X-Play
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| X-Play | |
|---|---|
 Current X-Play logo, 2006 |
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| Genre | Video game review Sketch comedy |
| Starring | Adam Sessler & Morgan Webb Kate Botello (1999-2002) Lauren Fielder (1998-1999) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Production | |
| Running time | approximately 20 minutes (without commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TechTV |
| Original run | 1998 – present |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
X-Play (previously GameSpot TV and Extended Play) is a video-game review television show. The program airs on G4 in the United States, on G4techTV in Canada, Fuel TV in Australia, on Ego in Israel and Jack TV in the Philippines. The show is hosted by Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. Sessler is the original host of the program; he has co-hosted in the past with Lauren Fielder and Kate Botello. X-Play began on ZDTV in 1998 as GameSpot TV where Sessler co-hosted with Fielder for the show's first year, then co-hosted with Botello up through 2002. The show was renamed to Extended Play in 2001 after ZDTV changed to TechTV and the partnership with Ziff Davis' GameSpot ended. Botello left in early 2002, and Sessler hosted the show by himself up until April 2003, when Webb joined the cast and the show was renamed to X-Play. It is the only original TechTV show to entirely survive the May 2004 merger of G4 and TechTV. It is the highest rated show on G4. [1]
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[edit] History
GameSpot TV, Extended Play, and X-Play all originated in San Francisco, California. Over the show's eight year history, it has gone through numerous changes, in more than just name.
[edit] GameSpot TV
In the days of GameSpot TV, the show was filmed on a simple ZDTV studio set consisting of faux-brick walls, randomly positioned TV monitors, and functioning Gauntlet Legends and Rival Schools arcade game cabinets. For the occasional special episode, filming would move off-site to another location, such as the Sony Metreon arcade, and numerous game conventions such as the Classic Gaming Expo and E3. Each episode would start off with "Game News", where Adam Sessler or prior host/co-host Lauren Fielder would give a brief overview of top news stories on the GameSpot website. Game reviews were run in a segment known as "The Grill" (games were graded on GameSpot's official .1-10.0 system), "Spotlight" showcased special content such as interviews with industry leaders and "Game Breakers". New episodes would debut on weekend mornings at 10:00 a.m. eastern.
[edit] Extended Play
When GameSpot TV converted to Extended Play, the show moved entirely to the Metreon, and took on a very simple style and format. Filming consisted of co-hosts Sessler and Botello and a small single camera crew, the show featured strictly game reviews and game hints, and the 10-point grading system changed to a 5-point system. New episodes debuted once a week at 9:00 p.m. eastern. Like GameSpot TV, certain special episodes would be filmed elsewhere. In August 2002, the series became a daily program with a mix of repeats and first-run episodes airing Monday-Friday at 4 p.m. ET, with the Friday at 9 p.m. berth also kept. After the departure of Botello, Sessler continued to host at Metreon by himself until the change to X-Play in April 2003.
[edit] X-Play San Francisco
When X-Play debuted on April 28th, the show moved back to the TechTV studios from the Metreon, and Morgan Webb came onboard as co-host, leaving her previous hosting duties on TechTV's The Screen Savers and Call For Help. X-Play had a larger scale than that of Extended Play, but it still maintained an extremely simple and spartan style. Filming was done in TechTV's Studio B, home to the sets of Call For Help and TechLive. The filming setup was increased to three cameras; a main floor camera, a Jibcam for high angle shots, and a black-and-white handheld DV camera, which would be cut to suddenly and intermittently throughout episodes.
X-Play's primary set consisted of a single couch, coffee table and television (with working game consoles) positioned in the middle of the large studio floor, but hosts Sessler and Webb would migrate around various areas of the studio, normally not even going to their actual set until the end of the program. Each episode would typically conclude with Sessler and Webb playing one of the consoles on the TV. The show's format consisted primarily of game reviews and previews (with some previews being conducted as live in-studio demos by Morgan and Adam), with an occasional game-related sketch thrown in for comedic value.
The Disembodied Voice was also introduced to the show at this phase in its history. This unseen announcer would begin each episode with an often over-the-top introduction to which the hosts usually responded or commented (these comments varied widely, ranging from total non-sequiturs to Gilbert and Sullivan references to current events).
Unlike its predecessors, X-Play had more of an edge, containing some adult language and more mature (sometimes controversial) subject matter. As a result, it was paired in a programming block with the network's other new show, Unscrewed with Martin Sargent. X-Play originally ran new episodes five nights a week at 11:30 p.m. ET, but it was moved up to 11:00 ET soon after.
[edit] X-Play Los Angeles
Comcast purchased TechTV in May 2004 and merged it with its G4 network, necessitating a move for X-Play from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The show was filmed in a small studio set resembling a lounge or "rumpus room". The set contained an anonymous functioning arcade cabinet (adorned with X-Play logos), a sofa and a coffee table (the latter ostensibly built with faux-Tetris blocks), a bar counter and stools, and two chairs positioned in front of a plasma TV. The TV was used at the show's introduction to run preview footage of the games featured in each episode. Sessler and Webb would move back and forth between the different areas of the set throughout the show.
[edit] X-Play Los Angeles 2
On April 10, 2006, X-Play surrendered its late-night time slot, with new episodes premiering at 4 PM ET in the afternoon (usually on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays). However, this would not be the only change, as on April 29 G4 announced that - following the network's coverage of E3 2006 - X-Play and Attack of the Show would relaunch, with both shows getting new graphics and new sets. In the case of X-Play, these changes started on May 8.
The set consisted of a large, black, open area containing assorted TV monitors, a video wall, large glass marbles on the floor, a large 3-D hanging X-Play logo, and a video globe that displays the logo during the hosts' banter. There were no chairs or couches to sit on - the hosts stand the entire time and move around the set, entering it at the show's introduction, and leaving it when a review begins and when the show concludes.
Since the changes have been put into place, X-Play's time slot has changed twice more: on September 5, 2006, new episodes were moved ahead an hour to 3 PM ET, then on November 6th it returned to prime time (8 PM ET).
[edit] X-Play Los Angeles 3
On March 4, 2007, it was announced that the G4 Studios in Santa Monica California will close on April 15, 2007. Production of G4 programs will be relocated to the Studios of the E! Television Network elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. As a consequence, there will be new sets designed for X-Play. Many G4 employees involved in production will be laid off.[2]
[edit] Reviews
The video game reviews on X-Play use a five-point rating scale, based on such factors as graphics, sound, gameplay, and playability (i.e. replay value). On X-Play's original TechTV homepage [3], the ratings system was broken down in the following way:
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In a 2007 episode billed as a "primer on our scoring system", Adam and Morgan further elaborated on their ratings scale:
- A score of 1 is a game that "has to produce true crappiness, [through] the full cooperation of an entire development team - level designers taking off early to attend their children's soccer games, animators getting so high during their lunchbreak that they can't operate their mouse, and of course money hungry execs who will release anything if they can dupe kids into begging their moms for it."
- Prime Example: 50 Cent: Bulletproof
- A score of 2 "is such a difficult score to give, because it requires a game that fundamentally fails, but has a barely redeeming charm which makes it untenable to give a 1; it's that Suddenly Susan cocktail of technical competence floated atop a pile of dreck."
- Prime Example: Genji: Days of the Blade
- There are different levels to a score of 3 - "there's the 3 that's a mix of very good and very bad elements (like Blood Will Tell) or 3's that have a great concept that's poorly executed (like Railroads!), and then there's those 3's that are just churned out because they know people will buy them even though there's nothing original in it (like every FIFA game ever)."
- Prime Example: Sid Meier's Railroads!
- "There are really two kinds of games that get 4's regularly: these are great games with significant problems (like Dead Rising) and games that are amazing but just aren't suited for everyone (the Warhammer: Dark Crusade expansion or any of the Sims expansions are good examples)." Adam and Morgan also cited the "Nintendo DS 4," where "the games are fun and play really well, but the DS's limited graphical power keeps it from getting a 5."
- Prime Example: Dead Rising
- Titles that earn a perfect 5 out of 5 are "those magnificent games which, whatever minor flaws they may have, call out to us and say, 'Buy me, you must buy me' ... "
- Prime Example: Ōkami
During this episode, the hosts also explained why they use a 5-point ratings system, rather than a 10- or even 100-point scale:
| “ |
Morgan: Our system is better because it recognizes that scores are broad generalizations. Adam: For example, a popular web site gave Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire a score of 3.0 out of 10. They gave Torino 2006 a 3.9. What is the difference? Morgan: Both games suck, all the score is gonna be able to communicate to you is that the game is bad. If you want more nuance on the suckage, you have to actually go and read the review. See, in a 10-point scale, everything under 5 just means 'this game ain't worth buying', so there's no real difference. Adam: And there's no real nuance to a score difference of two- or three-tenths of a point. Our scores at least give sweeping generalizations for you to use as a guide. |
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[edit] Trademarks and various themes
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X-Play is popular and long-running enough for many fans of the show to recognize certain common themes and characteristics that have recurred throughout its run.
[edit] Dik-Dik!
One of Adam Sessler's recurring catchphrases used to be frequently repeating the word Dik-dik. He was sometimes seen wearing a Dik-Dik t-shirt, which was modeled after the John Deere logo. This habit originated during a review of a video game based on the popular manga and anime series Ultimate Muscle, which features a character named Dik-Dik Van Dik. Adam Sessler has stated in interviews that he likes the phrase "Dik-Dik" because it's a subtle way to legally use questionable words on TV.
[edit] "Morgan's Not a Gamer"
It has often been called into question whether or not Morgan is really a fan of video games. Skeptics believe that she was hired simply for her looks to draw in the male demographic, while reading from a script to give the "illusion" of someone who is a knowledgeable gamer. While Morgan has repeatedly stated that she does in fact play games, and members of the X-Play Staff have made statements about it[4], the accusation has yet to dissipate.
[edit] Interns
X-Play has its own cast of Interns (students from local universities who have signed up with G4 to gain valuable work experience in the television production field), whom are commonly used as characters on the show. When appearing on camera, they are commonly outfitted in a white undershirt with the word INTERN scrawled across the chest in black Sharpie. Their roles are not relegated to simply being on-screen comic relief, as the interns are accountable for much of the game footage used during reviews/previews.
X-Play interns also play a role in other behind-the-scenes work on the show's set. Some of the past X-Play interns have eventually been hired full-time within the G4 company itself. Examples include Jason Frankovitz (the first intern to be offered a full-time position, although he would leave the show in early 2005), Albert Iskander (who has worked as a Production Assistant for G4's Video Game Vixens and G4tv.com), Gene Yraola (now a part of G4's Games Editorial Department, the liaison between the shows and the actual software/hardware companies), Eric Acasio (a production assistant for X-Play) and Emily Mollenkopf (hired as a production assistant on Attack of the Show in 2006).
A near-complete list of interns who have worked on the show follows:
- From San Francisco, California: Chris Ivarson, Kevin Theobald, Matt Ketterer, Desiree Peel, Jana Suverkropp, Blake Yoshiura, Scott Humphrey, Kevin Yuen, Jason Frankovitz
- From Los Angeles, California: Gene Yraola, Chuck Wilkerson, Eric Acasio, Albert Iskander, Chris Wilson, Issac, Geoff Pinkus, Brian Flores, Russ Brock, Emily Mollenkopf, Kenny, Megan, Alex Villegas, Stephan
The Screaming Intern, played by Robert Manuel, in reality is not an intern for the show but an actual producer and X-Play intern coordinator.
[edit] Guest appearances
When X-Play was still a part of TechTV, personalities from other shows on the network would often make guest appearances (including Leo Laporte and Unscrewed's Martin Sargent and Laura Swisher). This continued after the merger with G4, with Attack of the Show! host Kevin Pereira and G4tv.com's Tina Wood.
Talent from other shows within the network have also been used in the role of temporary guest co-hosts; Blair Butler, Julie Stoffer, and Kristin Holt have been seen to substitute for both Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb when they were unavailable.
X-Play has also had pseudo-celebrities that are not affiliated with G4 (such as Tommy Tallarico, Tony Little, and Kato Kaelin) appear on the show.
[edit] Pop culture references
The X-Play writers often try to keep their witticism fresh by use of satire. They will mock the latest current events, either in Hollywood (Tom Cruise and the Brokeback Mountain movie, for example), sports (the steroids scandal in baseball or Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident), or reference to global news (Dick Cheney shooting a companion during a hunting trip).
[edit] Hatred
There are several gaming titles/genres/issues that co-hosts Adam and Morgan have pledged eternal hatred towards. These include (but are not limited to):
- Card battle games such as Yu-Gi-Oh!.
- Games based on anime series, especially Naruto and Dragon Ball Z (in one episode, Adam and Morgan stated that "we don't actually hate anime games, we just hate games that suck and it just so happens that most anime games do suck").
- Escort missions, where the player is forced to keep an NPC character (who has its own health meter) from dying. This often proves difficult when the NPC's A.I. is so insufficient that they continuously place themselves in harm's way (leaving the player with little or no chance to save them). However, Resident Evil 4 was stated as an exception to this category.
- Japanese dating simulation games like Sexy Beach 2
- Repetitive games like the Dynasty Warriors series
- The continuous release of Mega Man games ("The Mega Man Effect")
- The fact that there are so many World War II strategy and first-person shooter games on the market (during the review of Moscow to Berlin: Red Siege, Morgan remarked "That's it! No more World War II games! According to my contract, I only have to review 75 World War II games per year, and I already hit my quota in March!").
- Video games based on existing IPs (like games based on current movies or TV shows), since they are usually rushed to the market to cash in on the latest craze and end up being painful to actually play (such as the Charlie's Angels or Da Vinci Code video games).
- Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue (Morgan has often called this the worst game ever made)
- Jonny Moseley and the ridiculous comments made in his video game Jonny Moseley Mad Trix (including the classic line "What if it snowed in San Francisco?").
- Dane Cook and his brand of comedy.
- Japanese RPGs (this is Adam's personal pet peeve, as his biggest gripe is against those who claim that the Final Fantasy series is perfect in every way ... although he did openly admit that Final Fantasy VI was his favorite 16-bit RPG and gave Final Fantasy XII a 5 out of 5)[5].
- PlayStation Portable ("Sony's sleek black mistake")
[edit] Physical abuse on set
A recurrent theme gives X-Play an appearance of an exceedingly violent working environment. When hosts Adam and Morgan aren't depicted as "putting the interns in harm's way", then Morgan is often shown dishing out physical abuse directly at Adam. This manifested itself in various slaps and punches whenever Adam does or says something that annoys or offends Morgan. In a "special" episode presented as a mock-documentary on the history of violence in video games, Adam found himself the victim of various "violent attacks" and in the last scene of the episode, Morgan landed several blows on Adam with a baseball bat.
[edit] Self-humiliation
Adam Sessler uses a self-deprecating form of humor, in which he is the object of ridicule and derision, whether at the hands of co-host Morgan Webb, himself, or others. These habits include expressing episodes of incontinence, a fudge obsession, misfortune with women, poor education/social status, and resentment over the lack of purpose in his life.
For example, Adam's masochistic comedy includes dressing in women's clothing (like a yellow cheerleader's uniform or the skimpy outfit Morgan wore during her Maxim photo-shoot), claiming that he was a victim of child molestation, stapling himself in the crotch, or gently tapping his temple with a hammer when a game becomes too boring to play.
On rare occasions, his self-pity and melancholy earns him Morgan's sympathy, but most times it annoys Morgan.
[edit] Viewer mail
Occasionally at episodes end, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb read selected correspondence from the program viewers. On rare occasions, the chosen message will be positive. Usually, the messages are pointless queries or hate mail from viewers who felt that X-Play did not give certain games a "fair" rating.
On November 6th, 2006, X-Play gave their Viewer Mail segment a high-tech face-lift, by renaming it Video Viewer Mail. While previous correspondence was held via the written word or e-mail, viewers can now record short clips of themselves asking questions with a webcam or video recorder.
[edit] The X-Play boards
In addition to suffering unflattering viewer mail, Adam and Morgan are often the subject of even more ire through the show's official message board. The vitriol spewed forth on the forums has become so well-documented that the X-Play staff even produced a "music video" dedicated to the message board's denizens entitled "On the X-Play Boards" (MP3 format).
The song was written and performed by Marque Phahee and the Bling Dongs (X-Play staffer Mark Fahey with an acoustic guitar), featuring the X-Play After School Choir (comprised of Morgan, Adam and various X-Play characters) and is (supposedly) the lead track from the X-Play: The Musical motion picture soundtrack.
[edit] Sketches and segments
Various recurring segments and comedy skits have been used throughout the show's history by the X-Play writers.
[edit] Recurring characters
X-Play amassed a large group of fictional characters that will appear from time to time, often to bring some humor during game reviews.
[edit] The X-Play book
On October 22, 2004, TechTV (in association with Peachpit Press) published the book The X-play Insider's Guide to Gaming : All You Ever Wanted to Know About Video Games From G4techTV's Brutally Honest Experts (ISBN 0735714355). Written by Marc Saltzman (along with the X-Play Cast) and weighing in at a hefty-468 pages, this tome was chockful of game reviews, cheat codes, and Q&A sessions with the cast and crew. Adam and Morgan even went on a nation-wide book-signing tour to help promote their literary endeavor.
[edit] X-Play: The Online Game
"X-Play: The Online Game" is a short Flash game created by the San Francisco-based company Orange Design (graphics and audio by Sean Talley, programming by Fearghal O'Dea). In the game, you can play as big-headed versions of either Adam (whose main weapon is Slippy the Fish) or Morgan (whose main weapon is her fists), as they battle zombies, pirates, and radioactive Dik-diks.
[edit] X-Play Chat
When X-Play was still a part of TechTV, the show would host an online chat every Tuesday at 1 PM EST. After the merger with G4, X-Play's official IRC chat room was re-designed by Philippe Detournay and Raphael Seeqmuller using the PJIRC chat client.
On November 6th, 2006 (to co-incide with the show's move to prime time [6]), the G4 network integrated X-Play's chat feature into the actual broadcast of each new episode. Using an idea similar to their production of Star Trek 2.0, a window covering the bottom half of the screen will pop up during reviews, and display messages typed out by G4 users on X-Play's official web site in "real-time" (comments are monitored to make sure no foul language slips through).
[edit] X-Play Daily Video Podcast
On November 11, 2005, G4 started offering X-Play segments (reviews, skits, etc.) for free in podcast form via their website and iTunes store, so that fans can view these segments at their leisure on computers and portable devices.
Adam and Morgan will often direct the viewers to download these podcasts during the broadcast (Sessler is adamant that X-Play end up getting more downloads than his "bitter rival" The Dog Whisperer).
