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VGCW Retro: a post-mortem; Victim of the server shutdown
Topic Started: Nov 3 2015, 11:42 PM (2,093 Views)
JNT
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The boss of this gym
This is one of these things I always wanted and dreamed about and I didn't even know that it was close to becoming true (basically a NES championship is something I want to see), it would been cool to watch Gonzales and Simon wrestle again, as well as many other fallen legends.

Too bad it was set in 85', or we could have had Starman in this project.
Edited by JNT, Nov 9 2015, 11:44 PM.
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AnthonyDeadman64
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Forever Miku's loyal fan.
Oh man. This idea is incredible and looks incredible from the video.

The logo itself just screams retro and I love it!

It's really a shame that this was a concept that couldn't be shared to the public thanks to fucking 2K.

But I feel this shouldn't be forgotten or given up on. It's possible that someday somewhere down the line in the future, there may be a chance to get this concept going again. (Possibly in a future wrestling game)

It'll just have to take a lot of patience and a good memory.

Here's hoping 2K17 gives us the chance to see this one day cause this looks like something I'd love to see.
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Wolfenmaus
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SUNDAY NIGHT DEATHWATCH
Mr. Satan Overlay Face
Nov 3 2015, 11:42 PM
(Disclaimer: this is representative of my thoughts and views and are not necessarily representative of people mentioned. Posted with permission of BRYN and TOH. Please don't hate me!)

There are many inspirations for the creative process. The spark can be an event or a moment in your life where you hit an impasse or a new path. This was nothing so dramatic. In short, it was a silly joke about how VGCW had a history before season 1. A history filled with neon, video artifacts and scoop slams.

It was never to be though. The loss of the servers took care of that. This was VGCW: Retro.

As you may or may not know, there’s a team of dedicated people that work behind the scenes to do the many things you may take for granted: recording, fan engagement, rankings, CAW making, testing, balancing and so on. Those people know who they are and how appreciated they are for helping the show to become more successful, to be better, to put on the kind of shows that keep us involved, cheering, booing and sometimes making a post on the forum we regret. I know I have.

I was lucky enough to be party to that funny idea kicked around by the behind-the-scenes team. BRYN as usual was very integral to the process and his savvy at logos was crucial. And what a hell of a logo he made.

Posted Image

Ho-ly shit. Upon seeing that, I got even more excited. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be more involved. But there was a catch: presenting the idea to Bazza. I don’t want to speak for anyone but I myself found Bazza sometimes intimidating to talk to. I don’t believe it’s unfair for me to say that he was direct and would tell you with no sugar coating what your idea was to him. People didn’t want the idea to be shut down before it was ready. We wanted it to be right.

So it was put on the shelf. To be continued. To be revisited at the right time.

It was never revisited in a formal way. Not really anyway. It continued to be the subject of jokes, breezy conversations held late at night. Reminders that we had something. Time marched on. Seasons finished. Gief jerked the curtain.

I really wanted to do something with it though and felt like I wanted to put together something to show that this could work. With the permission of the senior staff, I started to put together a pitch which included a proof of concept trailer, roster, and a baseline primer for creative which I am happy to share with you now.

Original Roster Proposal

My idea started with the Video Game Crash of ’83 except in this VGCW universe it was the Video Game Wrestling Crash of ’83. Territories were folding left and right. However, using his savvy business sense and sheer charisma, Bazza McMahon Sr. struck a crucial deal to combine the top talents from the different territories into one organization. It would be a powerhouse of personalities and brawlers. That organization was VGCW.

The Nintendo characters that were big stars in the early VGCW seasons would be relative unknowns in this period. Young upstarts. None of the guys in the back knew who this Mario guy was, or cared that he was feuding over Pauline’s affections with DK Senior. Atari guys had staked their place and weren’t moving. It would be a story of how the little guys became the people we began to cheer for in Season 1. BRYN had a strong idea of making the actual show documentary-style, having a modern VGCW wrestler introduce famous matches and storylines for each episodes. My biggest wish was having Dracula tell us the story of those three title reigns we never got to see.

Other story ideas included:
- Hitler’s memorable run as top heel and why he had to wear a pink gorilla suit
- Dracula teaming up with Dio Brando to run ragged over the tag division
- Pitfall Harry’s arrogance toward the new blood Mario
- Paperboy and The Noid’s pizza delivery gimmick
- Little Mac’s rise from jobber to contender
- Jackie Chun meets mysterious men from space

Here’s the proof of concept trailer as well. You’ll notice some characters that weren’t in the original roster proposal. I had to put it together from what was actually available. The visual style and tone are what I wanted for the show, within reason: Revisiting old, worn VHS tapes of wrestling shows. Bootlegs. The dirty animations of the 80s and electronic esoterica. I think I nailed it.



I gave this trailer to the senior staff and many were pleased with it. But there was another big event on the horizon: the show was changing hands from Bazza to TOH. There was a lot of stuff to do. Back on the shelf. I’m sure you know the rest of the story since it all just happened. Goodbye, servers. Goodbye, VGCW Retro.

There were other ideas that were part of the primer. Fan engagement strategies, CAW bounties and so on. Boring shit. But it was not to be. Sometimes you have that idea that just can never take shape.

But with so many creative and talented people in our community, I can’t feel too bad. VGCW, WVGCW, EDBW and now BWA. They’ll be great. And you’re great too. For supporting something creative, supporting real people having fun and wanting you in on the party. Thanks for being here.
You used my Gilius.


I'm so happy.
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