OXM Breakdown and the rise of gamer comedy

released this week, the latest issue of OXM Breakdown is a hilarious take on the issue of sexism in games. So how is this an official magazine?

For entertainment media is actually dominated by the military, space heroes macho and plumbers robust with terrible Italian accents, the video game industry can be very serious at times. New sites speculate endlessly - and seriously dark - in recent chauvinistic military shooters, while video reports usually consist of game trailers and interviews packed flattering for developers. Believe me, once you've seen a clip of an executive producer dead to chanting "We are not talking of several players at this time" until the camera swoons, you've seen them all.

But OXM Breakdown is different.

This irregular series of videos created by the Official Xbox Magazine (full disclosure: occasional freelance writer for OXM, future), provides comments odd, bawdy and fun in the games and the players game. The last episode aired last week, addresses the eternal question of women in games, but instead a serious debate on the issues endlessly regurgitated, writer Jon Blyth must wear a dress and brutally parodying a horrible sexist nonsense games makes us suffer. It ends with him shouting: "Oh, shut up and let me save it, woman!" Perplexed female colleague. This is the funniest thing and the smartest I've seen on YouTube since eh Well, since the past OXM break. "There are many serious analysis of games there," says the editor of the magazine, Jon Hicks. "But we thought there was room for a little comedy."

And Blyth form. A few years ago I was brilliant satirical videos Blyth IGN that the report, but the series is retained and joined the staff of OXM. Hicks has decided to launch a series of videos on the same line and the first episode, an incisive analysis of the ridiculously macho coach THQ UFC Personal occurred last September.

This is not the kind of content you'd expect from an official magazine of the game, but tend to be easily accessible and well produced, but more often afraid of video content involving staff members said, criticizing Skyrim behind the counter in a store porn. Yet this is exactly the kind of thing that happens in OXM Breakdown.

"The concept behind the series evolved very organic," says Hicks. "We episodes based on simple games that seemed interesting and we had something to say about it, and went from there to cover issues that are talked about in the industry. episode with "Women", I was worried one of the early edition, but it is good to address a serious matter of in a way that is not terribly arrogant or po-faced, which is how this argument tends to come out. "

• Laying on everything from Bioshock Infinite (an intelligent game online neck) to the wrath of Asura (a silly game that gives players points: look of the breasts), sexism in Blyth games is something wanted to answer for some time. A few months ago, gambling sites became entangled in a series of controversies over scantily clad models at fairs and a trailer that appears Hitman religious inexplicably sexy. "I have not written for everyone banging on girls in the stands," he said. "I just thought it would be another voice thrown into the shouty big pot. So I thought I'd wait until everything calmed down I can stir the pot again. "
• Blyth
tend to write each episode over a period of several weeks, often far from their daily work in OXM. Scripts and past Gav Murphy cameraman and editor. "It's nice to have a trusted person who can tell you it is not fun without you wanting to hit," said Blyth.

From there, everybody in the editorial team of the magazine tends to be roped into the shooting. "The time it takes to make each episode varies greatly," says Hicks. "The slowest part of the process is to find archival images to illustrate the jokes; Gav must spend hours reading through the RF file to find something relevant, then the process to make it work with HD material that grows. "

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