AMA IaMA Gorse: Ask me Anything! (AMA)

[Taukyrie]

If you had the chance to play one game for the first time again, what game would that be and why?

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

Any pointers for someone who wants to improve at comedy?

 

[Gorse]

What’s your favorite type of tree?

Red pine (Pinus resinosa). We had these around my house growing up, and they're a defining piece of set dressing for my childhood. They're absolutely MASSIVE, somewhat-thin trees that stretch as high as seven storeys, and only have branches and leaves right at the top. Looking up at them as a small child, especially on a bright summer's day, made it seem like they reached into another world. The fact that they have the word "pinus" in their scientific name is an added bonus.

My area of Leafland has some really gorgeous trees any time of year, and in autumn it can truly get magnificent. Right now, everything is dead and bare, but during the dark, rainy spring season it's like you're in the dead of the jungle, some days.

If you had the chance to play one game for the first time again, what game would that be and why?

Easy answer: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. When I first got this game, I knew nothing about it and really enjoyed the story as I was playing through it, but I thought the first ending you get was all there was. When I looked up the game after I'd "beaten" the initial route, I was immediately spoiled about the true ending (and the ending for Virtue's Last Reward), completely ruining any enjoyment I could have with the Zero Escape series. :( It would be nice to wipe that slate clean and try again, because I do think those games are really cool.

Any pointers for someone who wants to improve at comedy?

• The first and most important rule is that your comedy should always, always be something that makes you laugh. You should never force yourself to tell a certain kind of joke, or feel that you "have" to use certain strategies or lines. Write (or say, whatevs) the kind of thing you'd like to hear someone else say, and be genuine with your delivery.
• Don't worry about offending people, but be aware of context. Everyone gets offended by something, and constantly fretting over whether or not your jokes are offensive is an easy recipe for lifelong neuroticism. (For proof, see the Millennial generation.) Focus on making your audience laugh by getting on their good side. 95% of all people like envelope-pushing humour that involves "offensive" stereotypes and cliches, and the 5% that don't are only important if they make up a significant chunk of who you're speaking to.
  • FOR EXAMPLE: I wouldn't make a joke about fat people at an Eaters Anonymous meeting, because the people there are vulnerable and don't want to laugh, but I'd absolutely say "Hey you massive chunkers, put down the fork before your heart explodes" here on RGT, because I know nobody cares
• Don't centre your persona around making petty jabs at politicians/public figures/ideologies you don't like. It makes you come off as an insufferable moron to pretty much everyone: people who disagree with you will immediately write you off, and people who agree with you will only like your work if they agree with it CONSTANTLY, which is very hard to do. It also pigeonholes you into making the same kind of joke forever, because the second you divulge is the second your rabid advocates will immediately disown you. (For proof, see every major late-night talk show host currently on television.)
  • REMEMBER: All satire, from any standpoint, can immediately be disarmed with three words: "That'll show 'em! "
• If you absolutely must steal jokes, steal them from obscure sources that the majority of your audience will be unfamiliar with. I read this in a Steve Martin book, so it has to be true. Stealing jokes of any sort is poor form, but can occasionally be unavoidable. Just don't pass off any major figure's work as your own, and you'll be OK. I personally try to be as original as I can be, but it's very difficult in the world of comedy.
• And finally, the most important thing: Be confident, not prideful or egotistic. Don't hem and haw, don't fret over certain subjects, and don't worry so much. Most people want to laugh, and your job is to help them reach that goal with lots of hilarious jokes. Always be on the audience's side, and project yourself clearly and effectively.
  • REMEMBER THE (OTHER) NUMBER ONE RULE OF COMEDY: Never be too proud to laugh at yourself and what you believe in. 99% of people can't do this, but the 1% who can reap the benefits.

All those tips are valuable outside of comedy, too. I should be charging for this stuff.

 

[ObscureJigglypuff]

How is Gorse sempai feeling today?

 

[Gorse]

How is Gorse sempai feeling today?

JUST DANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a little tired because I stayed up late last night, but I've got F all to do later today, so I'll just play Minecraft in the evening while listening to a movie commentary and have a chicken caesar wrap for dinner.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

• The first and most important rule is that your comedy should always, always be something that makes you laugh. You should never force yourself to tell a certain kind of joke, or feel that you "have" to use certain strategies or lines. Write (or say, whatevs) the kind of thing you'd like to hear someone else say, and be genuine with your delivery.
• Don't worry about offending people, but be aware of context. Everyone gets offended by something, and constantly fretting over whether or not your jokes are offensive is an easy recipe for lifelong neuroticism. (For proof, see the Millennial generation.) Focus on making your audience laugh by getting on their good side. 95% of all people like envelope-pushing humour that involves "offensive" stereotypes and cliches, and the 5% that don't are only important if they make up a significant chunk of who you're speaking to.
  • FOR EXAMPLE: I wouldn't make a joke about fat people at an Eaters Anonymous meeting, because the people there are vulnerable and don't want to laugh, but I'd absolutely say "Hey you massive chunkers, put down the fork before your heart explodes" here on RGT, because I know nobody cares
• Don't centre your persona around making petty jabs at politicians/public figures/ideologies you don't like. It makes you come off as an insufferable moron to pretty much everyone: people who disagree with you will immediately write you off, and people who agree with you will only like your work if they agree with it CONSTANTLY, which is very hard to do. It also pigeonholes you into making the same kind of joke forever, because the second you divulge is the second your rabid advocates will immediately disown you. (For proof, see every major late-night talk show host currently on television.)
  • REMEMBER: All satire, from any standpoint, can immediately be disarmed with three words: "That'll show 'em! "
• If you absolutely must steal jokes, steal them from obscure sources that the majority of your audience will be unfamiliar with. I read this in a Steve Martin book, so it has to be true. Stealing jokes of any sort is poor form, but can occasionally be unavoidable. Just don't pass off any major figure's work as your own, and you'll be OK. I personally try to be as original as I can be, but it's very difficult in the world of comedy.
• And finally, the most important thing: Be confident, not prideful or egotistic. Don't hem and haw, don't fret over certain subjects, and don't worry so much. Most people want to laugh, and your job is to help them reach that goal with lots of hilarious jokes. Always be on the audience's side, and project yourself clearly and effectively.
  • REMEMBER THE NUMBER ONE RULE OF COMEDY: Never be too proud to laugh at yourself and what you believe in. 99% of people can't do this, but the 1% who can reap the benefits.

All those tips are valuable outside of comedy, too. I should be charging for this stuff.

Thank you for sharing this, genuinely. This is a very enlightening read.

 

[Gorse]

because the second you divulge

HEY MORON: THE WORD YOU MEANT TO USE HERE WAS "DIVERGE"!!!! I wish we could edit old posts – now everyone's going to think I'm a fat, useless fool. And we wouldn't want that!

 

[ciro64]

What games makes you grind your teeth from just hearing the name, besides Undertale?

 

[Tonberry]

What games make your heart flutter with joy from just hearing the names, besides Sonic Adventure?

 

[Lee__Kanker]

What's new pussycat?

 

[Gorse]

What games makes you grind your teeth from just hearing the name, besides Undertale?

Unless I'm forgetting something obvious, there isn't one – Undertale is the only game I "hate" beyond actually playing the thing. (And make no mistake – I do hate actually playing Undertale, it's boring as shit after the first run-through.) I dislike it more for what it did to "geek culture", and frankly culture as a whole – you genuinely could use it as a diving line between when I still liked new media coming out and when I didn't.

What games make your heart flutter with joy from just hearing the names, besides Sonic Adventure?

Apart from SA1, I really like:

• Sonic 1 (16-bit), Sonic CD, and S3&K, plus several of the 8-bit Sonic games and spinoffs
• Team Fortress 2 + All other Valve shooters
• The original 2D Mario platformers (Mario Bros to Yoshi's Island)
• Mario Party Advance
• Tecmo's Deception series
• The Ace Combat series (specifically the first game, Air Combat)
• Loads and loads of Genesis games – Ristar, Toejam & Earl, Mean Bean Machine, Fatal Labyrinth, the Wonder Boys....
• The GROW series of flash games
• Minecraft, specifically Skyblock
• Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon series
• Garage: Bad Dream Adventure

As I get older and play games less and less, these are what I come back to most. See my full list of fave games here.

What's new pussycat?

This song becomes instantly hilarious if you take the word "cat" out of all the lyrics. Beyond that, not much, Chuck!

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Unless I'm forgetting something obvious, there isn't one – Undertale is the only game I "hate" beyond actually playing the thing. (And make no mistake – I do hate actually playing Undertale, it's boring as shit after the first run-through.) I dislike it more for what it did to "geek culture", and frankly culture as a whole – you genuinely could use it as a diving line between when I still liked new media coming out and when I didn't.

BUT DONT YOU KNOW UNDERTALE INVENTED THE CONCEPT OF EMPATHY ENDED THE GULF WAR AND SAVED MY CAT???

 

[Gorse]

BUT DONT YOU KNOW UNDERTALE INVENTED THE CONCEPT OF EMPATHY ENDED THE GULF WAR AND SAVED MY CAT???

If Undertale fans ever – god forbid – read a book, their heads would probably explode.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

If Undertale fans ever – god forbid – read a book, their heads would probably explode.

I remember listening to a podcastt wheresomeone that would go on to write for dragon age veilguard said the game was perfect, not the exact words but when it came out it won game of the year at gamefaqs at something and this person went "Undertale has not really any flaws in the way..."

Said person also wrote a reviuew of mighty number 9 and compared it to undertale of all games when talking about its crummy bosses

Not defending the game that makes you cry like an anime fan on prom night but that comparison made 10 years ago really stuck with me for how completly out of fucking let field it was

 

[Somnia]

Will the ban ever be lifted, or is the corruption within RGT's upper ranks simply too foundational for us ro ever see justice?

 

[Gorse]

Will the ban ever be lifted, or is the corruption within RGT's upper ranks simply too foundational for us ro ever see justice?

They’re all on Toby’s payroll, and they’re trying to keep a radical, maverick thinker like me down. THIS GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP

 

[Yousef]

If you could Gorse one person, who would you gorse?

 

[Lee__Kanker]

What are games you put on for the atmosphere?

 

[Gorse]

If you could Gorse one person, who would you gorse?

I’ve actually been Gorsing @ciro64 for years, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Post automatically merged: Mar 4, 2025

What are games you put on for the atmosphere?

OK, I have a really weird answer for this, but it's true. I'm not really someone who values "atmosphere" that much in video games – I just play these dumb things for the funsies – but someone that always gets me right in the vibe zone are digitized photographs of nature scenes from the weird in-between era of the 3DO, CDi, and Atari Jaguar. Something in my brain goes effing nuts for stuff like this:

God I love that shit, it reminds me so much of the grainy nature footage set to calming piano music they used to show on late-night Canadian kids' networks. I want to live in those worlds with no one else around.

I also really love any game that's colorful, cartoony, and pop-arty, with a prominent sunny blue sky, like these ones:

And, finally, anything that has one of those 2000s-era digital pop art aesthetics is going to get under my skin, with several good examples being:

Basically, I wish it was the late 2000s again, because the modern era SUCKS!!! ?

 

[Lee__Kanker]

What's your favorire Undertale boss?

 

[Gorse]

I should have known all these questions would be Undertale-related. You people can't give me a moment's rest, can you!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What's your favorire Undertale boss?

The Mettaton boss battle (the latter one, not the quiz) is basically the only part of the game I enjoyed (or, at least, enjoyed when I was playing the game at age 17, I have no idea if I'd find it insufferable now or not).

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I should have known all these questions would be Undertale-related. You people can't give me a moment's rest, can you!?!?!?!?!?!?!?


The Mettaton boss battle (the latter one, not the quiz) is basically the only part of the game I enjoyed (or, at least, enjoyed when I was playing the game at age 17, I have no idea if I'd find it insufferable now or not).

Because the more you show annoyance towards something the funner it is to talk about that thing
Also because while I like Undertale I completely agree the way its fandom treats it like the new super mario bros is asisine and unsufferably pretentious

Speaking of whats the most pretentious video abt it youve seen?
Im going with this

First of all "A game of HOPE"
Hope for what?? All murders are gonna stop because a videogame said killing is bad?
And nothing says "Im so deep" like starting the video with a dictionary definition

 

[Gorse]

Speaking of whats the mosf pretentious video abt it youve seen?

I'd rather take my own life with a lobster mallet than watch any form of "analysis" or "breakdown" video about Undertale, so instead I'll name the Extra Punctuation episode dedicated to Yahtzee wanking it off which I mistakenly watched thinking it would be funny. Talk about two useless pricks made for each other!

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I'd rather take my own life with a lobster mallet than watch any form of "analysis" or "breakdown" video about Undertale, so instead I'll name the Extra Punctuation episode dedicated to Yahtzee wanking it off which I mistakenly watched thinking it would be funny. Talk about two useless pricks made for each other!

I didnt know yahtzee reviewed, it but I fucking knew he would say its perfect
The guy hates games that are too sincere like mgs and any jrpg and loves his sUbVerSion, so he would be all over it


EXTRA punctuation though? It was so perfect it deserved the deluxe treatment? Smh

Whats a unique game mechanic you instatly fell in love with? In my case it would be Siren's sightjacking

 

[Tonberry]

Who’s your favorite Twin Peaks character?

If you haven’t watched it, who’s your favorite muppet?