And just like that, it was all over. Despite an outcry from the gaming community, the award winning Inside Xbox was cancelled after providing years of regular Xbox dashboard content. The announcement that Inside Xbox in the US had been axed sparked petitions and numerous articles from UK gamers showing support for our version. But the news that came a week later left many gamers saddened and feeling resentful that their voices had been ignored. Shows like SentUaMessage, which won best games broadcast at last year’s Games Media Awards, answered 360 gamers’ questions on release dates, XBL features, and the completely random, and The NExUS, a show that covered news, events, and expos were announced deemed no longer useful by Microsoft. Presenters Dan Maher and Andy Farrant’s unique style and humour were to be replaced by third-party content from IGN and GameSpot. Regular viewers felt that Xbox lost part of its personality that day. The IX team were out of work. Fans were not happy.
But in the midst of the bleakness, three champions arose. Set back but not beaten, Maher, along with ex-IX producers Ashley Denton and Gareth Wild, declared that they would return to our screens in the form of Explosive Alan Productions: a passionate team committed to bringing gamers quality video content. But to do this, of course, the team needed money. And so the Project Possum campaign came about. When it was revealed that Explosive Alan were attempting to raise $10,000 for equipment, supporters of the cause were quick to donate. Within six hours the target had been met, and, as of today, total funds raised stand at $34,000. An incredible result.
So Homework has now graced our screens. A show that features a different theme each week and sees the team playing a game, watching a film, and another task chosen by viewers. They may not have the equipment they used to but the talent still remains. Each episode will be featured here on Ready Up starting with Episode 3 which you can view below an interview with Dan, where he discusses the past, the future, and hair tips. Of course.
How did it feel when the donations started coming in? Did you ever expect such a huge response?
Dan: Gratifying. How else can you feel when there’s such a surge of generosity from so many people, friends, family and strangers alike? I’d hoped we’d hit our target, and that a month would give us just enough time to garner enough support to reach it, but it only took six hours. We were absolutely elated. Did I expect us to hit over $34,000 in total? Never. If you’d told teenage me that Konami would one day lay down $5,000 to help him/me make a show, he’d probably have slapped you and gone back to playing Super Probotector. I was a troubled, lonely child.
It’s not just the money, either; we’ve received so many offers from people who just want to offer their services to help the project become a reality, which has not so much warmed my heart as it has shoved it in an oven pre-heated to gas mark 9.
What can we expect from Homework over the next few months?
Dan: Plenty of cult games and movies (all suggested by the viewers, of course), hours of tangental jibber-jabber, increasingly ridiculous challenges (again, viewers’ choice), a string of wonderful guests who are all far more eloquent and capable than I am, community contributions both anecdotal and musical, dozens of litres of consumed alcohol and probably the odd swear. Oh, and we’re also hoping to make it available as a podcast – audio-only at first, but we’ll try to make it a vodcast (or whatever the video equivalent is) once we find an affordable solution. Or a gullible advertiser.
Are there any past gaming TV shows that have inspired or influenced you over the years?
Dan: I think Gamesmaster, poorly aged as it is, really set a precedent for bringing gaming and poor sexual innuendo together, so that’s definitely had some influence on me. Digitiser was probably the most influential games thing (and it was definitely a thing) that I saw on TV, and that wasn’t even a show.
Which TV channel would you most like to pick up the show?
Dan: Whichever one would treat our approach to gaming with the level of respect that we and the audience expect. The truth is that I really don’t know. I’m not even sure if it’s a good idea to go anywhere near TV, but I’m curious to experience the whole process of pitching a show and being told to fuck off because it’s not as good as The Cube.
Is there anything you really miss about working at Microsoft?
Dan: The people (well, a lot of them). My team. Our lovely new set. The freedom, relatively speaking, to pursue our ideas without cloying levels of interference while still enjoying the benefits that being part of a multi-billion dollar corporation brings. The salary. There’s a lot I miss; it was a great place to work.
How will you abuse your new-found creative freedom in your videos? Swears? Nudity?
Dan: Definitely swears, but hopefully not deployed in a way that seems gratuitous. As you’ll see in Homework, the bad language is the sort that comes up in everyday conversation rather than some juvenile attempt at being edgy. Nudity’s been explored in our Project Possum vid; I’m not too shy about getting my body out, despite it being quite pale, hairy and scrawny. That’s not to say that I’ll be doing it often, if ever again. Drugs? Only if it’s funny. Sex? Only if I can find anyone who’s willing.
What’s your favourite PS3 exclusive?
Dan: Yakuza 4
Where do you see yourself and the rest of the Explosive Alan crew in five years?
Dan: Slouching through London train carriages, stinking of stale piss and reeling off the old, “I’m really sorry to bother you ladies and gentlemen…” patter in order to gather enough loose change to buy another 3 litre bottle of White Lightning. It’s that, or Explosive Alan has gone from strength to strength and we’ve become affluent playboys who’ve lost sight of our idealistic goals in favour of being blinded by wealth, women and wealthy women. There’s no middle ground.
Finally, do you have any words of advice for aspiring games media types looking to try and pull off a haircut as amazing as yours?
Dan: Go to Rush on Tottenham Court Road and ask for Sam. He’s travelling at the moment, but he’ll be back soon. I hope. If things start going a bit awry in the barnet department, it’s because he’s decided to abandon me for a life of pan-global easy living and free loving.
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