How long has Game On been going now?
We started in May 2015, so about ten months. We came out the blocks running; the initial buzz you get from a new project is unbeatable.
Who are the team members involved?
We have a core team of Teya Simone, Jay Lowe, Sarah Kelly and myself. We're basically all geeky creative friends who LOVE gaming. I tend to come up with the concepts of the shows, though it's a total collaboration. They are filmed at my photography studio then I edit and upload them.
What is your background in gaming?
Well, I can’t prove it but I once held the world record on a game called Tron (based on the original film); I was seventeen, and I’ve been playing ever since. I consider it an art form and give it a lot of credence. I still look at gaming with wonder, and I am amazed at how far it has come, especially in terms of social acceptance. I have been making video game content for YouTube for a while now, as well as some fan films based on Pacman, Tomb Raider, and Hitman. I enjoy shooting and editing, I’m a freelance film maker, and I get to work with lots of creative people, actors, audio guys, writers, etc, and quite a few of them love gaming, so I thought it was a good idea to merge my hobbies into one passion project - hence Game On.
Is there a particular day people should look out for new content?
We did start off making weekly shows, filming Mondays and uploading Wednesdays but that has slowed right down, as were all busy on other projects. We did say at the beginning that we’d only work on Game On within our comfort zones, because we didn’t want to put any pressure on our hobbies or friendships.
What kind of things have you covered so far?
We mainly cover console gaming, mostly new releases, nostalgia, and opinions of the current state of the industry. I also like to get guest friends in the studio to give their takes on a particular game or subject. It’s a very open process, we must have had about fifteen different heads on screen so far. Were trying to avoid certain clichés of gaming on YouTube, like talking over full screen game footage, recording lets plays, and reportive journalism. There are plenty of channels you can get that kind of coverage from.
Do you plan to keep the show on YouTube or will you look to the transfer it to a TV channel eventually?
Game On actually started as a pitch to Notts TV. We created a (unseen) pilot and had initial talks as they liked our presenter (Teya) and the format, but it soon became apparent that producing a show for them would become a full time job, so for now I haven’t chased that up. Though, I might be submitting the pilot to the national TV stations soon so get a feel for the process. It has quite high production values, I’ll probably release it online at some point.
Nottingham has a good gaming presence currently. Have you, or will you, get involved with The National Video Game Arcade and GameCity?
We did have those plans but wanted to wait until we’d built up a bigger audience first; something that takes more time than we currently have. We really need someone who’s good at social media and marketing to get us seen by a larger spread of people but there’s no rush; all good things take time, as you know.
Game On YouTube Channel
Game On on Facebook
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