10 Questions: James Rolfe, The Angry Video Game Nerd

posted Nov. 5, 2008 08:01:06 AM by     

Well, being the artist of Dipswitch here at PiRi is an honor, and doesn't have as much clout as you might imagine. However, last month I contacted James Rolfe, the Angry Video Game Nerd (nee Angry Nintendo Nerd) and asked him for an interview.

He obliged to a net-terview, and would answer some questions for me. So, sending him a picture I did of him as Link to sort of grease the wheels, AVGN mailed me the answers to my questions.

1. What do your parents think of what you do?

I'm not aware if they watch it, but they've always been supportive of what I do, no matter how eccentric.

2. Have they always been supportive? I have to ask, since my favorite episode 'The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout' has stuff that would make my father laugh, and my mother cry.

Yes, they have. Visual shit gags have that kind of mixed reaction. Again, not sure if my parents have seen that.

3. What's your favorite game on the old school systems?

Hard question. I've always liked the 3 on SNES, Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past, and Super Metroid. Amazing games.

4. There's a lot of similarity between your style of action sequences and direction to other indie-style directors of horror fare, like Sam Raimi, and Tobe Hooper. Who would you say are your influences when it comes to direction?

The early Peter Jackson movies like Bad Taste and Brain Dead. Sam Raimi, the Evil Dead movies for sure. Romero movies like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, yeah.

5. Do you use reviews to determine what you buy? Or do you rely on the recommendations of fans, friends, etc.?

I do take a lot of recommendations for movies to watch. I do read reviews sometimes.

6. What's the advice you'd give any aspiring web-based humorists out there hoping to get exposure? (Full Disclosure: This was a bit of net whoring on my part. I wanted to go to someone who's good at driving traffic for some free intel.)

Find something new, and something that people can relate to, perhaps.

7. What's the one movie from the 80s you'd like to see made into a video game?

Hmmm. What hasn't been done? Maybe Big Trouble In Little China. There was a Commodore 64 version amongst others at the time, but maybe that one could be remade.

8. Do you get recognized on the street at all? What's that like?

I do. It's weird. I don't mind it. Just don't expect me to be like AVGN in real life. haha

9. Will there be a Nostalgia Critic / AVGN battle part 2? And will it have a proper number for the sequel?

No plans yet. It would probably be called "The Last Final Conclusive Battle II" or something ridiculous.

10. Finally, what are you most proud of in your body of work?

The Deader the Better and Legend of the Blue Hole are two movies of mine that sort of hint to what kind of feature films I plan to make in the future, so usually I would point people to those.


Thanks for having me

Well, James, thank you for the answers. If you guys are interested in checking out James' movies, you can see The Deader the Better here and Legend of the Blue Hole here.

You can reach AVGN's video reviews here. I recommend his Godzillathon. It was funny as all hell.

Again, thanks to James Rolfe for the interview. I'm currently seeking to interview someone over at Raven Software on the upcoming Wolfenstein game. Check the forums for the thread!

Dan (Alienmastermind) Houser

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