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''VG Cats'' (short for ''Video Game Cats''"All About the Site"
, ''VG Cats''
"Internet provides new way to get daily dose of funnies" '' The Rocket'
page 2
) is a
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
written and drawn by Canadian
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it follows the adventures of a pair of
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
s, who both have an interest in
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s, and often play the roles of
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...
s in popular games that are parodied in the strip. The ''VG Cats'' website also hosted ''Adventure Log'', a ''
Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square (video game company), Square and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installme ...
'' webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair, and ''Super Effective'',"''Super Effective''"
''VG Cats''
a webcomic parody of the
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
game series. ''Adventure Log'' has not been updated since 2008 and "Super Effective" was on hiatus from 2014, recently resuming updates on September 8, 2024. The comic series often includes video game-based humor and satire targeting the video game industry."Geeks' favourite Web comics"
''
New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...
''.


History

Ramsoomair said that he began the strip due to boredom at work; he created comics during his lunch breaks."NYCC 2008 VG Cats Interview"
''
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...
''.
The comic's protagonists, Leo and Aeris, were both named after Ramsoomair's real life pet cats, who were themselves named after characters from
Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...
. 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 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
that happened that same month.)FAQ
''VG Cats
Prior to taking the VGCats.com domain, the comic was hosted at www.vgcats.cjb.net."''#01 Bad Bushrooms''"
''VG Cats''
For a period, ''VG Cats'' was affiliated with BuzzComix. During April 1 (
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...
), Ramsoomair replaces the regular home page with fake pages, like a "Krug" page in 2003 or a
Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
profile for
Solid Snake , real name David, is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Konami's ''Metal Gear'' series, created by Hideo Kojima. He is depicted as a former United States Army Special Forces, Green Beret and highly skilled special operations so ...
in 2007. In 2006, Ramsoomair made a strip depicting creatures from
Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is ...
' video game
Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...
, 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. In February 2022, Ramsoomair announced the end of the webcomic in a now deleted post on Patreon. However, he later began to update the main Patreon account again on July 20, 2023, and released a new addition to comic sometime in December of the same year.


Development

Ramsoomair said that ''VGCats'' was "basically ... along the lines of
Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...
." The comic originally focused on 2 gamers; 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.About the Site
" VGCats. October 17, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2010.


Characters

''VG Cats'' is not a plot driven 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.""Gonzo Gaming: An Interview with Scott Ramsoomair of ''VG Cats''"
. ''ComixTalk''.
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog which was part of the Weblogs, Inc. family later owned by AOL. It was active from 2004 to 2015, acting as the primary video game blog for the group, and operating alongside ''Engadget'' and sister blogs such ...
has defined them as "adorable characters who feel most at home with violence, language, and sexual innuendo". Central characters in ''VG Cats'' include:


Aeris

Aeris is blue-eyed female cat with pink fur. She has a short-temper, and frequently verbally and physically abuses Leo. Her violent behavior extends to how she interacts with other characters, often assaulting other characters in the strip, as well making
sarcastic Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflectio ...
quips towards them. She is also shown to have an interest in
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...
, as well as both reading and writing
yaoi , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...
. Aeris made her first appearance on September 4, 2001 in Strip #2, "''Pika?''".


Leo Leonardo, The Third

Leo Leonardo, The Third is a green-eyed male cat with grey fur. Leo is shown to be unintelligent, impulsive, and have a loose grasp of reality. It is implied that Leo may have been born with
Intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
. He does, however, occasionally show signs of intelligence, and even takes part in similarly violent behavior as Aeris. Leo was introduced on September 4, 2001 in Strip #1, "''Feelin' Gassy''"."''#01: Feelin' Gassy''"
''VG Cats''. Retrieved February 13, 2009.


Pantsman

The
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
of Scott Ramsoomair, Pantsman is an incompetent
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
who concealed his identity by wearing trousers and sometimes
underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body generally extending no higher than the navel. In British English they are often called simply pants. If a given pair of underpants has a wider waistband, it might bear the brand name of the manufact ...
on his head. His greatest weakness is vodka cooler, which causes him to drop his trousers and transform into "Peter Pantsless"."''#87: It's Lightish Red''"
''VG Cats''
He also wore a pair of jeans around his neck, to provide a two tailed
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
. He was introduced in Strip 37, "''I Like Bunnies''", to help explain the inconsistent updating of the comic.


Animated series

Chris Boe, a friend and associate of Ramsoomair, created an animated adaptation of ''VG Cats''. Only the first half of the first episode, "'': A Tale of Two Kitties''", has been produced, and was released on January 21, 2006. Boe wrote and animated the episode, Episode 2 was pre-production but never happed, probably mostly likely Chris Boe moved on things, thought never complete, and Scott Ramsoomair at a panel at Midwest Media Expo around April 10-12, 2015 and asking about part 2 and he said work on, and there no update.


Related comics

''Bad Mushrooms'', a
sprite comic Sprite comics are webcomics that consist primarily of computer sprites from video games. Art assets are ripped from various classic games such as ''Mega Man'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', are edited and combined by amateur cartoonists, and are ...
created by Ramsoomair prior to the creation of ''VG Cats'', is hosted on VGCats.com. '' Adventure Log'', the official ''Final Fantasy XI'' webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair. 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 is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
''. It is also hosted on the VGCats website. It has not been updated since 2014.


VG Lewds

After comic #380 in 2018, Scott created a
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...
account for furry-themed
pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
based around Leo and Aeris among other video game related characters titled ''VG Lewds''.''VG Cats'' On the same day as the aforementioned comic, Scott stated in a blog post that the site's advertising revenue was no longer able to sustain him financially, and asked his users to help "support me in this newest venture". As of March 2022, the ''VG Lewds'' Patreon was shut down without comment, with Ramsoomair later stating that he wanted to focus on an ending for the strip.


Merchandise

In 2003, Ramsoomair designated
CafePress CafePress, Inc. is an American online retailer of a wide range of consumer items, including clothing, home decor, drinkware, stationery, gifts, and user- customized on-demand items. The company was founded in San Mateo, California, but is now he ...
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. Afterwards ZeStuff hosted the ''VG Cats'' Store. As of 2008 Shark Robot hosts the VGCats store. As of 2008, Ramsoomair is no longer affiliated with
CafePress CafePress, Inc. is an American online retailer of a wide range of consumer items, including clothing, home decor, drinkware, stationery, gifts, and user- customized on-demand items. The company was founded in San Mateo, California, but is now he ...
, but it still sells ''VG Cats'' merchandise on its website.


Awards

''VG Cats'' has been nominated for several
Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) were annual awards in which established webcartoonists nominated and selected outstanding webcomics. The awards were held between 2001 and 2008, were mentioned in a ''New York Times'' column on webcomics ...
, winning 2 awards in 2005 and 1 in 2006. *
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
: *
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
: , , , *
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
: Winner: , , , Winner: . Honorable mention: *
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
: , Winner: *
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
: (finalist), (finalist), (finalist). *
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
(finalist)


References


External links


''VG Cats'' web site
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