15 years ago was the start of what would become an internet video game sub-culture. A man made a video review of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, full of exaggerated outrage toward the game’s weaker aspects. The video solely consists of game footage full of deaths and annoyed criticism, lacking the on-screen presence of the narrator. The narrator would soon make himself known, wearing a white-collared shirt with pens and simple glasses, the stereotypical look of a nerd. This man is James Rolfe, portraying his character, the Angry Video Game Nerd.

James Rolfe is primarily a filmmaker with a particular love for horror films, but the Angry Video Game Nerd is easily his most successful project. His original Castlevania 2 review and a review on the NES Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde originally weren’t intended to be put up for a larger audience, but he was encouraged to put it up on his site, Cinemassacre, under the name Angry Nintendo Nerd.

Roughly 15 years ago, I reviewed Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest which became AVGN: Episode 1. If you’d like to know the exact date, I checked the script. It seems the script began May 30, but there’s no way to know when the actual video was completed. pic.twitter.com/cDzSp6vjza

— cinemassacre (@cinemassacre) May 16, 2019

In 2006, Rolfe started uploading to YouTube. His third video, on Karate Kid, was the formal introduction to the Angry Nintendo Nerd, who would soon be re-branded as the Angry Video Game Nerd. The video wastes no time in establishing his character; after some frustrating deaths, the Nerd repeatedly shouts expletives, tries to strangle himself with a controller cord and shoves his head through a bathroom cabinet before delving into his rant.

Blunt and crass, the Angry Video Game Nerd grew in popularity on YouTube, contrasting with the more professionalized review scene, by entertaining with skits and frankness. He partnered with ScrewAttack to produce content for them and they would provide the content to GameTrailers. This partnership lasted from 2007 to 2013 and while the Nerd stands strong, both entities no longer exist. As with many new media companies, GameTrailers was gutted in a buyout in 2014 and was closed in 2016, while ScrewAttack was absorbed into Rooster Teeth and ScrewAttack’s Death Battle content became their defining feature, to the point of being re-branded as such.

The AVGN videos aren’t all vitriol, as much as internet culture will lead you to believe. They also tend to be educational, with brief dives into the history behind whatever topic the video is covering. Some episodes ditch skits entirely and have a more documentary-feel, such as the episode on SwordQuest, covering the titular series and its corresponding contest. In general, the AVGN provides a deep dive into a lot of games that people have never known about. At times the Nerd can feel like a teacher, albeit one that cuts loose with his students.

The thing that I find is that despite the nerd’s popularity, there’s plenty of people that miss out on the educational depth; In fact, there are plenty of people that forget that the Nerd at his worst is satirical, highlighting the absurdity of gamers getting so upset at old games. “The whole joke, Rolfe explained, was just how upset one obsessive gamer could get over games that were over 20 years old,” the Daily News wrote. While James Rolfe helped pioneer internet reviews, some reviewers that have come after are unironically, disproportionately angry.

The tale of this angry gamer wasn’t limited to the web series. Using the Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe pursued his dream of producing a feature-length movie, seeking funding through donations through Paypal. In 2011, Rolfe went higher with an Indiegogo campaign. While the campaign originally asked for $75,000, it would be funded 433% over, making $325,327. The movie was released in 2014, to mixed reception.

Less mixed, however, was the Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, an officially licensed video game released in 2013. Much like many of the games shown off in the show, Adventures is a difficult platformer, a self-aware Nerd trapped in his nightmare. A sequel, Angry Video Game Nerd II: ASSimilation, was released in 2016, perpetuating his suffering.

Despite the age of the series, the Angry Video Game Nerd continues on strong. In 2018, Amazon Prime Video became a new platform for Rolfe’s AVGN videos, heralded by early access to an episode on Earthbound. His latest episode, released in early May, covered the cult classic Pepsiman, which also had Mike Butters (who played a bizarre character that drank Pepsi in-between levels) on as a co-star, showcasing the Nerd’s influential pull.

In an age of Youtuber controversies, despite his fictionalized image, James Rolfe is often held up as an ideal. A family man with a long history of work under his belt and little controversies, James Rolfe is still a strong figure in internet pop culture and the Angry Video Game Nerd may continue to exist for years to come.

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