The groundbreaking Scottish video game show VideoGaiden is set to return in 2016, its creators have announced.
Rab Florence and Ryan MacLeod are set to return to the show in “Q1 2016”, the pair have stated, which will mark the first new episode of the series in 8 years. The show was initially broadcast by the BBC in 2005, with the station eventually moving it to its own website in 2007 for its third and final series, which concluded in 2008.
The show was a continuation of Consolevania, also created by Rab and Ryan, which is recognised as being one of a very limited number of online shows to successfully make its way to TV, with its title being changed to VideoGaiden during this transition. Both shows were known for their surrealist humour and satirical look at the gaming industry, with them being praised for their more intelligent, thoughtful and funny take on video games as TV broadcasters continued to struggle to adequately represent the medium in any meaningful way.
VideoGaiden has been hailed as a key influence by a number of those who have since embarked upon creating their own gaming-centric online shows, and the landscape of YouTube arguably owes a great deal to its format. While it never achieved a notable level of popularity during its run, it has since been regarded as a cult favourite among those who watched it and those who have become acquainted with it since the BBC concluded the series.
Even today the show’s impact upon the UK gaming media is evident, with the popular team at VideoGamer having seemingly been influenced by its off-the-wall sketches:
The announcement was made via Periscope before later being posted to Twitter. There will be 6 online episodes of VideoGaiden, before one special on BBC Scotland. It will later appear on BBC iPlayer.
