''Video Game High School'' (often abbreviated ''VGHS'') is an American

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

from RocketJump Studios. It was written by Matthew Arnold, Will Campos and Brian Firenzi and directed by Matthew Arnold, Brandon Laatsch, and

Freddie Wong Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...

. RocketJump Studios describes the series as "a show about best friends, first loves, and landing that perfect head shot". The team at RocketJump chose to make a web series because they "strongly believe the foundations for the future of digitally distributed content will be laid by web series". Since its release in 2012, the series has been viewed more than 150 million times on various online platforms.

Premise

The series is set in the near future where

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 elevate their best players to stardom by their position as the world's most popular

competitive sport Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...

. Video Game High School (VGHS) is an elite and prestigious facility that teaches a curriculum of video games of all genres. The show's

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, BrianD, gains entry to the school after unwittingly defeating "The Law", an international

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

star, on live television. The show follows BrianD and the friends and enemies he makes at the school, playing on standard tropes of school dramas with a video game background. The show uses

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

scenes with the characters to show action within the games. The games depicted are inventions of the show, with the most prominent being a first-person shooter named ''Field of Fire''.

Cast

Main

Josh Blaylock Josh Blaylock (born March 29, 1990) is an American actor and professional photographer. Blaylock is best known for his role as BrianD in the web series ''Video Game High School'' from 2012 to 2014. He has also appeared in ''The Bernie Mac Show'', ...

as Brian Doheny (commonly referred to as BrianD), an FPS player and the main

of the series. *

Johanna Braddy Johanna Braddy is an American actress. She played the leading role in the 2009 horror film '' The Grudge 3'', and has appeared in ''Pop Rocks'' (2004), '' Hurt'' (2009), ''Easy A'' (2010), '' Paranormal Activity 3'' (2011), and '' The Levenger Tap ...

as Jennifer Matthews (commonly referred to as Jenny Matrix), sophomore Junior Varsity team captain. * Ellary Porterfield as Kimberly Swan (commonly referred to as Ki Swan), a

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and fighting game specialist who goes to the school to learn more about players. *

Jimmy Wong James Franklin Wong (born March 28, 1987) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his 2011 music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" and for his role as Ted in the web series '' Video Game High School''. In 2017, he ...

as Theodore Wong (commonly referred to as Ted), Brian's best friend, Ki's boyfriend, and the son of

Rhythm Game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to pres ...

teacher Freddie Wong. * Brian Firenzi as Lawrence Pemberton (commonly referred to as The Law), the world's #1 amateur gamer. *

Cynthia Watros Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an Americans, American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light'', which earned her ...

as Mary Matrix (seasons 2–3), coach for the FPS Varsity team and Jenny's mother. *

Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor. He began his career at the age of three, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ''Babe: Pig in ...

as New Law (season 3), who comes into play after The Law is kicked off of Napalm Energy's High School FPS team and is given The Law's I.P. and title.

Supporting

* Chase Williamson as Shane Barnstormer (Seasons 2 & 3) (also goes under the alias Shane Pizza), the head R.A. and eventual class president. * Bryan Forrest as Ashley Barnstormer (Seasons 2 & 3), Shane's

fraternal twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

brother. * Joey Scoma as Randall Merryweather (goes under the alias Jumpin' Jax), a dim-witted FPS team member. * Benji Dolly as Games Dean, an FPS team member with a suave personality. * Nicole Wyland as Moriarty, an FPS team member. *

Meghan Camarena Meghan Channing Camarena (born July 17, 1987), known by her online pseudonym Strawburry17, is an American YouTube personality, television host, actress and comic book writer. She has worked on a number of videos, web series, and films, gaining ...

as Rapwnzel, an FPS team member * Rocky Collins as the Drift King (commonly referred to as D.K.), a senior student and the captain/monarch of the Drift Racing team. * Joel Dauten as Scott Slanders, co-host of ''PwnZwn''. * Clinton Jones as ShotBot, robot co-host of ''PwnZwn''. :* Will Campos as the voice of ShotBot * Nat'han as the Tutor of NukeInc *

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...

as Ace (Season 1), teacher of FPS 101. *

Harley Morenstein Harley Morenstein (born July 20, 1985) is a Canadian YouTuber. He co-created, produces, and hosts the web show '' Epic Meal Time'' and its FYI television spin-off series, ''Epic Meal Empire''. He is one of the two remaining original members of ...

as Dean Ernie Calhoun, a former VGHS student who values the heart of the game itself. * Brennan Murray as Wendell (Seasons 2 & 3) (gamertag TacoBoy14), a dorky student and also close friend of Ki. *

as a fictionalized version of himself and an ex-world famous rhythm game player now working at Video Game High School. He is also Ted's father. * John Ennis as Kenneth Swan, Ki's father

Guests and cameos

* Matthew Arnold as Zoostcaster *

Cliff Bleszinski Cliff Bleszinski (; born February 12, 1975), popularly known as CliffyB, is an American video game designer, known for his work on the '' Unreal'' and ''Gears of War'' series while at Epic Games. After leaving Epic in 2012, he co-founded Boss K ...

as TheJackrabbit * Will Campos as Buddy Phelps *

Joanna Sotomura Joanna Sotomura is an American actress. She is best known for her work on the Emmy Award-winning '' Emma Approved'' (2013), '' Madison County'' (2011) and ''Everything Before Us'' (2015). Education Born and raised in Hawaii, Sotomura graduated ...

as The Duchess Of Kart *

Wesley Chan Wesley Chan (Wesley Tien-Houi, born 1978) is an American venture capitalist and the co-founder and managing partner of venture capital firm FPV. A graduate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chan first became know ...

as K-Pop *

Arden Cho Arden Lim Cho (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress, singer and model known for portraying Kira Yukimura in the 2011 MTV television series ''Teen Wolf'' and Ingrid Yun in the 2022 Netflix television series '' Partner Track''. Early life ...

as Korean TV Host * Maddy Rae Cooper as O'Doyle * Desmond Dolly as Acid Reflux, Quad Student #2, and Goon 2 *

Justine Ezarik Justine Ezarik ( ; born March 20, 1984) is an American YouTuber. She is best known as iJustine, with over one billion views on her YouTube channel. She gained attention as a Lifestreaming, lifecaster who communicated directly with her millions ...

as Bella *

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

as Newsanchor *

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...

as Tony Hawk * John Hennigan as Crazy Napalm Suit * Clinton Jones as Clint Lockwood * Brandon Laatsch as Brandon *

Shira Lazar Shira Lazar (born May 6, 1983) is a Canadian television personality, actress, writer, and video blogger. Lazar's writing has been featured on Hollywood.com, CBSNEWS.com, MSN.com, and others, and she has appeared as a host or as a guest at The ...

as Rosalie *

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

as Stan L33t * Tara Macken as Ronin *

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger, Jeffrey "Jeff" Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV seri ...

as The President of the United States *

Burnie Burns Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns (born January 18, 1973) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, host, and director previously based in Austin, Texas. He was a co-founder, former chief executive officer, and former chief creative offic ...

and

Joel Heyman Joel Pearce Heyman (born September 16, 1971) is an American actor, best known for voicing Michael J. Caboose in the Rooster Teeth web series ''Red vs. Blue'' from 2003 until 2020. He co-founded Rooster Teeth with Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, G ...

as board members * Ruben Raul as Criptix (Season 2 & 3) * Ashton Paudi as AshiX (Season 1 & 2) * Ethan Newberry as Clutch *

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

as Newsanchor * Kara Petersen as Freezerburn * Noah as Cheeto the Cat * Michael Rousselet as Alliterator * Jon Salmon as Chip Trigger * Ashton Pooley as Relief Coach (Season 2) * Nathan Frost as Enemy Team Sniper (Season 1) * Phillip Wang as Oldboy * LeeAnna Vamp as Esme *

Maureen McCormick Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her role as Characters of The Brady Bunch#Marcia Brady, Marcia Brady on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'' (1969–1 ...

as Mrs. Barnstormer

Production and release

''Video Game High School'' is co-created by

, Will Campos, Brian Firenzi and Matt Arnold. In addition to acting as

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

, Arnold is also a writer, as are Campos and Firenzi (founder of 5secondfilms.com). The series is based on a concept by Campos and Chris Pappavaselio. The team was able to fund the series through

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

, where they set a funding goal for $75,000 to be raised in a 30-day period. That amount was quickly pledged in less than 24 hours and continued to climb from there. On October 22, 2011, pledging came to a close, with $273,725 raised for the project from 5,661 backers.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on October 25, and ended in late November. The final four days of shooting took place at the Eagle Mountain iron mine and

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

Post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

started shortly after and ended in early 2012. The trailer for the series premiered on YouTube on May 11, 2012, on the "Freddiew" channel. Later, the first season of the show was edited into a two-hour movie and released on DVD,

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

, and online.

Episodes

Season 1 episodes were released in May, June, and July 2012, first on the RocketJump website, and a week later on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel "freddiew". People who pledged to the project's fundraiser received HD digital downloads and DVDs. The Kickstarter fundraiser for season 2 ended in February 2013 with the project more than sufficiently funded. The second season was released in July and August 2013. In July 2013, Freddie Wong said that a third season was being worked on, and filming began in March 2014. Season 3 episodes were being released once per week starting on October 13, or could be purchased for immediate viewing through

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

On Demand, which includes

4K HD 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 ( 4K UHD) with a 16:9 a ...

, HD, and SD downloads of the episode(s) purchased. RocketJump announced on October 30 that season 3 would be the last of the series.

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

previously streamed all three seasons of the show, but only season 3 was available in 4K UHD, with most episodes doubled up to make individual 30-minute episodes.

References

External links

www.rocketjump.com/vghsvimeo.com/ondemand/vghs3
* {{Streamy Awards Winners CSS Discontinued 2010s American high school television series 2010s YouTube series 2012 web series debuts 2014 web series endings American comedy web series Esports television series Kickstarter-funded web series Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows American television series about teenagers Television series set in the future