The Angry Video Game Nerd
Encyclopedia
The Angry Video Game Nerd (abbreviated AVGN or The Nerd and formerly, The Angry Nintendo Nerd), is the main character and title of a series of farcical
retrogaming
video reviews created by and starring James Rolfe (born July 10, 1980). The show generally revolves around retro game reviews that involve bitter rants against games he deems to be of particularly low-quality or poor design. Such games are often associated with movie tie-ins
.
The series began as a feature on YouTube
, and later joined ScrewAttack Entertainment
, which would later have three of its features, including the AVGN, transferred to GameTrailers
exclusively. The show, formerly known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd, was renamed because the show started reviewing games on other consoles, and also to prevent any trademark issues with Nintendo
.
The Nerd is a short-tempered and foul-mouthed video game fanatic
. He derives comic appeal from excessive and inventive use of profanity
, frequent displays of explicit gestures
, and a habitual consumption of beer (mostly Rolling Rock
, but sometimes Yuengling). A particular characteristic, which has become something of a trademark of his character, is for him to describe, in great detail, extremely repulsive and painful, usually firmly scatological acts, and to claim that he would rather endure them than to play the game that he is reviewing. Varying amounts of physical comedy
are mixed into the verbal abuses.
game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
in 2004 under the title "Bad NES Games". Rolfe decided to make another video which was supposed to be the last, because Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
was his most hated game. At the time he was drinking the beer Rolling Rock
, which went on to become a signature trait of The Nerd. The videos were produced and published on Cinemassacre.com. On April 6, 2006, he joined YouTube and the videos were put on YouTube under the name of "JamesNintendoNerd", before his character was developed.
On September 12, 2006 Rolfe's character first gained mainstream attention when his review of the Nintendo game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went viral on the YouTube website. This was reported in an MTV
news segment called "Viral Videos Infect the Mainstream".
Later, on November 2, 2008 his videos were featured on the nationally syndicated radio show Opie and Anthony
. Opie & Anthony found his obscenity-laced tirades against poorly made video games quite humorous, and took notice of one of their own Whip 'em Out Wednesdays (WOW) promotional stickers being featured quite prominently in several of Rolfe's videos. Since then, additional videos have been played occasionally on the show. Rolfe was later interviewed by Opie and Anthony on January 9, 2008. Rolfe would go on to host a show on Opie and Anthony's XM Satellite Radio
(now Sirius/XM) channel for their "Saturday Night Virus" block of shows, but has done only one show so far and has not returned since.
Rolfe continues to make non-AVGN related videos on his website Cinemassacre.
issues. Along with the name change, the Nerd soon diversified, reviewing games on other platforms such as the Atari 2600
, Colecovision
, Intellivision
, Super Nintendo
, Sega Master System
, Sega Genesis
, Sega CD, Sega 32x
, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
, GameBoy, Virtual Boy
, Atari 5200
, CD-I
, Nintendo 64
, TurboGrafx-16
, Sega Saturn
and PlayStation
. Along with reviewing games, some episodes have featured other video game-related items, such as the Power Glove
, the U-Force
and other NES accessories, movie reviews of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
and The Wizard
, and a tribute to Nintendo Power
. He also references video game culture in a reenactment of the retro console wars in one video in a Wii
tribute.
Rolfe has stated on his website that the first videos he made were "just a joke" and he had no intention of making them public, instead showing them only to friends. After two years passed, Mike Matei suggested he put the reviews online. They soon did, and since then, his reviews have become increasingly popular and have developed a large fanbase
. Rolfe's videos grew longer, soon turning into an actual series complete with title cards, an intro song and official merchandise and the AVGN Volume 1 DVD (2004 and 2006 episodes), followed by the Volume 2 DVD (2007 episodes), the Volume 3 DVD (2008 episodes), and the Volume 4 DVD (2009 episodes).
After his fourth online review on YouTube, ScrewAttack
invited him to have his own section on their website and has since been employed by MTV Networks
' GameTrailers.com
. Since then, new videos are GameTrailers exclusives released once a month with Rolfe posting episodes on his YouTube account over a year after its original GameTrailers release.
On March 17, 2010, Rolfe said he was suffering from burnout
as a result of consistently writing, directing, and starring in the videos, and that the show would be entering a brief hiatus. It was scheduled to return in May 2010; however, an episode was released on April 30. Episodes are now scheduled to be released the first or second Wednesday of each month, as opposed to two episodes per month due to other work.
and Bugs Bunny
, among many others. Freddy Krueger was also played by James Rolfe, with Matei taking on the role when both the Nerd and Freddy were in view. The show's musician, Kyle Justin, played both Spider-Man
and Cousin Itt
in separate episodes, which were accompanied by him performing the theme songs from Spider-Man and The Addams Family
, with reworked lyrics. Justin was also featured in the Battletoads and second Bugs Bunny (Crazy Castle) episodes as himself. Kevin Finn played the Ninja in his Ninja Gaiden
review as well as the "Game Graphic Glitch Gremlin" in the Game Glitches episode and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link episode.
Some episodes have a basic storyline inspired by the plot of the game or the movie the game is based on being reviewed (e.g. in the Halloween review, the Nerd is stalked by Michael Myers
while he goes babysitting). In these cases, guests are used to play the episode-specific characters. The Nostalgia Critic
appeared in the Nerd's house and together they had a violent duel, in which the critic is nearly killed by the "Super Mecha Death Christ" character. More specifically "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C Version 4.0 Beta!... bitch".
In The Nerd's take on A Christmas Carol
, Stuttering Craig and Handsome Tom, co-founders of ScrewAttack
, appear as the Ghost of Christmas Past
and the Ghost of Christmas Present
, respectively. A Dracula
sprite
from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
represents the Ghost of Christmas Future.
For numerous episodes, musical scores and covers were performed by Chris Holland that were subsequently used in episodes which includes the Batman, the Nerdy Christmas, and many others. The episodes of Board James Tornado Rex and Donut Disaster have music by Bootsy Spankins, P.I., also known as Kevin Finn.
uses a character called "Shit Pickle" to comment on the game play (which simply consisted of him repeating the words "shit" and "pickle" sometimes, but not always together). Shit Pickle did not appear again until Rolfe placed him in his own animated shorts. In the Wizard
/Super Mario Bros. 3
review, the Nerd calls upon the "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C Version 4.0 Beta... bitch" to assist in the destruction of a demonically possessed Super Mario Bros. 3
cartridge. This character is a combination of Jesus
, robotic components, assorted weapons, and a tank. Both Shit Pickle and Super Mecha Death Christ originated from Rolfe's early animated film "The Wizard of Oz
3: Dorothy Goes to Hell
" and are voiced by James Rolfe and created by Mike Matei. Rolfe explained on his website that Super Mecha Death Christ was created as a spoof on the numerous Mecha-characters found in the Godzilla movies, such as Mechagodzilla
. During his review of the Magnavox Odyssey
a character called "The Nerdy Turd", a piece of fecal matter with Rolfe's head and face on it, was introduced out of necessity as the Odyssey does not support single player games. In the Star Wars
games review, the Nerd introduces the "Beer Droid", a beer supplying Droid.
set was released. It includes all of the episodes up to the first Bible Games episode. Some material, such as movie clips from Back to the Future
and Rocky
, were removed to avoid copyright infringement and replaced with new material. The DVD includes extended versions of the "Wally Bear and the NO Gang!" and "Rocky" reviews as well as an original documentary, deleted scenes, and most of the videos posted exclusively on ScrewAttack.com
. In all, the DVD set contains approximately three hours and 15 minutes of content. According to Rolfe, the initial pressing of the DVD sold out in less than a week. In addition, there were 100 DVDs sold with James Rolfe's autograph on the front cover.
Around November 15, 2008, the second AVGN DVD set, which spans three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from the Atari 5200 review to An Angry Nerd Christmas Carol as well as a scene from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
review, the trailers posted on YouTube, commentaries, outtakes (from the 2007 videos as well as some from 2008), and other material.
On December 12, 2009, the third AVGN DVD set, which spans three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from Chronologically Confused about the Zelda Timeline
to Bible Games 2; however, the review for The Wizard
and Super Mario Bros. 3
has been reduced to cover only SMB3 to avoid copyright infringement. Three of the episodes have been extended. The DVD set also includes outtakes, a tour of the Nerd's room, and other material.
On December 15, 2010, the fourth AVGN DVD set, spanning three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from Michael Jackson's Moonwalker to Winter Games as well as bonus features such as a look at Sega 3-D Glasses, outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage, and other material.
in the sense that it will be a movie about a person that reviews games, rather than a feature length review or multiple reviews adding up to a feature length. In his review of Steven Spielberg
movie games, it hinted that he would be reviewing the infamous Atari
E.T. video game in the movie. On June 20, a video was posted on Cinemassacre in which James confirmed that ET would be reviewed in the film.
Rolfe decided to personally raise money for the film, using donations from fans, through the fundraising website IndieGoGo
(with an initial goal of $75,000). As of December 2011, Rolfe has raised over $170,000 for the film's budget. Rolfe now hopes the project will be entirely fan-supported without traditional investors, providing him complete creative control
. Rolfe had initially planned to put the production of the AVGN web series on hiatus to allow him time for the production of the film, but eventually settled for making shorter, less time consuming episodes instead. On June 1, Rolfe released another video on his website, detailing more about his plans, also calling for casting, giving the contact information related to the movie. Open casting calls were held in Philadelphia and Dallas Texas, with another casting call hosted by Channel Awesome
held in Chicago, with live auditions held by Douglas Walker, the actor of The Nostalgia Critic
. Rolfe is also holding calls for special effects artists who specialise in the fields of miniature effect
s, animatronics
and puppetry, as well as miscellaneous other roles as crew-members
, agents, and promoters. Filming is scheduled to begin sometime between January and May 2012.
's 3rd Annual Open Web Awards on December 16, 2009.
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
retrogaming
Retrogaming
Retrogaming, 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...
video reviews created by and starring James Rolfe (born July 10, 1980). The show generally revolves around retro game reviews that involve bitter rants against games he deems to be of particularly low-quality or poor design. Such games are often associated with movie tie-ins
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
.
The series began as a feature on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and later joined ScrewAttack Entertainment
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
, which would later have three of its features, including the AVGN, transferred to GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
exclusively. The show, formerly known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd, was renamed because the show started reviewing games on other consoles, and also to prevent any trademark issues with Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.
The Nerd is a short-tempered and foul-mouthed video game fanatic
Gamer
Historically, the term "gamer" usually referred to someone who played role-playing games and wargames. Since they became very popular, the term has included players of video games...
. He derives comic appeal from excessive and inventive use of profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, frequent displays of explicit gestures
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
, and a habitual consumption of beer (mostly Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock is a 4.5% abv pale lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St...
, but sometimes Yuengling). A particular characteristic, which has become something of a trademark of his character, is for him to describe, in great detail, extremely repulsive and painful, usually firmly scatological acts, and to claim that he would rather endure them than to play the game that he is reviewing. Varying amounts of physical comedy
Physical comedy
Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.Physical comedy, whether conveyed by a pratfall , a silly face, or the action of walking into walls, is a common and rarely subtle form of comedy...
are mixed into the verbal abuses.
Viral Videos
Rolfe first started to do films as a child in the late 80s to the early 90s, but his career did not take off until he made a short review of the NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure role-playing platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania...
in 2004 under the title "Bad NES Games". Rolfe decided to make another video which was supposed to be the last, because Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (video game)
is a side-scrolling action video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System loosely based on the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Gameplay alternates between the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde based on the player's ability to either avoid or cause damage.-Story:Dr. Jekyll is on...
was his most hated game. At the time he was drinking the beer Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock is a 4.5% abv pale lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St...
, which went on to become a signature trait of The Nerd. The videos were produced and published on Cinemassacre.com. On April 6, 2006, he joined YouTube and the videos were put on YouTube under the name of "JamesNintendoNerd", before his character was developed.
On September 12, 2006 Rolfe's character first gained mainstream attention when his review of the Nintendo game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went viral on the YouTube website. This was reported in an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
news segment called "Viral Videos Infect the Mainstream".
Later, on November 2, 2008 his videos were featured on the nationally syndicated radio show Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
. Opie & Anthony found his obscenity-laced tirades against poorly made video games quite humorous, and took notice of one of their own Whip 'em Out Wednesdays (WOW) promotional stickers being featured quite prominently in several of Rolfe's videos. Since then, additional videos have been played occasionally on the show. Rolfe was later interviewed by Opie and Anthony on January 9, 2008. Rolfe would go on to host a show on Opie and Anthony's XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
(now Sirius/XM) channel for their "Saturday Night Virus" block of shows, but has done only one show so far and has not returned since.
Rolfe continues to make non-AVGN related videos on his website Cinemassacre.
Angry Video Game Nerd
He later changed the name from "The Angry Nintendo Nerd" to "The Angry Video Game Nerd" to prevent trademarkTrademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
issues. Along with the name change, the Nerd soon diversified, reviewing games on other platforms such as 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...
, Colecovision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
, Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
, Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, Sega Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, Sega CD, Sega 32x
Sega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO
3DO may refer to:*The 3DO Company, a video game company that developed:**3DO Interactive Multiplayer, a video game console, 1993–1996***List of 3DO games, a list of games released for the 3DO...
, GameBoy, Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy
The was a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional...
, Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
, CD-I
CD-i
CD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...
, Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
, Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Along with reviewing games, some episodes have featured other video game-related items, such as the Power Glove
Power Glove
The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...
, the U-Force
U-Force
The U-Force was a game controller made by Brøderbund for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It employed a pair of perpendicular infrared sensor panels to translate the user's hand movements into controller signals.From a print advertisement circa 1989:...
and other NES accessories, movie reviews of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American live-action film, the second sequel of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It was produced by Clearwater Holdings Ltd. and Golden Harvest. This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and...
and The Wizard
The Wizard (film)
The Wizard is a 1989 adventure dramedy film starring Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, and Jenny Lewis...
, and a tribute to Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
. He also references video game culture in a reenactment of the retro console wars in one video in a Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
tribute.
Rolfe has stated on his website that the first videos he made were "just a joke" and he had no intention of making them public, instead showing them only to friends. After two years passed, Mike Matei suggested he put the reviews online. They soon did, and since then, his reviews have become increasingly popular and have developed a large fanbase
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
. Rolfe's videos grew longer, soon turning into an actual series complete with title cards, an intro song and official merchandise and the AVGN Volume 1 DVD (2004 and 2006 episodes), followed by the Volume 2 DVD (2007 episodes), the Volume 3 DVD (2008 episodes), and the Volume 4 DVD (2009 episodes).
After his fourth online review on YouTube, ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
invited him to have his own section on their website and has since been employed by MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
' GameTrailers.com
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
. Since then, new videos are GameTrailers exclusives released once a month with Rolfe posting episodes on his YouTube account over a year after its original GameTrailers release.
On March 17, 2010, Rolfe said he was suffering from burnout
Burnout (psychology)
Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases; according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of...
as a result of consistently writing, directing, and starring in the videos, and that the show would be entering a brief hiatus. It was scheduled to return in May 2010; however, an episode was released on April 30. Episodes are now scheduled to be released the first or second Wednesday of each month, as opposed to two episodes per month due to other work.
Special guests
Occasionally, "special guests" based on famous film and television characters make appearances. These guests often provide additional commentary on the games and mock the Nerd's anguish. Most of the characters are played by Mike Matei, who also illustrates the show's title cards. His roles have included characters such as Freddy KruegerFreddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
and Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, among many others. Freddy Krueger was also played by James Rolfe, with Matei taking on the role when both the Nerd and Freddy were in view. The show's musician, Kyle Justin, played both Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and Cousin Itt
Cousin Itt
Cousin Itt is a member of the fictional Addams Family. Unlike the other characters, Cousin Itt was not originally created by cartoonist Charles Addams, but by producer David Levy, though he did appear as an unnamed character in Addams's cartoons.- Character :...
in separate episodes, which were accompanied by him performing the theme songs from Spider-Man and The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
, with reworked lyrics. Justin was also featured in the Battletoads and second Bugs Bunny (Crazy Castle) episodes as himself. Kevin Finn played the Ninja in his Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden
is a series of video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side-story" in Japanese, even though the Ninja Gaiden series is not a spinoff of a previous series...
review as well as the "Game Graphic Glitch Gremlin" in the Game Glitches episode and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link episode.
Some episodes have a basic storyline inspired by the plot of the game or the movie the game is based on being reviewed (e.g. in the Halloween review, the Nerd is stalked by Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
while he goes babysitting). In these cases, guests are used to play the episode-specific characters. The Nostalgia Critic
The Nostalgia Critic
The Nostalgia Critic is a web television series starring Doug Walker as the eponymous reviewer. The series was initially launched on YouTube before moving to an independent site, That Guy with the Glasses, run by production company Channel Awesome...
appeared in the Nerd's house and together they had a violent duel, in which the critic is nearly killed by the "Super Mecha Death Christ" character. More specifically "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C Version 4.0 Beta!... bitch".
In The Nerd's take on A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, Stuttering Craig and Handsome Tom, co-founders of ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
, appear as the Ghost of Christmas Past
Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a character in the well-known work of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of the three spirits that haunted the miser. Ebenezer Scrooge in order to prompt him to repent...
and the Ghost of Christmas Present
Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Present is a character in one of the best-known works of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The Spirit closely resembles Father Christmas from local folklore....
, respectively. A Dracula
Dracula (Castlevania)
, whose real name is Mathias Cronqvist , is a fictional character from the multi-platform Castlevania video game series...
sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure role-playing platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania...
represents the Ghost of Christmas Future.
Music
The Angry Video Game Nerd theme song was composed by independent musician Kyle Justin, who has ceased activity since 2009 for unknown reasons. The lyrics were the work of both Justin and Rolfe. Some of the lyrics come from comments made by Rolfe in his review of Back to the Future.For numerous episodes, musical scores and covers were performed by Chris Holland that were subsequently used in episodes which includes the Batman, the Nerdy Christmas, and many others. The episodes of Board James Tornado Rex and Donut Disaster have music by Bootsy Spankins, P.I., also known as Kevin Finn.
Animated characters
The show also makes use of original animated characters to add commentary or advance an episode-specific plot. The review of Master Chu and the Drunkard HuMaster Chu and the Drunkard Hu
Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu is a one or two player platform video game released in the United States for the NES by Joy Van in 1989 and was published by Color Dreams...
uses a character called "Shit Pickle" to comment on the game play (which simply consisted of him repeating the words "shit" and "pickle" sometimes, but not always together). Shit Pickle did not appear again until Rolfe placed him in his own animated shorts. In the Wizard
The Wizard (film)
The Wizard is a 1989 adventure dramedy film starring Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, and Jenny Lewis...
/Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
review, the Nerd calls upon the "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C Version 4.0 Beta... bitch" to assist in the destruction of a demonically possessed Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
cartridge. This character is a combination of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, robotic components, assorted weapons, and a tank. Both Shit Pickle and Super Mecha Death Christ originated from Rolfe's early animated film "The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
3: Dorothy Goes to Hell
Return to Oz
Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
" and are voiced by James Rolfe and created by Mike Matei. Rolfe explained on his website that Super Mecha Death Christ was created as a spoof on the numerous Mecha-characters found in the Godzilla movies, such as Mechagodzilla
Mechagodzilla
is a fictional character from various films in the Godzilla series, introduced in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla . He is Godzilla's mechanical doppelgänger and one of the most popular Toho kaiju...
. During his review of the Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey is the world's first home video game console. It was first demonstrated on May 24, 1972 and released in August of that year, predating the Atari Pong home consoles by three years....
a character called "The Nerdy Turd", a piece of fecal matter with Rolfe's head and face on it, was introduced out of necessity as the Odyssey does not support single player games. In the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
games review, the Nerd introduces the "Beer Droid", a beer supplying Droid.
DVDs
On November 18, 2007, the first AVGN DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set was released. It includes all of the episodes up to the first Bible Games episode. Some material, such as movie clips from Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
and Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, were removed to avoid copyright infringement and replaced with new material. The DVD includes extended versions of the "Wally Bear and the NO Gang!" and "Rocky" reviews as well as an original documentary, deleted scenes, and most of the videos posted exclusively on ScrewAttack.com
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
. In all, the DVD set contains approximately three hours and 15 minutes of content. According to Rolfe, the initial pressing of the DVD sold out in less than a week. In addition, there were 100 DVDs sold with James Rolfe's autograph on the front cover.
Around November 15, 2008, the second AVGN DVD set, which spans three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from the Atari 5200 review to An Angry Nerd Christmas Carol as well as a scene from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American live-action film, the second sequel of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It was produced by Clearwater Holdings Ltd. and Golden Harvest. This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and...
review, the trailers posted on YouTube, commentaries, outtakes (from the 2007 videos as well as some from 2008), and other material.
On December 12, 2009, the third AVGN DVD set, which spans three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from Chronologically Confused about the Zelda Timeline
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
to Bible Games 2; however, the review for The Wizard
The Wizard (film)
The Wizard is a 1989 adventure dramedy film starring Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, and Jenny Lewis...
and Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
has been reduced to cover only SMB3 to avoid copyright infringement. Three of the episodes have been extended. The DVD set also includes outtakes, a tour of the Nerd's room, and other material.
On December 15, 2010, the fourth AVGN DVD set, spanning three discs, was released. It includes the GameTrailers.com episodes from Michael Jackson's Moonwalker to Winter Games as well as bonus features such as a look at Sega 3-D Glasses, outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage, and other material.
Film adaptation
On September 23, 2010, Rolfe released a video on his website detailing his plans for The Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie to be released in the near future. Rolfe's long-time friend Kevin Finn helped him finish the script and it is said to be in the vein of Wayne's WorldWayne's World (film)
Wayne's World is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Mike Myers in his film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora, Illinois-based Public-access television cable TV show Wayne's World...
in the sense that it will be a movie about a person that reviews games, rather than a feature length review or multiple reviews adding up to a feature length. In his review of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
movie games, it hinted that he would be reviewing the infamous Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
E.T. video game in the movie. On June 20, a video was posted on Cinemassacre in which James confirmed that ET would be reviewed in the film.
Rolfe decided to personally raise money for the film, using donations from fans, through the fundraising website IndieGoGo
Indiegogo
IndieGoGo is a crowd funding site founded by Slava Rubin, Danae Ringellmann and Eric Schell in 2008. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California...
(with an initial goal of $75,000). As of December 2011, Rolfe has raised over $170,000 for the film's budget. Rolfe now hopes the project will be entirely fan-supported without traditional investors, providing him complete creative control
Final cut privilege
Final cut privilege is a film industry term, usually used when a director has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing.- Condition :...
. Rolfe had initially planned to put the production of the AVGN web series on hiatus to allow him time for the production of the film, but eventually settled for making shorter, less time consuming episodes instead. On June 1, Rolfe released another video on his website, detailing more about his plans, also calling for casting, giving the contact information related to the movie. Open casting calls were held in Philadelphia and Dallas Texas, with another casting call hosted by Channel Awesome
Channel Awesome
Channel Awesome is an online media production company based in Naperville, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud , Mike Ellis and Bhargav Dronamraju...
held in Chicago, with live auditions held by Douglas Walker, the actor of The Nostalgia Critic
The Nostalgia Critic
The Nostalgia Critic is a web television series starring Doug Walker as the eponymous reviewer. The series was initially launched on YouTube before moving to an independent site, That Guy with the Glasses, run by production company Channel Awesome...
. Rolfe is also holding calls for special effects artists who specialise in the fields of miniature effect
Miniature effect
A miniature effect is a special effect created for motion pictures and television programs using scale models. Scale models are often combined with high speed photography or matte shots to make gravitational and other effects appear convicing to the viewer...
s, animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
and puppetry, as well as miscellaneous other roles as crew-members
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
, agents, and promoters. Filming is scheduled to begin sometime between January and May 2012.
Awards
The Angry Video Game Nerd was voted Best Online Web Series in MashableMashable
Mashable is an American news website and Internet news blog founded by Pete Cashmore. The website's primary focus is social media news, but also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets...
's 3rd Annual Open Web Awards on December 16, 2009.