Ross's Game Dungeon: Arcade America (3 of 3)

Ross celebrates the 4th of July with one of the most American games ever made. Watch Parts 1 and 2 first!

Watch Part 1 Here:

Watch Part 2 Here:

[Legionary]

I like the fact the Statue of Liberty has a french accent, some real history there

[PsychoJosh]

What an utterly mystifying product. I can't believe this exists.

Lovecraft was right, the universe is infinite and unknowable, and there truly do exist things beyond mortal comprehension.

[theciv]

I live in Florida, so I can confirm the Miami section as being entirely accurate. FL is a nut-house.

In Elementary school, we had outdoor hallways, and a HUGE snake was living in the rocks by one of our buildings. So, our janitor comes riding up in an off-road golf cart, with a broom in hand. He sweeps up the snake onto the broom, and sends it FLYING over the fence, and into the parking lot. A couple seconds later, we hear a splat, glass shattering, and a car alarm goes off.

That was a good day. Even better than the day the bag of spaghetti set off the fire alarms.

[VRTIGO]

Just watching the gameplay was an ordeal... Ross, you truly are a mondo tough guy.

[KayX]

There is more than Creative's shady stuff. Afaik they kept suing Aureal, who was known for making epic 3D sound, until they ran out of the business, even if Aureal won. Then Creative took their stuff and released it as their own, without any changes. Then, John Carmack created his own 3D sound program for Doom 3. Creative blackmailed him for this and JC had no choice but to use Creative's EAX sound.

Creative, is like Konami in terms of sound cards. They are fucking disgusting.

[curtisbrummitt]

I don't remember Ross mentioning this, so I might have missed it. But I think that the other job that Joey has in addition to his band role is keeping the monsters in check. We see several times that the monsters wreck everything they get their hands on, with Joey being the only one able to keep them under control. And each time they get loose in the beginning and the end, he freaks out talking about how "they're loose" and how he's "gotta find them." I think Joey's been losing so much sleep and seems so stressed because he's the only person capable of wrangling the monsters that are otherwise able to destroy the world.

His role in the band might actually just be a part of that role of keeping the monsters in check. Clearly none of them have any musical talent, so it seems to me like Joey just keeps the band going and keeping the monsters thinking that they're all good so they have a hobby to enjoy aside from destroying everything in sight.

[clyax]

Excellent analysis of Joey. I honestly think he represents the average American. Over-worked, under-appreciated, and always trying their best to make things work out. It's not about the criminals, the advertising, the poor infrastructure, politicians, or the hot green chick statues, it's about the people making their way through all that to get what they need to get done done. That's the American life-style. That's why this is an American game (this is more what I'm interpreting from the creators, not so much that I'm really patriotic).

On a separate note, I think I see a lot of myself as Joey. Someone who has trouble sleeping, always working to accomplish their goals, and often on a timer to get them done. I'm sure this can apply to anyone, but I think the fact that I really connect with Joey is what makes him interest me. Also makes me appreciate how Ross analyzed him for a new perspective on him. I also wish there was more of Joey. I think only the original creator might be able to accomplish that though. New creators might be able to replicate him in writing and maybe even voice acting, but I'm not sure.

[qwertyqeys]

Watching this again, I feel like this game is a perfect example of punk art. It's abrasive, satirical, is a mixed bag in terms of quality while feeling extremely intentional, and at every turn refuses to give you what you want. Also the sentiment of loving this game and never wanting to play it ever again feels like my attitude towards america. A lot of amazing things about the country, but the more time passes the more it feels like a death trap

[wyvernlord]

I'm glad Dr. Steinman survived the events of bioshock 1. But i'm not sure I like his new work.

[muddyboue]

The ending feels to me that they were planning a sequel, and I reckon the plot would've been the monsters getting scattered across the entire planet post-Woodstock nuke, so each level would be themed around a specific country - so you'd have an England-themed level with Buckingham Palace guards and bulldogs, one themed around Italy with falling pizzas or something, one slightly racist portrayal of China (it was the 90s after all) etc. Kind of a shame it never came to be.

[hectooo]

Ross, you could talk about literally anything, and I would love it. From history lessons to why you like cheese, I would listen attentively, every time. 

[Samarai-hfsi]

I feel like a modern Arcade America "sequel", just in terms of tone, would be something like a more light-hearted Postal 2/a way-more-light-hearted Falling Down, a satirical comedy centered around American culture with extremely on the nose commentary about society but juxtaposed with humor just as absurd and hit-or-miss as the original game, maybe even more absurd in order to catch up to today's levels of crazy.

[acephoenix]

I just had an incredible vision Ross. Your line about your cross country trip gave me a vision of some hairy psychopath screaming for 4 hours straight while driving down some desert highway. Just 4 hours of stopping only to breath.

[seekyunbounded]

"america became ore like a cartoon" and it never stopped evolving

[IRAMightyPirate]

Interesting detail about Creative Labs.

[thetruegoldenknight]

Note to self: IF I ever take off as a metal musician, wear a propeller beanie!

[kulbrez]

There are a lot of games I love just because of the main character and his way of interacting with the world. Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes, Francis York Morgan from Deadly Premonition, and a lot of others. I didn’t play nearly as many computer games as you, but I consistently love the King’s Quest main characters.

[iszvscy]

Man, america becoming more like a cartoon is even more relevant today, almost four years later.

[PipEnigma]

Man, a Joey and the Monsters cartoon would be freaking awesome.

[XRunner]

I see that Creative came from the same school of business making as EA, i think Ross would agree