Motherboard The Gaming Hour on VBS

Stephen Lea Sheppard hosts 'The Gaming Hour' on Dell Lounge VBS.tv

For fans of the long gone, high school comedy serues, Freaks and Geeks, you might recognize Stephen Lea Sheppard, as the zen-like kid on campus popping up every now and then, to provide cryptic advice for the confused main cast of characters in the show.

In the years after the shows unfortunate cancellation, Sheppard, has gone on to write for Vice magazine (among other things), and most recently has been assigned the task of hosting his own videogame segment on VBS.tv Dell Lounge Motherboard, called The Gaming Hour.

VBS's attempt at delivering technology and culture news is taking an even more geeky turn by focusing on gamers, and game reviews with Sheppard's inherent, uber geek persona, 'The Gaming Hour', actually compliments Vice quite well. The complete opposite of the hipster American Apparel attitude, but still fitting because it's cool to talk videogames.

The reviews are delivered with quick articulation, on par with any kid with Aspergers Syndrome. (Sheppard reminds me of a friend of mine, who is so uber intelligent, that when he talks about something, he talks really fast.) Also he's from Vancouver, which is cool. Mind you he isn't as rapid fire speaking as Zero Punctuation, but he's a fast talker, which adds to the fun of his reviews.

With the first episode, the show comes off a bit amateurish in presentation, but I think it's that unpolished 'basement production' look that makes it work, and seem suited for Vice's retro style. No fake overdone, hosts who pretend to like videogames.

It'll be interesting to see more from Sheppard and The Gaming Hour. VBS, why must you always have great content!

Watch the first episode of The Gaming Hour. (Though, it's not really an hour long.)

Richard Garriott Ultima Creator Web doc An introduction to Motherboard.

Dell Lounge and Vice make Motherboard. Together they present a series of shorts on tech culture, Richard Garriott, and more.

VBS.tv and Dell Lounge have put together a web documentary series called Motherboard, that highlights interesting bits of technology and the culture that surrounds it, in the form of streaming web-documentaries, from the 'Donk' music scene in England, to highlighting Richard Garriott of Ultima videogame fame, to name a few.

I'm a huge fan of VBS, and dig the eye-opening, often times shocking and hilarious but informative content they work so hard to deliver online, so their foray of more tech-centric video, collaborating with Dell is a pretty great idea. Pretty awesome actually.

I also had no idea that Dell had created Dell Lounge (currently in Beta), which features stuff on music, art, style, and technology with streaming video in a casual blog-esque presentation aimed at the hipster tech/music/art/style demographic. I have to admit it has peaked my interest, and I'll be tuning in to see what else they upload. I can definitely see what their intention is with Dell Lounge, focusing on the 'lifestyle' branding of Dell, beyond it's computer and electronics roots. It is all about consuming the lifestyle from the wrist watches to the music, to the design of your laptop casing. Seems like everyone is selling a lifestyle these days even given the ratty economic times. It's not enough to just own a laptop, but you have to be a certain type of person now. Which makes me think of Mac, and Mac owners. The Apple brand = Apple lifestyle. The Sony brand = Sony lifestyle. I don't own a dell, or a Mac. I'm currently an HP laptop owner, because IT WAS ON SALE.

In any case, interesting video content will keep me coming back. Dell and VBS have my attention.

Watch Richard Garriott's docs here.