One Million Hit Points: The pilot -- seniors playing Wii Bowling, video game art, and more

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Sunday, September 09, 2012

1MHP pilot image

One Million Hit Points is my attempt to create a new kind of web show about video games. Writing in the industry for the past three years (for Bitmob, GamesBeat, and other publications) has given me a good amount of insight into how to craft such a program.

I wanted to take a different approach than what others are trying. I think enough people are doing shows where a group of gamers sit around in a studio or bedroom to talk about all the latest and upcoming games.

Instead, my goal is to put together original video content that focuses on the creative, practical, and endearing things that all the folks in the game community are doing. What type of experiences do they have from playing and how does it inspire them to transform that passion into something greater? Basically, this is the show that I would want to watch...and I hope you do too.

 

I like to think of 1MHP as a mashup of sorts. It contains mini-documentaries about game culture and short artistic/musical segments inspired by the aesthetics of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block and the hip, eccentric children’s program Yo Gabba Gabba.

In this episode, I feature the National Senior League's Wii Bowling California state championship, an amazing video game art gallery, and more.

I hope you enjoy the show. Please keep in mind, this is a pilot to give you an idea of what I’m aiming for. It’s a demo, in a sense. Feel free to leave feedback in the comment section, and thanks for watching!

 
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Comments (10)
September 09, 2012

I really liked the video. The little bumpers between each segment of overlapped game footage were brilliant.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for another one. As one of the guys doing your typical style podcast, it's nice to see fresh ideas. We struggle with being stuck in the center of the US where not much is going on that doesn't revolve around Call of Duty.

I don't think your personal introductions need to be there. I think each piece really did a great job of introducing itself and the whole show flows nicely.

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September 09, 2012

Hey Ross, thanks for all the kind words! Yeah, I don't mean to slight people who do podcasts or whatnot. The more people who get in on the conversation, the better! What's your show called?

You bring up a good point with being stuck in the center of the U.S. I figured since I'm here in L.A. where a lot of cool gaming stuff happens, I want to share that with people elsewhere. 

I appreciate the feedback on the host segments, too. I'll keep that in mind, but for now, I feel like there are a lot of different things we can do to play with the flow of those parts (make it a little silly, go on a tour, etc.)

September 09, 2012

I don't feel like you slighted anyone. Sometimes, I feel like our show is dry. But we have fun, and that's enough to keep going week after week. It's called The PoWcast and it's at our site, Taipow.com, as well as iTunes.

In the near future, my anchor to the midwest will be lifted, so I'm looking forward to throwing as much against the wall as possible during that time. But I look for content like yours in the meantime. When G4 started out doing a lot of different things, and the Area 5 guys did their shows, I loved it. But it's been awhile since shows like that have been around, so keep up the work. There's definitely an audience.

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September 09, 2012

cool, I'll check out the PoWcast. 

Good luck with your throwing stuff against the wall, I hope something sticks! And thanks for the Area5 comparision, those guys were a big influence on me. 

September 09, 2012

I also gave it a share on our facebook page, for what it's worth. At the very least, my co-hosts may check it out.

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September 09, 2012

Whoa! That was really nice of you. Thanks a lot. 

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September 09, 2012

Great job with the podcast! I love how you mixed game footage with Los Angeles environments.

I also like all the ways in which you tried mixing Adult Swim-styled breaks. I think the show Samurai Champloo also inspired a lot of the breaks in the Adult Swim programming, especially with raps and hip-hop-ish beats. Video games really mix well with that type of cultural style. 

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September 09, 2012

Thanks, Jonathan. Eye catches and bumpers are great. I'm really into them right now. You nailed it with the Samurai Champloo reference, too. That's totally what I was going for. I imagine Cowboy Bebop's bumpers might have influenced Adult Swim as well. 

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September 10, 2012

A refreshing take on the norm of gaming coverage. I have to say that the Wii bowling league warmed my heart and shows that gaming does transcend the living rooms and effect people we never realized it could. Topics like this are something you'll never see on top gaming sites, but show the positive effects our favorite hobby has on society.

I do my own podcast and as I grow it, these are things I would love to cover on site and share with my listeners. Thanks Alejandro.

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September 10, 2012

:-)

Hey Jason, I'm glad you really liked the senior bowling scene. I love the idea of exploring these sort fo human-interest stories since the medium is at the point now where they're everywhere. All we have to do is listen!

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