- Level 3 (TV Series)
infobox television
show_name = Level 3
caption = Current Myspace Banner
format =Video game
runtime = approximately 20 minutes (without commercials)
starring = Jason O'Callaghan (2006- )
Jamie McDonald (2006- )
country =Australia
network =Channel 31
first_aired = 2006
last_aired = present
website = http://www.level3.org.au|Level 3 is an Australian television show that focuses on video games and gaming culture. The program airs on Melbourne based public broadcasting channel,
Channel 31 at Thursdays at 10:30pm. Past episodes can be seen at Level 3's official website.Show Format
Each episode of Level 3 will usually contain two to three reviews of games based around the current generation of consoles, handhelds and recently, PC games. Sometimes, episodes will contain interviews with members of the local and international gaming industry (such as middleware developers
Emergent Game Technologies , developers of theGamebyro game engine) or with people somewhat related to the industry (such asStephen Conroy , the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy).As well as this, other features include a focus on a specific gaming related topic (such as the
Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death ), trailers for upcoming games (such as or ) or the dedication of a complete episode (or episodes) to a specific gaming related event (such as theE3 Media and Business Summit or Melbourne's eGames & Entertainment Expo).Hosts & Crew
Jason O'Callaghan
*Age: 23
Jason [cite web |url=http://level3.org.au/Jason.html |title=Jason O'Callaghan |accessdate=2008-08-26 |last=O'Callaghan |first=Jason] was “discovered” behind the counter of the Sleazy Producer’s favourite video store. Upon asking for an armful of “art films”, he sensed the inner nerd that lay inside Jason. And a star was born. In seriousness though, Jason’s been in the industry in various forms for 8 years, not to mention played games for 20 years. So his passion for the art is certainly there. Though it has warped his mind beyond recognition. Maybe Jack Thompson’s onto something?
Jamie McDonald
* Age: 29
* Former Big Brother house mateJamie is our enthusiastic host who cut his teeth on his Commodore 64. He grew up in Ballarat and has had over 30 different jobs in his life! It's true! He's been a singing waiter, adult bookshop manager, magician's assistant, trench digger, opera singer, pizza delivery driver, karaoke host and a store detective. He's best known for his adoring love of
Sony gaming products.The Weird Kidd
*Age: You seriously want to know?
The Weird Kidd...the most mysterious member of the Level 3 crew. Shows up in the most random and surprising locations...and that's about all that anyone really knows about him...except for his freakish gaming skills (such as killing the Licker from
Resident Evil 2 with only a knife.)The Drunken Editor
*Age: As old as his most recent bottle of wine...
Despite somehow being inebriated most of the time, the Drunken Editor manages to maintain the chaos that is Level 3 and cut together each and every episode.
Young Jamie
*Age: 19
*Blog Contributor & Podcasting HeadAs if one Jamie wasn't enough, the most recent addition to the Level 3 team aims to bring in a little more balance (as well as owning a PS3, he owns a gaming-capable PC and Nintendo DS). Otherwise known as DarthHomer or Major Tom (long story), Young Jamie contributes various articles to Level 3, such as histories of famous games, game consoles or game companies, or rants on various topics. As well as this, he takes care of all the podcasting for Level 3.
2008 Online Expansion
As of late 2007, Level 3 has been expanding it's online presence. Aside from divulging information such as Myspace addresses or Online ID's, the two biggest attempts at an online expansion include a brand new website and various forms of podcasting.
Website
The website, launched in late 2007, is intended to be the online home of Level 3. Aside from providing information about the show, the site will be used to stream episodes of the show, as well as stream podcasts (more on this below). Finally, the website will also feature a news blog, in which the various contributors will contribute news articles, as well as other fun stuff.
The site is still being worked on, and will hopefully be in its completed form by the end of 2008.
Podcasts
Level 3 has been attempting to break into the world of podcasting. This includes allowing episodes of the show to be downloaded from various sources, and a fortnightly podcast hosted by host of the show Jason, and new recruit (and current blog contributor) Jamie G (otherwise known as Darth_Homer, Major Tom or Young Jamie). The two are hoping to bring in more people involved with Level 3 in future episodes (such as Jamie McDonald or the Weird Kidd). Guests include members from the recently opened forums as well as friends of the show (such as Oz Box Live Radio's Mick).
In these podcasts, the aim is to talk about stuff that hasn't been discussed on the show (due to time constraints) as well as details for future episodes of the show. Each episode also has a feature discussion, usually focused around a specific topical event, or on a brief historical element of gaming. As of 20th April, 2008, the show is adhering to a weekly schedule until the end of May. Episodes are recorded on Sundays, and released on Thursdays. Episodes can be downloaded from the Level 3 Website, Podcast Blog,
Odeo Page or from the iTunes Music Store.References
External links
* [http://www.level3.org.au Official Website]
* [http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Level-3/21256317732 Official Facebook Page]
*myspace|level3au
* [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.showvids&friendID=261523167&n=261523167&MyToken=818a697d-467e-4233-a631-2f284c859782 Myspace Video on Demand]
* [http://level3aupodcast.blogspot.com/ Official Podcast Website]
* [http://feeds.feedburner.com/Level3GeneralPodcast RSS Feed (for RSS Readers)]
* [http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=278593857 iTunes Music Store Link (requires iTunes Software)]
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