Simulation and Slamulacrum

December 17, 2012 8:45 PM

"Video Game Character Wrestling is a Twitch channel run by a guy named Bazza. He said earlier how when he first ran it like a month ago, he 'was happy he got 50 viewers, maybe he could get 50 the next time too', and it just fucking exploded, with an average of 2000-3000 viewers in recent matches," (Via this Something Awful thread). Video Game Character Wrestling is an improbable live-action machinima spectacle which pits AI controlled versions of major game characters (and some real-ish personalities) against one another in a brawl for it all.

It is ridiculous. And occasionally sublime.

posted by codacorolla (11 comments total)

My friends and I used to do this in college, set up AI Create A Wrestler's against each other and then do silly voice overs. It was very fun, I should send this to my old friends.
posted by Faux Real at 9:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hm. Filed under real people: Segata Sanshiro ?
posted by Several Unnamed Sources at 9:42 PM on December 17, 2012

Ganondorf works really well as a wrestler.
posted by Hicksu at 10:13 PM on December 17, 2012

I take it that this takes place while Vegeta's power is still under 5,000.
posted by cmoj at 11:09 PM on December 17, 2012

That right there is how you write a post title.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:11 PM on December 17, 2012 [7 favorites]

This, right here, is almost literally what people used to make fun of you for in movies from the 80s.

Yeah, well, if they try it now, it's to the Simulation Room with them.
posted by Malor at 11:49 PM on December 17, 2012

For some reason I'm enjoying the Phoenix Wright vs Charles Barkley one a lot, although some of the less 'real people' ones from the twitch stream are great too.
posted by motdiem2 at 2:44 AM on December 18, 2012

Oh man, this is wonderful the way MUGEN fight mashups are.
posted by mkb at 5:53 AM on December 18, 2012

It's like somebody resurrected Celebrity Death Match, except without the painstaking claymation, well-considered matchups or scripted content. I'm going with... meh.
posted by Aquaman at 7:41 AM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fictitious characters controlled by a game AI...

...and yet somehow it still feels more real than actual wrestling.
posted by Mokusatsu at 9:17 AM on December 18, 2012

Can't watch this yet since I'm at work, but I'll be very disappointed if this doesn't include a Pee-Wee Herman or Mr. T wrestler. If a "create-a-character" mode doesn't provide the user with options for grey suit + red bowtie + saddle shoes, or mohawk + denim vest + gold chains, it's not much of a game, IMO.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:52 PM on December 18, 2012