Why MANvsGAME?
Easy. He deserves it. If there’s any one broadcaster who deserves such praise, it is MANvsGAME. I’ve followed many personalities in my years of being on JTV/TTV, but MAN was the first to standout in a significant way. He exemplified some of the better prospects of broadcast personalities while maintaining a true “gamer” perspective. He was there first and foremost for the games, but everything that came with his commentary, personality and friendships allowed for a deeper connection with the viewers. To this day I have not seen a broadcaster willingly translate an entire game (an RPG no less!) for his viewers as MAN has with Ni No Kuni, just so they’d know what was going on. That alone deserves massive amounts of respect. But if that’s not enough, simply take into consideration how MAN handled the original announcement of MANvsGAME: It’s Show Time!.
I’m paraphrasing, but MAN mentioned during one of his playthroughs of the game that he thought it was simply going to be a little project with no real meat to it, and it’s true. He had no reason to believe the game was going to be anything more than a horribly programmed mess, but he still supported it. He still let his community know of its existence without knowing who I was or what I’ve done previously and all without even seeing a screenshot of the game beforehand. In a bit I highlighted for my YouTube channel, even with a single screenshot, some “witty” lines and a bunch of fancy low-res graphics, MAN still had no reason to support the project, but he did full-force and encouraged others to support it, too. Which leads me to the final point of this article:
MANvsGAME: It’s Show Time! reception:
The amount of general support, expressed excitement, and constant discussion of the game was (and still is) awe-inspiring. It was one of the greater moments of my life if not simply for the fact MAN stopped playing Super Meat Boy (dare I say one of his favorite games ever?) just so he could play my game at midnight. I can’t put such flattery into words! MAN and his community’s support went so far beyond my expectations that after the initial announcement, what followed on my part was genuine speechlessness. Trying to fathom such unconditional support seemed absurd.
It’s very apparent that the benevolence of MAN also shines through in his community, better known as MANkind. MAN treats his fans/community with great respect, and in return they provide him with astounding amounts of unconditional support. My cynical side assured me making the game was a mistake; “MANkind was going to eat me alive!” I thought. It took me literally 10-plus minutes to hit submit on Twitter and Facebook announcing the game. I was a stranger. A nobody. And I expected MANkind to check out my work? What nonsense! While it’s probably true that many would have not followed had MAN not taken it upon himself to support my (at the time) mysterious project, the fact so many were quick to back his support (again, for a complete stranger!) is something I never see these days. In most cliques and circles, it takes much, much more to gain people’s trust or excitement. I know this because I’ve personally spent almost ten years trying to get the same exact response I got from MANkind in one day.
Over the past couple of days, I’ve gotten tweets, messages and e-mails about the game. Words of praise, potential bug reports, asking for tips, offered advice and just genuine pleasure fill my inbox instead of hate mail, angry letters and complaints. It is something that someone such as myself, someone who has spent so many years trapped by negativity, is finding difficult to adjust to. In a good way! It’s exhausting trying to explain the same thing to three different people in a day, and I’m sure my inability to respond to these people is probably giving them the absolute wrong idea. I even fumble Twitter responses because the positivity always catches me off guard!
MAN’s community has probably some of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of interacting with. The unconditional support alone that his community is willing to offer to even the strangest of the strange… it’s truly something rarely seen nowadays. It was a huge honor.
In conclusion:
At the end of the day, while it may currently make for some entertaining MAN-rage moments, I’m happy that Jayson has been such a good sport about the whole thing. Hopefully should he ever feel down about the show or anything, he’ll be able to look back on It’s Show Time! and find solace. All that matters is he and MANkind are entertained to what ever extent, and if I’ve done that, I think we could call that a job well done.
In terms of where I stand now that the game has been released, and where I go from here, I can’t say. It’s been weighing heavily on my conscious for the last couple days. Now that I know MAN has at least embraced the idea, it seems like a no-brainer (should the possibility arise) to do more, and I would love to make more in the name of fan appreciation. However, I don’t want it to feel tacked on. I want anything else I make to have meaning, and at least have the same level of appreciation as the rest of It’s Show Time!. The downside is that in reality, it would require time and dedication that I cannot afford. So with that said, I have no idea where it goes from here, but I’d be okay with MANvsGAME: It’s Show Time! being known as one of my better, and successful (even final) game creations.
I prefaced this article with some back story because it’s important I stress my origins as a “game developer”. I’m still new, and I’m not sure what the next step is. Years ago when I started making music, I would tend to use quotations when referring to myself as a composer. Eventually I was able to make it far enough to be a featured artist next to a multi-platinum, best-selling rock band. Part of me wants to believe that this is a sign of a new horizon, and that perhaps I will be able to make something of myself as a game creator, designer or just idea man. I know for sure that the unexpected “success” of the game has caused me to now rethink what I should be doing with my 2012. I would love to make more games now that I might have an audience, but that’s only viable if I can still earn enough to eat. We’ll see what the future holds.
To those of you who managed to read through this entire thing, you have my thanks. Even if you just skimmed it, I hope it brought you some insight. I realize that it was a lot, but this experience deserved to be highlighted. Again, thank you to those (not just MAN and MANkind, but everyone) who have supported me over the years. As long as you guys continue to support it, I will do my best to keep you entertained.
Thank you for reading!