Clan of the Gray Wolf

The Clan of the Gray Wolf is the name of both a group and website that features videos and written articles on various aspects of geek culture, with a concentration on video games, tabletop games, and movies.

The idea for the group began during a D&D gaming session in May, 2009, and was born out of a desire to create original content that would be an outlet for the group's frequent geeky debates. There are currently three members:
 * Roo produces "16-Bit Gems", handles most of the video editing for the site, and runs the front end of the website and YouTube channel.
 * Commodore128 is the host of the "Echo Screen" Podcast/Videocast, is the principal actor for "Painful Memories in Gaming", and also provides technical support for the website.
 * Boomer is the appointed tabletop gaming guru, appears regularly on the "Echo Screen", and also writes blogs pertaining to D&D (ranging from useful DM tools to interviews).

16-Bit Gems
See Full Article: 16-Bit Gems

16-Bit Gems is the flagship series for CotGW, and also includes the first video ever released by the group (16-Bit Gems #1: Illusion of Gaia on June 3, 2009). Hosted, written, filmed, and edited by Roo (as well as co-written with Commodore128), this series has attracted more viewers than any other made by CotGW.

The theme of the series takes an opposite approach to the negative nostalgic video game reviews that have become common on the internet in recent years. Instead, these reviews pertain to the great under-appreciated games of the 16-bit era, which include those from the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis (Mega Drive), and NEC TurboGrafx-16. The show is part history lesson, part review, and provides information and opinion with a sense of humor. Roo's role has been likened to that of Alton Brown, who is known for mixing comical yet informative history and science lessons while cooking on his TV show, Good Eats.

The most popular episodes thus far are a two-part special on the history of the EarthBound series, as well as a review of the game itself. Together clocking in at almost an hour long, these videos received special attention on websites such as EarthBound Central and GoNintendo.

Painful Memories in Gaming
See Full Article: Painful Memories in Gaming

Painful Memories in Gaming is a skit show that involves two friends in the present day who look back at unlikely and unfortunate events in their life that have been perpetrated by classic video games.

Writen by and starring Commodore128 and Roo, and also alternately directed by them, some examples of the situations involved include a high school girlfriend breaking up with one of the guys due to his unhealthy fixation with Aeris from Final Fantasy VII, and how one of them felt when they first discovered that Samus from Metroid was a woman.

Echo Screen
See Full Article: Echo Screen

The Echo Screen is a podcast series that is also released as a video podcast, and tackles various topics relating to geek culture as decided on by the panel. Normally, the panel is hosted by Commodore128, with Roo and Boomer joining - but depending on the subject and applicable areas of expertise, participants may be added or dropped. The name "Echo Screen" comes from a recurring item in early Final Fantasy games that cured the "silence" status ailment.

Some examples of subjects include a "1 Year Review of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition", and the "Indefensibility of the Star Wars Prequels".

Links
Clan of the Gray Wolf website

YouTube channel

Group Page on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com

Clan of the Gray Wolf on XNO