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### Weekend Gamer TV [AVI]

#### http://www.weekend-gamer.co.uk/

#### Reviewed By SirClive

Designed to be a time-filler on the journey into work or as an entertaining distraction on your desktop, Weekend Gamer covers all systems from the 8-bit home computers up to modern PCs and consoles and aims to show you some of the great games you may have missed. It was created by Opa-Opa, a long time regular of the Retro Gamer magazine forum. Six episodes are available (with episode seven well under way) and the show is starting to build up quite a following. I was lucky enough to be around at the genesis of the show and been able to support Opa in his efforts through words of encouragement, website design and artwork, but though there is now a defined Team Weekend Gamer, the show is all Opa's and he deserves to be praised by retro-heads and current-gen gamers alike.

The show uses a rather apt tagline 'Gaming TV for the Why Don't You generation' and that is exactly how it all happened. After watching a few homebrew gaming TV shows (such as the excellent Retro Core) Opa had his Yosser Hughes moment and with an 'I can do that, gizza job' he set about knocking up a low budget attempt and WGTV was born.

WGTV is made on a budget of nil, using a PC rescued from a skip and only free to use video editing software. This was completely in sync with the Why Don't You ethos and whilst Opa shudders when it is referred to as episode one ("I prefer to see it as the pilot show, just to test the water"), it was an entertaining 30 minutes of reviews, opinions and with the help of Opa's son KID, a significant sense of humour.

Very positive responses and some very constructive feedback led to a 2nd episode that was better structured, better presented, funnier, slicker production and 10 minutes longer. Episode two also saw the return of Bootfair Regulars, a highlight of the show where a selection of games found at most car boot sales are play tested. We were also treated to a new theme tune and the show really started to take on a character of its own. Three more episodes followed over the next few months, each increasing the length of the episode up to the now standard hour. A new job has meant that episode six has taken longer than hoped, but feedback and download figures suggest that WGTV has a bright future.

From being a fan of the first two or three episodes I struck up a good friendship with Opa and managed to wheedle my way into proceedings by providing banners for the shows and we have since set up a joint venture with the Weekend Gamer VIC-20 Archive. Both WGTV and the archive can be found at www.weekend-gamer.co.uk.

Read on for an interview with WGTV's creator/presenter and take a look at the trailers for a taster of what the shows have to offer...

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Q1. Opa-Opa, you care to enlighten the uninitiated to the origins of the name?

A1. Well as anyone who has seen Episode Five or owned a Sega Master System would know it's a name taken from the lead character in the Fantasy Zone games, I needed a retro related name to use for the Retro Gamer magazine forum and Fantasy zone has always been a favourite of mine...

Q2. And your real name?

A2. Is dull and boring, therefore unsuitable for use on a forum (or interview)...

Q3. What's your gaming pedigree?

A3. I started off with one of those TV game machines that played 10 versions of pong, then I had a Phillips G7000 Videpac. But the first machine I really 'got into' was the Commodore VIC-20 which my parents bought me one Christmas, I think they fell for the 'real computer', 'help with the school work' bollocks that was going round at the time but I was only ever interested in playing games on it...

Q4. So is WGTV more like Gamesmaster or Bad Influence?

A4. Neither – If I had to compare it to any show it would be more like 'Movies, Games and Videos' – A show that was on ITV, Saturday afternoons in the '90's. Like WGTV it had no 'presenter' as such and just featured clips of the latest films and video games with a voice over describing what they were like and if they were worth playing...

Q5. Who are Team Weekend Gamer and how did this whole thing come about?

A5. Team Weekend Gamer comprises of me, my son KID and this bloke that I met on line who just kept pestering me to help (that'll be me then! – SirClive). Seriously though, the 'team' came about because I couldn't do the show and the distribution myself. I needed help in getting a website created and with some of the shows artwork etc.

KID joined in with the game playing because he plays a lot of games, while I was putting together the pilot episode he wanted to join in and we found it worked so stuck with it...

Q6. You called your son KID? Are you a fan of the Rocky films or something?

A6. Well I like the Rocky films, but that has nothing to do with my son's name, he is actually named after a character in the Terminator movie. KID is just his initials. He has always used KID on high score tables and so naturally he used it as his forum name.

Q7. You have put a massive amount of time into the first six episodes, all for free. What drives you to give up your evenings and weekends for a bunch of people you probably won't ever meet?

A7. I like creating something. I can't paint or play a musical instrument and programming baffles the hell out of me. I couldn't even get to grips with Basic, let alone make my own game so WGTV is an outlet for my creative side. I enjoy putting it all together and ending up with a finished product...

Q8. The outtakes at the end of each episode are hilarious and it sounds like you have a lot of fun...

A8. We do have a lot of fun messing around together, which means we end up with a lot of mistakes and sound clips that we can't use in the show. Rather than waste them we thought it would be fun to include them somewhere and the end credits seemed the perfect place...

Q9. If the BBC turned up at your door and offered to give you a budget to produce the show for them, how would you use the money?

A9. Depends on how much money I guess, but the first thing I would do is buy a new PC to make the show on. I am still using a machine I pulled out of a skip while working for a shop fitting company and it's rather slow to say the least. I would also get a few new software packages and a video camera, a PS3 and an Xbox 360. If there was any cash left over I would probably spend it on weed...

Q10. Why do you think that there are no good gaming shows on TV anymore?

A10. I'm not sure there ever has been a good gaming show on TV. I think the mistake that Games Master and Bad Influence made was to try and be a 'kids' show. I know that with Games Master Dominic Diamond tried to appeal to adults as well as kids but it was still very childish. I think a much better approach would be something like Film 2007 with Jonathon Ross but with games instead of movies. Instead of trying to be funny and entertaining just tell us what we need to know and show us what the game is like.

Q11. Feedback seems very positive and the download figures are impressive, so what does the future hold for WGTV?

A11. At the moment more of the same I guess. I have loads of games I still want to feature and there are new games coming out all the time. I am always picking up loads of stuff from boot-fairs etc so it will be a long time before I run out of things to cover.

I would like to get another team member who can produce a couple of features an episode just to get a view from a different person and so people don't have to just listen to my voice droning on all the time, but I am also very greedy and want the show to be 'mine' as it were, so finding someone to help is rather difficult...

Q12. What can the viewers do to support the show?

A12. Download and watch the show, then mail me and let me know what they think, what they liked and disliked etc. The more feedback I get the more I feel it has been worth making which encourages me to carry on making the show. If no-one watched the show it would be a bit pointless making it and I love getting feedback. There is also a Weekend Gamer forum where people who watch the show can discuss anything from the features included in the latest episode, or what they would like to see in future episodes to there own boot-fair finds etc. To make it work though I need the viewers to log on and join in...

Q13. Finally, why 'Weekend' Gamer?

A13. Because gaming is a hobby, not a lifestyle. The show is made for people who just like to pick up a pad and play games as something to do, rather than those people who live and breathe video games. As I get older I have found I have less time to play games, unlike when I was in my teens and had all day, everyday, to play as much as I wanted to. I now have to work, pay the rent, go shopping and do a million other boring things with my time. Gaming is something I can do at the weekends to relax and the show is aimed at people who are in the same situation as me. The term 'casual gamer' has become synonymous with people who just want the latest FIFA or movie tie-in, Weekend gamer is for people who enjoy all sorts of games from any era, but don't have huge amounts of time to devote to play them...

Q14. Thanks very much Opa-Opa, any last words for our readers?

A14. I'd just like to say thank you to all the people who have downloaded the show in the past and I hope Team Weekend Gamer can continue to entertain you. Also keep downloading and enjoying RGCD – its projects like this and WGTV that help build a community of gamers, brings us together and keep our hobby alive...