I know Derek plays the Happy Nerd, but who does all the rest of the work?

I do. I write, edit, “act”, capture game play footage, and record the voice over parts of the HVGN. I’ve had help with some of the live-action stuff and I make sure to give due credit at the end. Otherwise, lophatjello Productions is a one man operation. I kill myself making these videos, and I love every second of it.

Hey Mr. Happy Nerd or HVGN, will you review (insert game here)?

Derek is fine. I’m always taking requests but never making promises. So maybe. I prefer to stay tight-lipped about whats next for the HVGN. I’m a jerk like that. And I still dread what happened with Earthbound. All I will say is if you see it in the introduction montage, it’s very likely I’ll review it. Eventually. So, it should go without saying that I won’t do anything I consider too popular and well known. It’s a much easier position for me; what could I possibly say about Super Mario Bros 3 that you haven’t heard before? I’m far too lazy to reword something you probably already know. I’ll leave that to professional publications.

Well, then what do you consider too popular or well-known?

Man, didn’t I just say I was lazy? Yeeeeesh!

Aren’t you worried that James Rolfe (the AVGN) is going to sue you?

No. If he or Screwattack.com wanted to, I’m sure they would’ve done it by now. I had the chance to meet James at MAGfest 7, as well as Stuttering Craig and James’ cohort Mike Matei and they all gave the HVGN their approval. So unless they’ve changed their minds since Janurary 2009, we’re all cool.

Are you friends with James Rolfe?

We’ve spoken through email, and even met once, but I wouldn’t be so bold as to say we’re buddies. 

You should do a cross over episode with James! The AVGN meets the HVGN would be awesome!

This isn’t really a question, but I hear this a lot. Though I’d love to do something like that, I seriously doubt it’ll ever happen. It comes down to this important fact:
HVGN fans wanting a cross over > AVGN fans wanting a cross over
And I shouldn’t have to tell you there are way more AVGN fans. That, and I live in Anchorage, Alaska, and he lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We’re about as far away as we could be while still living in the same country.

What ever happened to your DVD? Is that still coming out?

It’s still coming. You wouldn’t believe but trying to put together a DVD while still making new videos is pretty time consuming! Also, there are some issues with my old videos: I don’t have high quality copies. From Little Nemo on back, once I exported, compressed and uploaded a video, everything was deleted. I never thought I’d be making a DVD so I didn’t save anything! So, I’ve been painstakingly re-editing all of them to exactly how they were. Not to mention, I’m workin’ on special features out the azz! It’ll be worth the wait, trust me.

If you’re the Happy Nerd, why do you cuss all the time?

What, you’ve never had a “fucking great burger”, seen a “fucking awesome movie”, or had “fucking amazing sex”? If I were the Articulate Video Game Nerd, I’d say you have a point. But I’m not. And I don’t even cuss that much!

How did you get to be on Retroware TV?

My show, like nearly every other show on RWtv, was brought there by Ben Hall of Video Game Take Out. Ben and I had started our shows at about the same time, and we met and became friends shortly after. Ben had been hosting my show on his blog for a few months when he hooked up with Lance and John, who run RWtv. Before long he joined up with RWtv, and soon after so did I. He’s also responsible finding Dan’s show From Pixels to Plastic, Norm’s show The Game Historian and few others I’m sure.

How much do they pay you?

They don’t. Any little money I make is through ad revenue by hosting my stuff on blip.tv. I can’t speak for every one on Retroware TV, but I’m not makin’ money bags over here. However, it is lightening my gas and grocery bill.

What’s the origin of “lophatjello”, and how is it pronounced?

lophatjello is a nickname I had in high school. It was something I thought was “hilarious”, “random”, and “genius”. I, like many high school students, was so clearly an idiot. It’s original pronunciation was “Low Fat Jello”, but one time a friend mispronounced it as “Lop Hat Jello”, which spawned another nickname unto itself. For some reason, the name stuck with me through college. I opened a youtube account in ‘06, only so I could watch mature content, under the name “lophatjello”. When I started making videos, I just uploaded them to that account. After I started posting videos I thought about getting a different account with a more appropriate name. I didn’t want to lose all my video comments and channel subscribers by switching to a new channel, so I decided to stick with “lophatjello”. To give it some meaning I decided to name it my production company. In conclusion, there really is no correct pronunciation and it truly has no meaning. This is also why none of the letters are capitalized. Also I had had the name for years before I knew these guys existed.

I think you’re wrong about (insert game I’ve mentioned in a review or reviewed)!

Well I disagree, but feel free to make a video of your own! Who isn’t a fan of a little healthy debate?

Do you think it’s a coincidence you made videos about Startropics and Splatterhouse, then a few months later Startropics came out on Virtual Console and they announced a remake of Splatterhouse? I don’t!

Well, I do.

What are your thoughts on the new Splatterhouse game?

I think it’ll just be a God of War rip off with a macabre atmosphere and little to do with the original games. I honestly have low expectations. But I wouldn’t mind being wrong! We’ll have to just wait and see. I’ll review it, don’t worry.

You should join the Irate Gamer/AVGN revolution/resistance or whatever!

No I shouldn’t.

Your a fucking fag! The AVGN is way funnier than you!

I agree, I never said I was funnier! And you spelled “you’re” wrong.

Where did you get those Electronic remixes and original music?

I made them with a friend of mine. Calvin and I make up Starship Amazing, and together we’ve independently produced (so far) 3 full-length albums and 2 eps. Read all about it here: www.starshipamazing.com

Why would you make fun of the AVGN?!?

I dunno, I guess I’m just an asshole like that. It’s not like I’m being malicious about it.

When’s the next video coming out?

When people stop asking me.