(First of all, apologies if this is in the wrong section, but we were talking about #vidgames in another thread and I decided to write a big #vidgames love fest post.)
#vidgames: the IRC channel that spawned a nation (well, almost)
#vidgames is an IRC channel started in the mid-'90s by Marty Chinn and friends. You might know Marty from GAF. It was allegedly an offshoot of an anime IRC channel that had started previously. It was designed for video game fans to talk about, well, any viodeo game related stuff. Any system, any genre, any time period.
#vidgames at its peak would have over 100 members on at once, which might not sound like a lot these days, but 10 years ago was a big deal. These people would be on at least a few hours each day, every day of the year. Thanks to the international nature of the channel, it ran at an even capacity 24 hours a day.
I found #vidgames through someone I met on a FIDOnet BBS, and immediately took to it like a Japanese Xbox fan clinging to false hope. I camped out there, learned all I could and even set up a FAQ. Ten years later and here we are.
What made #vidgames special?
It would not be an understatement to say that for many members, #vidgames was family. The core roster of members would evolve and grow with each year, and meetups were commonplace. In the channel, friendships were formed, and even a few relationships sprang out of the channel. We came together at things like E3 and TGS to celebrate the fun times, and even to mourn the death of one of our own. (I never did get around to pouring a 40 ounce in the Konami booth at E3, sorry DarkFact)
Of course, its major draw was its coverage of video games, which was second to none in terms of accuracy and speed. Imagine GAF as an IRC channel, and then double the amount of useful information and halve the trolling and stupid bullshit. Being able to talk to gamers from all around the world and get the hot scoop bout the latest games and news in real time was revolutionary back then, it being the dawn of the mass-market internet and all.
For me in the mid to late '90s, #vidgames was the only place in the world that I could truly call home. It was my foundation, as lame as that sounds, that housed me from all the other stupid shit that was going on. Bad girlfriends, impossible career path, no money...but I always knew I could go on and be in safe quarters. For that I'll always regard #vidgames folk as my brothers and sisters.
#vidgames culture
Like any clique, #vidgames developed its own culture. Check out a long out of use #vidgames home page (we could never decide on where to house one) for some choice quotes.
This is "Pulp #vidgames". a parody script of Pulp Fiction starring some then popular #vidgames characters.
Here's a copy of #vidgames chat transcript on 9/11. Kinda weird.
#vidgames was even thanked in the credits for Testrisphere on the N64.
I'm sure there's plenty more. Guys, help!
Children of #vidgames
It wouldn't be unfair to say that #vidgames was either directly or indirectly for many gaming industry "things" being created. The two big ones back in the day was the creation of gaming-age.com by Sam_K, DaveT, Gergle and Darknight (and others, I just cant recall right now). GA was one of the first "pro-am" gaming sites out there, and is still a major force today.
A LOT of #vidgames people went on to work for Ziff Davis in some capacity, either for their online division (now known as gamespot, back then videogames.com) or their print side (primarily EGM or Pocket Games). It was a running joke back then than #vidgames was a talent recruitment pool for these organisations.
These two forces combined in a way with the creation of Ziff Davis' 1up.com, which features many gaming-age.com / Ziff Davis staff who started in #vidgames.
GAF in many ways is a spiritual successor to #vidgames, with very similar moderation and content policies, not to mention the place is CRAWLING with #vidgames members.
I know without #vidgames I would never have gotten into the industry at all. Being able to break into the American market was a huge breakthrough for me. Thanks, guys.
Death of #vidgames
A combination of many factors resulted in the eventual demise of the channel. The big two were continual server dramas, since the channel's popularity quickly outstripped any bandwidth than ISPs of the day could give away. At one point we changed serves three times within the space of a month, and many people got left behind as they weren't notifed of the new address. The other factor is that most of us grew up, got jobs, and moved on with our lives
#vidgames today
Today, #vidgames is a ghost town. A few people still lurk there, but by and large it's just a reminder of days gone by. If you want to stop by, it's on irc.enterthegame.com.
There's also a #vidgames "club" on 1up: http://vidgames-club.1up.com
Notable #vidgames alumini:
Some people attribute the way many members of #vidgames went on to work in the games industry as an example of fraternisation, but that's missing the point. It's definitely true that part of the power of #vidgames was that it was one of the earliest (and most powerful) online social networks in the games industry. However, the simple fact that these people were able to FIND #vidgames meant that they were already passionate enough about working in the business to stand a better chance than most of actually getting in.
So with that being said, let's take a look at where some #vidgames people who are still working in the industry are today. Some of them have pictures from way back when.
(Apologies to those I left out or got wrong, I'm doing all this from vague memory. I left out names where I thought they wouldn't want them known or I was unsure)
Marty "Darknight" Chinn: Went on to help found gaming-age.com. Currently a programmer at Electronic Arts, working on a game that he better not **** up.
John "Madoushi" Ricciardi: Went on to be a reviewer at Intelligent Gamer and then EGM, before moving onto Gamers.com and conning a free flight to Japan out of them. Now running 8-4, a video game translation company in Japan. Also EGM's International Editor.
David "DavidA" Amor: Was working at Bullfrog when he joined #vidgames, and nowdays he's the man in charge of the Buzz series of PS2 games.
Sam "Sam_K" Kennedy: Another founding father of gaming-age.com, and now the man in charge of the 1up network. Still the best dressed man in San Fransisco.
PeteB: Worked at Intelligent Gamer, before becoming one of GameSpot's most prolific reviewers. Then dove into game development, making a Lizzy Mcguire game amongst other things. He's currently working on two undisclosed projects due for release soon.
Frank "Mosaic" Provo: Went on to be one of the hardest working and prolific freelance game writers in the business today. Also one of the sexiest. Since the #vidgames days he's written for Hotgames, Gamespot, Pocket Games and God knows what else these days.
Ravi "Fowler" Hiranand: Now writing about video games and other techy stuff for CNN.
Rugalz: Now working at an undisclosed video game company, making more money than God.
Argyle: The C3PO to Rugalz' R2 (or is it the other way around?), he too is working at a secret vidEo gAme company.
Taco: Now working at Konami as one of their translators. Still one of the nicest guys in the biz.
Dave "DaveZ" Zdyrko: SAVE DAVE!!! Now he's working at 2K Sports, having previously worked on their NFL titles.
Brandon: Now also working at 2K Sports.
Sam "SamB" Bishop: Now working at http://www.totalplaystation.com and running an office of a Mexican gaming magazine "Atomix"
Kraig "Alert" Kujawa: Went on to work for Ziff Davis at EGM.
Craig "SuperPac" Johnson: Another #vidgames EGM recruit, now (I believe) writing at Newtype magazine.
Kevin "Fenegi" Gifford: Another Newtype writer, and rumoured ferret lover.
Dan "Shue" Hsu: Well, now he runs EGM, and extends the life of GAF threads a thousand fold whenever he posts.
Thomas "Riot" Puha: This man now runs the entire country of Finland, with a media empire of gaming and entertainment lifestyle magazines (Pelaaja being the main one) that I can't read for the life of me but DAMN do they look good. Just like him, really.
Justin "Axen" Keeling: Last seen running G4, as crazy as it seems.
Scott "CapScott" McCall: Disappeared off the planet after N64HQ closed down. But still, he made N64HQ and you didn't, so hey.
Brad "Rudds" Shoemaker: The owner of the world's seciest voice (seriously, you haven't lived until you've heard it), started working for GameSpot and...is still working for GameSpot. Bless him.
Dave "DaveT" Toole: Was one of the first wave of #vidgames people to work for "Uncle Ziff", back when Ziff was kinda sorta involved with GameSpot. Last seen working hard in GameSpot's video production department.
Andrew "Skip" Pfister: Part of the great 1up machine. He's the guy who you can hear screaming at the 1up Yours guys to get back on topic in the background. In other words, he's the producer.
James "Milkman" Mielke: My God, look at him! Oh, and besides being an internationally famous super model he writes for EGM.
Che "JSpaceman" Chou: Went on to be one of the most popular EGM crew members, before going to Gamers.com and then EGM again when the internet's PayPal account ran out. After that it was off to 1up, where he became a world famous member of the 1up Show. Now he's part of the Forza 2 team at Microsoft Game Studios.
Greg "Gergle" Sewart: Wrote for EGM for a while, then dabbled in game development (Robotech) and now back at EGM, when he isn't watching NASCAR or making obscure Canadian references.
Shane "Damnit I can't remember what his nick was" Bettenhausen: Yep, THAT Shane Bettenhausen. You all know what he does. He's a #vidgames original.
Christian "Ferricide" Nutt: Ferricide was one of the biggest drawcards in #vidgames. Himself especially and the people who brought in, that really made the channel special. The last time I bumped into him he was working at Official US Xbox Magazine.
Mark "Torgo" Macdonald: Another Ziff convert. He runs gamevideos.com now, yet another part of the 1up empire.
D_Saucer: One of the coolest people alive and a programmer at a really fine game development company.
Jeremy "Manabyte" Conrad: Yep, he's ours too.
Sarah "Stubbette" ???: You might know her better as one of the head honchos at Bizzare Creations.
Andrew "Andrew_V" Vestal: He's the guy who was responsible for those Penny Arcade comics that had the speech bubbles filled in by Japanese school children. Oh, he works on a MMO I hate with all my being. But I still love him!
Patrick "eXxy" Klepek: Lil' exxy joined #vidgames when he was, what, 13? And he still doesn't look a day older. Ziff Davis have owned his soul for the past 5 years and they're planning on making him King Poobah one day, I hear. #vidgames practically raised him from a pupai stage.
Peter "Browzer" Jfjlkasdjfalks: OK I could never spell his last name. Anyway he ran hotgames (which at one time had more traffic than gamespot, but nobody seems to remember that) and is now running vapormedia, one of the biggest fantasy sports companies around town.
Cameron "Gazunta" Davis somehow became a full time games journalist, writing for N64HQ, Gamespot, Pocket Games, IGN and then editing Hotgames before moving over to Gamers.com. After that he dived into the world of games development, eventually becoming Lead Designer at Krome Studios. He got to make a old school 2D platform game. Cool. His new game, The Legend Of Spyro: A New Beginning, is due to be ignored by reviewers any day now. Still does some game writing...;)
Conclusion
Um, that's all I got for now. This thread is just a way for #vidgames people to talk about the good times. If I'm missing any info or I got stuff wrong, please let me know. In a lot of ways I feel responsible for preserving #vidgames, at least in memory, so let's hear it!
So what's my point? This isn't really an exercise in dick waving (thanks Demi) - just weird to think that 10 years ago we were a bunch of kids and now a lot of us have managed to avoid being useless bums (for now at least, the reviews aren't in yet). Think of this as looking at your older brother's high school yearbook, and thhinking to yourself "these guys aren't that different from the dorks I hang out with all day on GAF. 10 years from now I could be a burnt out hack in this industry, too!"
#vidgames: the IRC channel that spawned a nation (well, almost)
#vidgames is an IRC channel started in the mid-'90s by Marty Chinn and friends. You might know Marty from GAF. It was allegedly an offshoot of an anime IRC channel that had started previously. It was designed for video game fans to talk about, well, any viodeo game related stuff. Any system, any genre, any time period.
#vidgames at its peak would have over 100 members on at once, which might not sound like a lot these days, but 10 years ago was a big deal. These people would be on at least a few hours each day, every day of the year. Thanks to the international nature of the channel, it ran at an even capacity 24 hours a day.
I found #vidgames through someone I met on a FIDOnet BBS, and immediately took to it like a Japanese Xbox fan clinging to false hope. I camped out there, learned all I could and even set up a FAQ. Ten years later and here we are.
What made #vidgames special?
It would not be an understatement to say that for many members, #vidgames was family. The core roster of members would evolve and grow with each year, and meetups were commonplace. In the channel, friendships were formed, and even a few relationships sprang out of the channel. We came together at things like E3 and TGS to celebrate the fun times, and even to mourn the death of one of our own. (I never did get around to pouring a 40 ounce in the Konami booth at E3, sorry DarkFact)
Of course, its major draw was its coverage of video games, which was second to none in terms of accuracy and speed. Imagine GAF as an IRC channel, and then double the amount of useful information and halve the trolling and stupid bullshit. Being able to talk to gamers from all around the world and get the hot scoop bout the latest games and news in real time was revolutionary back then, it being the dawn of the mass-market internet and all.
For me in the mid to late '90s, #vidgames was the only place in the world that I could truly call home. It was my foundation, as lame as that sounds, that housed me from all the other stupid shit that was going on. Bad girlfriends, impossible career path, no money...but I always knew I could go on and be in safe quarters. For that I'll always regard #vidgames folk as my brothers and sisters.
#vidgames culture
Like any clique, #vidgames developed its own culture. Check out a long out of use #vidgames home page (we could never decide on where to house one) for some choice quotes.
This is "Pulp #vidgames". a parody script of Pulp Fiction starring some then popular #vidgames characters.
Here's a copy of #vidgames chat transcript on 9/11. Kinda weird.
#vidgames was even thanked in the credits for Testrisphere on the N64.
I'm sure there's plenty more. Guys, help!
Children of #vidgames
It wouldn't be unfair to say that #vidgames was either directly or indirectly for many gaming industry "things" being created. The two big ones back in the day was the creation of gaming-age.com by Sam_K, DaveT, Gergle and Darknight (and others, I just cant recall right now). GA was one of the first "pro-am" gaming sites out there, and is still a major force today.
A LOT of #vidgames people went on to work for Ziff Davis in some capacity, either for their online division (now known as gamespot, back then videogames.com) or their print side (primarily EGM or Pocket Games). It was a running joke back then than #vidgames was a talent recruitment pool for these organisations.
These two forces combined in a way with the creation of Ziff Davis' 1up.com, which features many gaming-age.com / Ziff Davis staff who started in #vidgames.
GAF in many ways is a spiritual successor to #vidgames, with very similar moderation and content policies, not to mention the place is CRAWLING with #vidgames members.
I know without #vidgames I would never have gotten into the industry at all. Being able to break into the American market was a huge breakthrough for me. Thanks, guys.
Death of #vidgames
A combination of many factors resulted in the eventual demise of the channel. The big two were continual server dramas, since the channel's popularity quickly outstripped any bandwidth than ISPs of the day could give away. At one point we changed serves three times within the space of a month, and many people got left behind as they weren't notifed of the new address. The other factor is that most of us grew up, got jobs, and moved on with our lives
#vidgames today
Today, #vidgames is a ghost town. A few people still lurk there, but by and large it's just a reminder of days gone by. If you want to stop by, it's on irc.enterthegame.com.
There's also a #vidgames "club" on 1up: http://vidgames-club.1up.com
Notable #vidgames alumini:
Some people attribute the way many members of #vidgames went on to work in the games industry as an example of fraternisation, but that's missing the point. It's definitely true that part of the power of #vidgames was that it was one of the earliest (and most powerful) online social networks in the games industry. However, the simple fact that these people were able to FIND #vidgames meant that they were already passionate enough about working in the business to stand a better chance than most of actually getting in.
So with that being said, let's take a look at where some #vidgames people who are still working in the industry are today. Some of them have pictures from way back when.
(Apologies to those I left out or got wrong, I'm doing all this from vague memory. I left out names where I thought they wouldn't want them known or I was unsure)
Marty "Darknight" Chinn: Went on to help found gaming-age.com. Currently a programmer at Electronic Arts, working on a game that he better not **** up.
John "Madoushi" Ricciardi: Went on to be a reviewer at Intelligent Gamer and then EGM, before moving onto Gamers.com and conning a free flight to Japan out of them. Now running 8-4, a video game translation company in Japan. Also EGM's International Editor.
David "DavidA" Amor: Was working at Bullfrog when he joined #vidgames, and nowdays he's the man in charge of the Buzz series of PS2 games.
Sam "Sam_K" Kennedy: Another founding father of gaming-age.com, and now the man in charge of the 1up network. Still the best dressed man in San Fransisco.
PeteB: Worked at Intelligent Gamer, before becoming one of GameSpot's most prolific reviewers. Then dove into game development, making a Lizzy Mcguire game amongst other things. He's currently working on two undisclosed projects due for release soon.
Frank "Mosaic" Provo: Went on to be one of the hardest working and prolific freelance game writers in the business today. Also one of the sexiest. Since the #vidgames days he's written for Hotgames, Gamespot, Pocket Games and God knows what else these days.
Ravi "Fowler" Hiranand: Now writing about video games and other techy stuff for CNN.
Rugalz: Now working at an undisclosed video game company, making more money than God.
Argyle: The C3PO to Rugalz' R2 (or is it the other way around?), he too is working at a secret vidEo gAme company.
Taco: Now working at Konami as one of their translators. Still one of the nicest guys in the biz.
Dave "DaveZ" Zdyrko: SAVE DAVE!!! Now he's working at 2K Sports, having previously worked on their NFL titles.
Brandon: Now also working at 2K Sports.
Sam "SamB" Bishop: Now working at http://www.totalplaystation.com and running an office of a Mexican gaming magazine "Atomix"
Kraig "Alert" Kujawa: Went on to work for Ziff Davis at EGM.
Craig "SuperPac" Johnson: Another #vidgames EGM recruit, now (I believe) writing at Newtype magazine.
Kevin "Fenegi" Gifford: Another Newtype writer, and rumoured ferret lover.
Dan "Shue" Hsu: Well, now he runs EGM, and extends the life of GAF threads a thousand fold whenever he posts.
Thomas "Riot" Puha: This man now runs the entire country of Finland, with a media empire of gaming and entertainment lifestyle magazines (Pelaaja being the main one) that I can't read for the life of me but DAMN do they look good. Just like him, really.
Justin "Axen" Keeling: Last seen running G4, as crazy as it seems.
Scott "CapScott" McCall: Disappeared off the planet after N64HQ closed down. But still, he made N64HQ and you didn't, so hey.
Brad "Rudds" Shoemaker: The owner of the world's seciest voice (seriously, you haven't lived until you've heard it), started working for GameSpot and...is still working for GameSpot. Bless him.
Dave "DaveT" Toole: Was one of the first wave of #vidgames people to work for "Uncle Ziff", back when Ziff was kinda sorta involved with GameSpot. Last seen working hard in GameSpot's video production department.
Andrew "Skip" Pfister: Part of the great 1up machine. He's the guy who you can hear screaming at the 1up Yours guys to get back on topic in the background. In other words, he's the producer.
James "Milkman" Mielke: My God, look at him! Oh, and besides being an internationally famous super model he writes for EGM.
Che "JSpaceman" Chou: Went on to be one of the most popular EGM crew members, before going to Gamers.com and then EGM again when the internet's PayPal account ran out. After that it was off to 1up, where he became a world famous member of the 1up Show. Now he's part of the Forza 2 team at Microsoft Game Studios.
Greg "Gergle" Sewart: Wrote for EGM for a while, then dabbled in game development (Robotech) and now back at EGM, when he isn't watching NASCAR or making obscure Canadian references.
Shane "Damnit I can't remember what his nick was" Bettenhausen: Yep, THAT Shane Bettenhausen. You all know what he does. He's a #vidgames original.
Christian "Ferricide" Nutt: Ferricide was one of the biggest drawcards in #vidgames. Himself especially and the people who brought in, that really made the channel special. The last time I bumped into him he was working at Official US Xbox Magazine.
Mark "Torgo" Macdonald: Another Ziff convert. He runs gamevideos.com now, yet another part of the 1up empire.
D_Saucer: One of the coolest people alive and a programmer at a really fine game development company.
Jeremy "Manabyte" Conrad: Yep, he's ours too.
Sarah "Stubbette" ???: You might know her better as one of the head honchos at Bizzare Creations.
Andrew "Andrew_V" Vestal: He's the guy who was responsible for those Penny Arcade comics that had the speech bubbles filled in by Japanese school children. Oh, he works on a MMO I hate with all my being. But I still love him!
Patrick "eXxy" Klepek: Lil' exxy joined #vidgames when he was, what, 13? And he still doesn't look a day older. Ziff Davis have owned his soul for the past 5 years and they're planning on making him King Poobah one day, I hear. #vidgames practically raised him from a pupai stage.
Peter "Browzer" Jfjlkasdjfalks: OK I could never spell his last name. Anyway he ran hotgames (which at one time had more traffic than gamespot, but nobody seems to remember that) and is now running vapormedia, one of the biggest fantasy sports companies around town.
Cameron "Gazunta" Davis somehow became a full time games journalist, writing for N64HQ, Gamespot, Pocket Games, IGN and then editing Hotgames before moving over to Gamers.com. After that he dived into the world of games development, eventually becoming Lead Designer at Krome Studios. He got to make a old school 2D platform game. Cool. His new game, The Legend Of Spyro: A New Beginning, is due to be ignored by reviewers any day now. Still does some game writing...;)
Conclusion
Um, that's all I got for now. This thread is just a way for #vidgames people to talk about the good times. If I'm missing any info or I got stuff wrong, please let me know. In a lot of ways I feel responsible for preserving #vidgames, at least in memory, so let's hear it!
So what's my point? This isn't really an exercise in dick waving (thanks Demi) - just weird to think that 10 years ago we were a bunch of kids and now a lot of us have managed to avoid being useless bums (for now at least, the reviews aren't in yet). Think of this as looking at your older brother's high school yearbook, and thhinking to yourself "these guys aren't that different from the dorks I hang out with all day on GAF. 10 years from now I could be a burnt out hack in this industry, too!"