| VG Cats | |
|---|---|
Logo with the two main characters Leo (left) and Aeris (right). |
|
| Author(s) | Scott Ramsoomair |
| Website | http://www.vgcats.com/ |
| Launch date | September 1, 2001[1] |
| Genre(s) | Video game, Parody |
VG Cats (short for Video Game Cats)[2][3] is a webcomic written and drawn by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it features the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphic cats, who often play the roles of characters in popular video games that are parodied in the strip.[4] Strips are usually presented in a large format and in full color. The author generally sets Mondays as days for updating the comic, however, the current update schedule is once a month or even less; he frequently mocks his tardiness in updating in various strips due to personal reasons and frequent convention appearances.[5][6]
The VG Cats website also hosts Adventure Log, the official Final Fantasy XI webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair, and Super Effective,[7] a webcomic parody of the Pokémon game series. Adventure Log has not been updated since 2008.
The comic series often includes video game-based humor and satire targeting the video game industry.[8][9]
Contents |
Ramsoomair said that he began the strip due to boredom at work; he created comics during his lunch breaks.[10] The first VG Cats strip was released on September 1, 2001. (His answer on the FAQ page said it was bad timing, probably in reference to the September 11 attacks that happened that same month)[1] Prior to taking the VGCats.com domain, the comic was hosted at www.vgcats.cjb.net.[11] For a period, VG Cats was affiliated with BuzzComix.[12] During April 1 (April Fools' Day), Ramsoomair replaces the regular home page with fake pages, like a "Krug" page in 2003 [13][14] or a Myspace profile for Solid Snake in 2007. [15]
In 2006, Ramsoomair made a strip depicting creatures from Maxis' videogame Spore, and Maxis created a version of the strip replacing all the drawn characters with in-game versions, and sent him custom figurines of the creatures.[16]
Ramsoomair said that VGCats is "basically" "along the lines of Penny Arcade." The comic originally focused on two gamers;[2] Ramsoomair said by 2006 that within the preceding one to two years he began focusing upon parodies of video games instead of the two gamer format.[17]
VG Cats is not a storyline-based comic, though there are several characters that are staples of the comic. Ramsoomair said that all of his characters "relate" to him "at some point."[18]
Joystiq has defined them as "adorable characters who feel most at home with violence, language, and sexual innuendo".[19] Recurring characters in VG Cats include:
A blue-eyed female cat with pink fur, Aeris was introduced on September 4, 2001 in Strip 2, "Pika?".[20]
Leo Leonardo, The Third[21] is a green-eyed male cat with grey fur. Leo was named after one of Ramsoomair's real cats; Ramsoomair describes the association as "in name only."[2] Ramsoomair euthanized the real-life cat Leo on July 19, 2010.[22] Leo was introduced on September 4, 2001 in Strip 1, "Feelin' Gassy".[23]
The alter ego of Scott Ramsoomair, Pantsman is an incompetent superhero who conceals his identity by wearing trousers and sometimes underpants on his head. His greatest weakness is vodka cooler, which causes him to drop his trousers and transform into "Peter Pantsless".[24] He also wears a pair of jeans around his neck, to provide a two tailed cape. He was introduced in Strip 37, "I Like Bunnies", to help explain the inconsistent updating of the comic.[25]
Chris Boe, a friend and associate of Ramsoomair, created an animated version of VG Cats.[26][27] Boe wrote and animated the episode. Only the first half of the first episode, "Episode 1: A Tale of Two Kitties", has been produced, it was released on January 21, 2006.[28]
Bad Mushrooms, a sprite comic created by Ramsoomair prior to the creation of VG Cats, is hosted on VGCats.com.[11]
Adventure Log, the official Final Fantasy XI webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair.[29] It has not been updated since 2008.
Super Effective, also done by Ramsoomair, began in April 2008 as a comic parody of the popular game series Pokémon.[7] It is also hosted on the VGCats website. It is currently updated infrequently.
In 2003, Ramsoomair designated CafePress as the provider of the VG Cats store; Ramsoomair soon ended the relationship with CafePress. On June 16, 2004 Ramsoomair announced that he established his store on Hyperion Press.[30][31] Afterwards ZeStuff hosted the VG Cats Store.[32] As of 2008 Shark Robot hosts the VGCats store.[33] As of 2008, Ramsoomair is no longer affiliated with CafePress, but it still sells VG Cats merchandise on its website.[34]
VG Cats has been nominated for several Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards, winning 2 awards in 2005 and 1 in 2006.
