Good Game
Encyclopedia
Good Game is an Australian video gaming talk show television programme created by Janet Carr and Jeremy Ray currently on ABC2
. It premiered on ABC
on 19 September 2006. The programme, currently hosted by Steven O'Donnell
("Bajo") and Stephanie Bendixsen
("Hex"), presents gaming reviews and news.
On December 4, 2010, the ABC renewed the series for a seventh season for 2011.
Review segments presented by the two hosts usually placed throughout the show. Each review was primarily conducted by one of the hosts, with the other not required to play the game. In more recent series, both of the hosts equally present the review. Each time a current game is discussed while footage is shown to the viewers. At the end a rubber chicken rating (a number out of 10) is given to the game. So far only Super Mario Bros.
, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
, Portal 2
and Batman: Arkham City have been given a 10/10 rubber chicken rating by both of the hosts. In contrast, the lowest rated games reviewed so far are Naughty Bear
which was given 1.5 rubber chickens by O'Donnell and a 1 by Bendixsen. The other game was Muscle March
which was given a 1 rubber chicken rating by O'Donnell and a 0 rubber chicken rating by Bendixsen and ET for the Atari 2600
, which was given a 1 and 0 rubber chicken rating by O'Donnell and Ray respectively.
In 2009, Good game also picked up a "Lizzie", for "Best Video Production", while Jeremy Ray
was highly commended in the Best Gaming Journalist category, and nominated in the Best Reviewer category.
The Good Game Forum is the largest ABC television forum with 11217 contibuters, 171 topics and 345,024 messages. Similar is their facebook page group with a steadily growing number of members.
In 2011, Good Game picked up a "Lizzie", for "Best Video Program".
Ray claimed the dismissal was because "they wanted a girl on the show", and stated that "mass appeal" was a direct quote from that meeting. However fellow co-creator Janet Carr of the show replied back on that statement saying "Regardless of what Jung might say GG will NOT be dumbed down and I state again, the decision was nothing to do with bringing in a girl… I'm a girl and I started this show - I don’t care about the gender of the presenters - I just care about having the best people working on it,". The network first claimed Jeremy would stay behind the scenes in a writing capacity, then stated he would not be working on the show due to holiday travel plans that conflicted with the show's schedule. It then made the statement: "The reason for replacing Jeremy Ray was ongoing behind the scenes performance based issues."
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
. It premiered on ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
on 19 September 2006. The programme, currently hosted by Steven O'Donnell
Steven O'Donnell (actor, presenter)
Steven O'Donnell is a New Zealand-born naturalised, Australian television presenter and actor. He is best known as "Bajo", one of the presenters of the ABC video game review program Good Game...
("Bajo") and Stephanie Bendixsen
Stephanie Bendixsen
Stephanie Bendixsen is an Australian television presenter. She is best known as one of the presenters of the video game review show Good Game where she goes by the nickname "Hex".-Early life:Stephanie was born in Sydney, Australia...
("Hex"), presents gaming reviews and news.
On December 4, 2010, the ABC renewed the series for a seventh season for 2011.
Current co-hosts
- Steven O'DonnellSteven O'Donnell (actor, presenter)Steven O'Donnell is a New Zealand-born naturalised, Australian television presenter and actor. He is best known as "Bajo", one of the presenters of the ABC video game review program Good Game...
"Bajo" (Series 2–present): following the resignation of Mike Makowski, auditions were held to find a replacement host for series 2. On 9 March 2007, it was announced that he would be the new co-host.
- Stephanie BendixsenStephanie BendixsenStephanie Bendixsen is an Australian television presenter. She is best known as one of the presenters of the video game review show Good Game where she goes by the nickname "Hex".-Early life:Stephanie was born in Sydney, Australia...
"Hex" (Series 5–present): The new host of Good Game as of 26 October 2009. Bendixsen had also auditioned for ABC3, but won the role on Good Game replacing Ray in October 2009.
Former co-hosts
- Jeremy RayJeremy RayJeremy Ray is an Australian television presenter and video game reviewer. He is best known by his nickname "Junglist", and for co-creating and presenting Good Game.-Early life:...
"Junglist" (Series 1–5): Was the co-creator of Good Game and co-hosted the show from 19 September 2006 to 19 October 2009 until he was controversially fired.
- Michael MakowskiMichael MakowskiMichael Makowski is a former Australian television presenter and video game reviewer. He is best known by his nickname "Kapowski" which he uses since his time presenting for Good Game.-Early career:...
"Kapowski" (Series 1): Was the inaugural co-host of the show. On 14 February 2007, he announced his resignation from the Good Game team. This was announced on the programme's online forum. He returned for an interview for the 100th episode on 24 August 2009.
Former supporting hosts
- P_Nutz (Series 1): P_Nutz was a yellow puppet introduced during Good Game
' s pilot episode in May 2006. Although it acted as a fourth presenter throughout the first series, it drew a lot of criticism and debate from viewers. Some were of the view that P_Nutz was not suitable for the programme as it seemed to be aimed at children. Some likened it to a monkey modeled on Agro of Agro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon Connection was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1989 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn...
. Some believed P_Nutz's presence would prevent the show from being taken seriously, and others were simply annoyed by its presence. A poll was conducted on the official Good Game website regarding the appropriateness of P_Nutz in the programme. The results proved that P_Nutz was inappropriate, and it was decided that he should die while defusing a bomb in the popular online game Counter Strike. A Flash animation was made by community member "RubberRoss" (Ross O'Donovan, better known as RubberNinja by the NewgroundsNewgroundsNewgrounds is an American entertainment and social media website. Founded on July 6, 1995 by Tom Fulp, the site primarily hosts Adobe Flash animations and games, but also features a music-oriented page, along with an art portal...
community) and was aired in the final episode of series one. He has still remained on the show as a running gag, such as in the reviews of Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' TreasureZack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' TreasureZack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, known as in Japan, is an adventure/puzzle video game published and developed by Capcom for the Wii video game console. It was first released in North America on October 23, 2007, and was later released in Japan, PAL regions, and as one of eight Wii launch...
, Killing FloorKilling Floor (2009 video game)Killing Floor is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. It was first released on May 14, 2009, for Microsoft Windows, and for Mac OS X on May 5, 2010.-Gameplay:...
and Ghostbusters: The Video GameGhostbusters: The Video GameGhostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 cross-platform action game based on the Ghostbusters film franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions, and Zen Studios...
.
- Miles TulettMiles TulettMiles Tulett is a former Australian television personality. He was a supporting host for the video gaming talk show program Good Game where he went by the nickname "Dr Daneel".-Good Game:...
"Dr. Daneel" (Series 1–2): Dr. Daneel had computer segments on Good Game. He left the show to pursue his studies at university and because he felt that his segment was no longer hardware-oriented. He returned for an interview for the 100th episode on 24 August 2009.
- Matthew Lee "Aiyiah" (Series 2): Aiyiah ran the So You Think You Can Game segment on Good Game. As of series 3, he is now a researcher for the team.
- Sheridan Leanda "Lux"(Series 3): Had segments on Good Game such as cyber bullying & Girls in Gaming.
- Tracey Lien "Rei" (Series 5, 6): She was first introduced in Series 5, Episode 3 as the show's field reporter. She was already a practicing journalist and games writer prior to taking up the role of field reporter, and currently contributes stories on gaming culture to the show. On the 2009 Christmas special, she announced she'd be leaving to France to further her studies. Her role was passed down to Ajax in 2010. She returned to do reports from European countries such as Gamescom 2010 in CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. She was also seen during Series 7, Episode 20 in the E3 special.
- Jackson Gothe-Snape "Ajax" (Series 6): A field reporter introduced for the sixth season.
Guest hosts
- Andrew HansenAndrew HansenAndrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
"Bindi" (Series 6): Guest hosted on 21 June 2010 in Series 6, Episode 19 and on 14 June 2011 in Series 7, Episode 19. He replaced Bajo as he was at E3 2010 and Hex as she was at E3 2011. He originally guest appeared on 6 October 2008 in Series 4, Episode 25.
All series
- Gamer News: A segment presented at the start of each episode on gaming news. The section focuses on game announcements, major updates and patches as well as developer and publisher actions.
- Name the game: Retro gameRetrogamingRetrogaming, also known as old-school gaming, is the hobby of playing and collecting older computer, video, and arcade games. These games are played either on the original hardware, on modern hardware via emulation, or on modern hardware via ports or compilations...
trivia segment. A clip of a retro game is shown to the viewers with the challenge of naming the game. Each game is named at the end of the show. - Reviews:
Review segments presented by the two hosts usually placed throughout the show. Each review was primarily conducted by one of the hosts, with the other not required to play the game. In more recent series, both of the hosts equally present the review. Each time a current game is discussed while footage is shown to the viewers. At the end a rubber chicken rating (a number out of 10) is given to the game. So far only Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
, Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
and Batman: Arkham City have been given a 10/10 rubber chicken rating by both of the hosts. In contrast, the lowest rated games reviewed so far are Naughty Bear
Naughty Bear
Naughty Bear is a video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles as well as for iOS devices. Players control the eponymous bear as they use various things to earn "Naughty Points", with extra points being given for random missions....
which was given 1.5 rubber chickens by O'Donnell and a 1 by Bendixsen. The other game was Muscle March
Muscle March
is a video game by Namco Bandai Games for WiiWare. It was released in Japan on May 26, 2009, in North America on January 18, 2010 and the PAL region on March 19, 2010.-Gameplay:...
which was given a 1 rubber chicken rating by O'Donnell and a 0 rubber chicken rating by Bendixsen and ET for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, which was given a 1 and 0 rubber chicken rating by O'Donnell and Ray respectively.
- Industry Interviews: Interviews with people related to the game industry.
- Roffle Cup: A multiplayer match of a specific game (past cups have featured Counter-StrikeCounter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Age of Empires and even Wii BowlingWii Sportsis a sports game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console , and part of the Touch! Generations. The game was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month...
) with commentary usually done by commentators from gaming SHOUTcastSHOUTcastSHOUTcast is cross-platform proprietary software for streaming media over the Internet. The software, developed by Nullsoft , allows digital audio content, primarily in MP3 or HE-AAC format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of Internet radio "stations"...
organisation GamestahGamestahGamestah, also referred to as Gamestah Radio, is an Australian shoutcasting and media organisation, best known for their role as the commentators of the 'Roffle Cup' segment of the Australian gaming television show, Good Game. They have also covered many large electronic sports events such as...
. - Backwards Compatible: Starting in Series 4, it goes over the best and worst of gaming history, and how this has helped shape the future of gaming. This segment was preceded by Series 3's Evolution of a Genre
Cross series
- Gamer Tonight: A fictional flash animated talk show starring Richard Farkas from the "Win the Beast" entry "The Pitch". It interviews a different genre of gamer each episode. Six episodes aired in Season 2 with another eight aired in Season 4. Outside of Good Game, a live action episode was released in July 2008 whilst a special episode was made for Machinima.comMachinima.comMachinima.com is a gaming and media streaming website, that aims to be a hub for machinima, the art of creating animated videos in real-time virtual 3-D environments. The site features machinima-related articles, and news. Machinima productions can be submitted for possible redistribution after...
in December 2010. The show was created and animated by Ross "Rubber Ninja" O'Donovan, who came to this position after years of animation experience on online sources such as NewgroundsNewgroundsNewgrounds is an American entertainment and social media website. Founded on July 6, 1995 by Tom Fulp, the site primarily hosts Adobe Flash animations and games, but also features a music-oriented page, along with an art portal...
, and features the voice talents of Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson, Faye Mata and Kira BucklandKira BucklandKira Buckland is an American voice actress.Kira graduated from University of Alaska, Anchorage, majoring in Japanese. Since winning the Anime Expo 2007 AX Idol Voice Acting competition Buckland has been working professionally with Bang Zoom! Entertainment...
. - Ask Good Game: A segment where Good Game are asked questions from the Good Game community. First seen from Series Five.
- Pile of Shame: This segment interviews game developers asking what games haven't they completed. First seen from Series Six.
Series 1 (2006)
- The Team – Machinima: An Australian machinimaMachinimaMachinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
video segment was shown each episode. This was highly criticized by fans on the forums. In series 2 this was replaced by Gamer Tonight. - Build a Machine: In each episode of series 1, Dr Daneel looked each aspect of a computer, showing what parts to choose and how to install them among other things. This was tied in with the competition to win a computer that ran through the series.
Series 2 (2007)
- MeatSpace: A Lego stop pause animation created by community member Blunty (Nate Burr). It revolves around two friends and their gaming related incidents.
- Ask the Doc: A new segment in series 2 to replace the Build a Computer segment, Daneel helps people who have a fairly common technical computer problem. However, he also looked at how the Wii sensor bar works.
- Ultimate Showdown: A 'best of' style segment related to games. The segment looks at specific features of games such as the boss fights and opening sequences, and asks forum members to post their opinions on which game has the best one (e.g., which game has the best boss). The thoughts of the forum members are then mentioned while showing footage of the games.
- So you think you can game?: Segment presented by Aiyiah based on hints and tips for specific games. At the end he also gives a challenge for the featured game.
Series 3 (2007)
- Quarter Circle + A: A series of primarily animated video game parodies created by Rob Moffett and Benjamin Baker. Replacing Gamer Tonight and MeatSpace, The show's presentation is varied each week with formats ranging from machinimaMachinimaMachinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
, fictional in-game footage, satirical video game reviews to lampooning 1950 educational filmEducational filmAn educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
s.
Series 4 (2008)
- Good Game "Game": Was a competition for series 4. Viewers were asked to give suggestions and ideas for a playable game prototype. It was be developed by the Australian Film CommissionAustralian Film CommissionThe Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
and ABC TV. The game is called Office Wars. The prototype of Office Wars is available on the Good Game website. - A Cartridge Affair: A parody of the show A Current Affair, this segment is a humorous news spin-off about a different game subject each week.
- Fatal Rage of Conflict: This segment is an animation set in a 2D side-scrolling fighting game.
Series 5 (2009)
- WTF? (What Were They Thinking?): This segment talks about one game where either O’Donnell or Ray criticize a game and question why that game was made in the first place.
- Good Game "Serious Game": With the Good Game game, Office Wars released, O’Donnell and Ray announced on episode 4 of series 5 that a serious gameSerious gameA serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
(a game designed for a purpose rather than amusement) would be developed. The game is in its early pre-development stages. - Great Gaming Moments: This segment displays a moment in a particular game where something happens that is dubbed as 'classic' or a moment that has been long-awaited.
Series 6 (2010)
- 5-Up: This segment counts down the top five gaming related subjects, for example, top five weapons or RTS strategies.
Series 7 (2011)
- The Game Dev. Story: This segment looks at a short history over a particular game developer that produces well known games.
- Fanboys vs Haters: This segment involves debating over a particular game or series. O'Donnell and Bendixsen each play the role of a fanboy and a hater showing what those people's views are about the game. After the show, an online poll is created for viewers to vote whether they are a fanboy, hater or niether, and the best forum posts and video responses are discussed in a later episode.
- Deep Space Discs: Interviews game developers asking what three games they would take with them if they were to go on a deep space adventure.
- My First Love: Interviews game developers asking what was the first game they fell in love with.
Awards
At the 2008 IT Journalism awards Good Game was awarded with a "Lizzie" for Best Multimedia Coverage of 2007 and also the biggest award of the night, the Gold "Lizzie" for Best Title of 2007. Special mention was made that Good Game won the Gold "Lizzie" by the most votes in the awards history. Good Game was also commended in the Best Gaming Title of 2007 category and Good Game's researcher Maurice Branscombe was also highly commended in the Best Gaming Journalist of 2007 category.In 2009, Good game also picked up a "Lizzie", for "Best Video Production", while Jeremy Ray
Jeremy Ray
Jeremy Ray is an Australian television presenter and video game reviewer. He is best known by his nickname "Junglist", and for co-creating and presenting Good Game.-Early life:...
was highly commended in the Best Gaming Journalist category, and nominated in the Best Reviewer category.
The Good Game Forum is the largest ABC television forum with 11217 contibuters, 171 topics and 345,024 messages. Similar is their facebook page group with a steadily growing number of members.
In 2011, Good Game picked up a "Lizzie", for "Best Video Program".
Controversy
In 2009, the ABC decided to run auditions for new hosts on ABC 3. Stephanie "Hex" Bendixsen was announced with other hosts for ABC 3, and was thought to be hosting Good Game: Spawn Point. However it was revealed on the show's official forum that Bendixsen would in fact be replacing existing host Jeremy Ray entirely on both the original and new programme.Ray claimed the dismissal was because "they wanted a girl on the show", and stated that "mass appeal" was a direct quote from that meeting. However fellow co-creator Janet Carr of the show replied back on that statement saying "Regardless of what Jung might say GG will NOT be dumbed down and I state again, the decision was nothing to do with bringing in a girl… I'm a girl and I started this show - I don’t care about the gender of the presenters - I just care about having the best people working on it,". The network first claimed Jeremy would stay behind the scenes in a writing capacity, then stated he would not be working on the show due to holiday travel plans that conflicted with the show's schedule. It then made the statement: "The reason for replacing Jeremy Ray was ongoing behind the scenes performance based issues."