th is the deadline, so get them posted before that. ALSO: No anonymous questions will be accepted, no matter how good. Even if you're posting as "anonymous," put something you'd want to be called by (doesn't have to be your real name) in the question if you want to ensure it gets considered.

While no topic (within reason) is "off the table," here's some suggestions to make your question more likely to be considered:

BE INTERESTING - lets try to avoid "what is your favorite...," "have you played...," etc. After all, we could be cutting away to your question from a wacky ninja fight-scene, so it should probably be worth cutting away for :)

BE SPECIFIC - we want lots of questions to have room, so very general queries requiring very long answers ("could you give thoughts on a whole genre/series/etc?") are probably not making the cut. Also - keep it short and to the point, only the relevant text of the question will be repeated/read on the episode itself and may be summarized.

BE ON-TOPIC - video game questions, questions about the making of the show, etc. are going to get preference over "what do you think of this or that show/book/sport/etc?" Politics and culture questions should relate back to gaming or the show in some form.

DON'T TROLL - if there's something you dislike about me, the show, a prior episode, etc I WANT you to ask about it here and I will NOT reject a question because it is in some way a negative critique. Obvious trolling, however, will not make the cut; nor will questions designed to be read as "attacks" on certain people, persons, companies, developers, other web hosts etc. Oh, and this should go without saying, but this is not the place or time for "tell me what you think of MY show/game/product/blog/etc."

I'm genuinely eager to see what you guys come up with. Good luck!

EPISODE 59 now viewable for ADVANTAGE subscribers (UPDATED!)

UPDATE: Okay, now that I'm no longer posting this in-between reel changes at an all-night film festival...

EPISODE 59, "Bat-Slap," will debute wide NEXT Saturday November 5th at 11pm EST; but ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look as of now RIGHT HERE.

Just to clarify, as I'm seeing some misunderstanding circulating about this one: It's NOT a review of the game (I really, really like the game so far - though I wish more of the missions/challenges weren't essentially "follow the Bat-GPS to [blank]"), nor is it a follow-up to the previous episode (re: this has NOTHING to do with "Other M," Japan, etc.)

In fact, it's primarily about the way online gaming culture reacts to criticism and/or negative observations about the medium (re: like a bunch of infants, too much of the time) with the Arkham City mini-blowup as a jumping-off point. In this respect, it's more of a "sequel" to 'Supreme Responsibility' than anything else.