[DVD]: Uber Goober, reviewed by Aeonite (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10549.phtml

Michael Fiegel's Summary:

Uber Goober is a 90-or-so-minute documentary about Role-Playing Games, taking a look (not quite in-depth, but a bit more than cursory) at the hobby itself through the eyes of the people who enjoy it. The overall tone of the film is of gentle self-mockery. The gamers, game designers and, indeed, the filmmakers all seem to be in on the joke.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by ChewyGranola at 2004-08-18 11:05:52
Converted from Phorums BB System

After reading this I had to order it. I will watch it in both joyful glee and terrible horror.

Post originally by Kenneth Dorba at 2004-08-18 11:39:07
Converted from Phorums BB System

Order indeed... Awesome geekiness on one DVD. We are acknowledged at last.

Post originally by Chris Farrell at 2004-08-18 13:48:53
Converted from Phorums BB System

I enjoyed Uber Goober quite a bit. My only real criticism of the film was that it sometimes seemed needlessly defensive about gaming. I had felt that it was trying to be a "Trekkies" (great film) for gamers, but while Trekkies seemed to have a real unreserved fondness for its subjects, Uber Goober seemed to be trying just a bit too hard to convince you that really, we aren't crazy.

Interestingly, if you read serious books like Shippey's "JRR Tolkien: Author of the Century" or Senior's "Stephen R Donaldson: Variations of the Fantasy Tradition", they too spend a big chunk of the first part of their books saying "no really, Tolkien/Donaldson are worthy of study". My feeling is, if you've got the content, you don't need to be defensive. Uber Goober would have even better if it could have been a little less self-concious. The lengthy Michael Stackpole bits, for example, where he goes through statistics on how D&D does not lead to teenage suicide, were a little overdone.

Still, a good and fun film. Large chunks of it were filmed at Origins, by the way, not just in Austin.

I personally was hoping to see some boardgamers, but I guess boardgaming doesn't film too well

Post originally by Dan Davenport at 2004-08-18 18:56:15
Converted from Phorums BB System

Thanks for the great review, Michael! It definitely sounds like it's worth a watch.

--
Dan Davenport

Post originally by unterhund at 2004-08-19 07:21:38
Converted from Phorums BB System

Absolutely right, Dan. But would it be worth watching repeatedly? Because that's the ultimate criterion for shelling out $20 + shipping.

For those who've seen it, would you want to watch it more than once or twice?

Post originally by Chris at 2004-08-19 15:33:05
Converted from Phorums BB System

Probably not, but you could always loan it out to your friends so they'll let you borrow some other DVDs, games, or whatever.

I enjoyed it, and am reasonably glad I own it, but I wasn't thrilled about the price.