CheckPoint

Checkpoint logo

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Format: Satirical Gaming News

Created By: Graham Stark, Kathleen De Vere, Jeremy Petter, Paul Saunders

Status: Active

Updates: Mondays

Host: Penny Arcade Television

Original Run: May 9, 2011 - December 30, 2013

Associated Shows: Escapist News Network (predecessor)

CheckPoint is one of two successor shows to the Escapist News Network, the other one being Feed Dump. The show debuted on Penny Arcade Television on May 9, 2011 and is LoadingReadyRun's first series to premiere on the network. CheckPoint initially featured the same team that wrote and produced ENN (Graham, Kathleen, Jer and Paul), but has since pared down its cast to mainly Graham and Kathleen. It is, for all intents and purposes, ENN's direct successor.

As of December 30, 2013, CheckPoint was put on indefinite hiatus. Due to Penny Arcade shutting down 3rd party programing on its PA TV site.

Format

Checkpoint is, for the most part, a "return to form" for the dry, satirical humor of ENN prior to attempts to retool the show to appeal to a wider demographic of The Escapist audience. Early episodes involved fake news, but eventually moved away from that to focus on just making fun of the actual current gaming news. A typical episode tends to follow the same fixed format.

• The video opens with a recolored LoadingReadyRun logo and the last four notes of the LRR theme before transitioning into the checkpoint arrow and tone.
• A brief "Today" intro plays that includes a voice over done by Graham and video clip relating to a highlighted story before moving directly into the opening credits.
• After the credits the camera cuts directly to both Graham and Kathleen at the news desk where the duo talk about what they've done or what game they've played lately while a lower third title card introduces them.
• The majority of the show consists of between five to six news stories, reported alternately by Graham and Kathleen. In addition, each story features a corner image and several lower third jokes. Some segments also may include an extra video segment with the anchor continuing his or her story as a voice over.
• Finally, the anchors will end the episode with their parting line or lines. The credits will roll, and then a short "Coming Up" segment will play, similar to the "Today" segment, highlighting another news story that allegedly will be discussed in the next episode.

In earlier episodes, especially in the first season, the series focused more on taking real news and adding fake elements to make it more outlandish. Sometimes this would involve creating field reports from Paul or Jer that would be completely false or have only a few truths in them. As time went on, more and more emphasis was made on real stories and making satirical comments about how dumb the game company's decisions were.

Differences from ENN

Although CheckPoint is a spiritual successor to ENN, it is not a direct "copy and paste" of the series from The Escapist onto PATV. There are a few key differences between both shows.

Style

Graham and Kathleen's silhouettes, as posted on the LRR Blog.

The largest departure of CheckPoint from it's predecessor is it's visual style. ENN was branded as being The Escapist's own news show, consequently it carried The Escapist's brand name and trademark "E" logo as well as the site's blue-and-white color scheme. Because so much of ENN's design aesthetic was based off of the partnership with The Escapist a complete "facelift" was necessary.

CheckPoint uses a strong contrasting color palette of bright shades of red and yellow in hand with a more neutral gray and white. This color scheme, which is used to color in solid shapes (usually in layers) without any type of outline, creates a visual style that some forum members have described as being reminiscent of Persona 3 and 4.

Credit Structure

While ENN had a "grander" opening relying heavily on pre-rendered computer graphics to emulate and parody professional news outlets, CheckPoint's opening is considerably simpler. Each episode starts by quickly showing a CheckPoint colored LoadingReadyRun logo, the CheckPoint logo, and then shifts into the "Today" segment, which acts as a cold open for the episode. This quick blurb briefly highlights one of the stories before a quick opening sequence plays, which consists only of the show's title card and silhouettes of the CheckPoint team: Kathleen, Graham, and Paul. Since Jer's departure from the show in Season 1, his silhouette has been omitted; previously it was between Graham and Paul in the title sequence.

The ending credits are an even bigger departure. Unlike ENN, which was known for having conversations between Graham and Kathleen during the credits after the studio lights have dimmed, CheckPoint transitions directly a brief credit sequence that quickly lists off all appearances, writing credits, and so on before moving onto the "Coming Up" segment, which is functionally the same as the "Today" segment except that it's generally narrated by Kathleen and acts as a stinger.

Music

ENN's theme was originally created in house by The Escapist's Ian Dorsch to fit with the "major network parody" theme, but like everything else designed to go along with the ENN license it couldn't be carried over. Instead, the theme for CheckPoint was made by long-time friend of LRR Bradley Rains. The theme is much more upbeat to match the show's brightly colored and minimalistic art style.

Content

Thus far, the only recurring character from ENN to appear in CheckPoint is Rex Carnegie.

The ENN recurring segment "Headshot" has a spiritual successor in "On Point", to the extent that it is an opinion piece, and its tone is emphatic rather than ironic. However, Kathleen has gone On Point multiple times, which did not happen with Headshot.

Notes

• The silhouette of Jer in the opening appears to be the same picture used previously in the second ENN intro.

List of Episodes

Season Four (CheckPointPlus)

After Penny Arcade announced an end to third-party content on their site, LoadingReadyRun announced that CheckPoint was going to go on an "Indefinite Hiatus." However, in a segment at the end of the penultimate episode of Season Three, EA You're Just OK on December 23rd, they announced that instead they would stream CheckPoint live on Twitch as CheckPointPlus.

#top

# in Series	# in Season	Title	Date
142	9	Upsample-Fall	March 10, 2014
Now that we've got the gaming PC fixed for game streaming, the CheckPoint setup took some hits. Hopefully we'll get everything in place for next week!
141	8	3DRealms Flails Wildly	February 24, 2014
3DRealms doesn't seem to remember where they've left their licenses...
140	7	PokemonSpamsTwitch	February 17, 2014
Enjoy the latest fad on Twitch.tv, a real argument for dictatorship.
139	6	A Bit of a Flap	February 10, 2014
Flappy Bird has flapped away, leaving behind it much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
138	5	KickStopper	February 3, 2014
What have we learned from KickStarter funded games? How quickly time passes.
137	4	Tales of Troubles	January 28, 2014
Bamco-Nandai has taken something great, then made it awful and butt.
136	3	Try These Ninten-dos!	January 20, 2014
Another Bishi Roundup! Sort of. Also, we advise Nintendo.
135	2	Ruining the Magic	January 13, 2014
CheckPoint Live, now with correct seating orientation! Also, stories about SimCity, Germany and Microsoft.
134	1	So Brave, So Default	January 6, 2014
The first CheckPoint recorded LIVE was not without its audio errors and awkward pauses, but for being done in one shot, we're pretty happy. Tune in next week, it'll be even better!

Season Three

#top

# in Series	# in Season	Title	Date
133	29	Now We Console The Loser	December 30, 2013
CheckPoint breaks down the console wars! Who won? Who lost? Who cares!
132	28	EA You're Just OK	December 23, 2013
This is not a video about the best company in the world, this is just a ribbing.
131	27	Brickbox One	December 16, 2013
Don't believe everything you read online. Actually, don't believe anything you read online.
130	26	We Must Clone Deeper	December 9, 2013
Finally, experience the thrill of ripping off the Dutch from the comfort of your own home.
129	25	Angry Birds: Cash!	December 2, 2013
Rovio's getting serious. Not about racing games, but about in-app purchases.
128	24	MyGM is Best GM	November 25, 2013
I think NBA 2K14s innovative "not playing basketball at all mode" is finally going to get me to give the franchise a try.
127	23	Sony’s Everquest for More Money	November 18, 2013
Do you like Everquest? Are you a chump? Sony has a proposition for you.
126	22	Not So Free to Play	November 11, 2013
What makes a good free-to-play game? Apparently, a bad game.
125	21	Attack on Titanfall	November 4, 2013
Miss the "good old days" of the console wars? No? Well, EA seems to.
124	20	A Torrent of Theft	October 28, 2013
Have you found a torrent of something that's too good to exist? Leave it alone.
123	19	There's No Mojo Here	October 21, 2013
Do you need common sense and market research if you have wild, unattainable dreams? Yes Madcatz, you do.
122	18	Just Say No to Mojo	October 14, 2013
Are you in the market for a luxury Android console? If so, did someone hit you on the head?
121	17	The Longest Half Life	October 7, 2013
At last, our long nightmare is over. Ha ha, just kidding.
120	16	The Ghost of David Jaffe	September 30, 2013
Do imaginary friends make the best business partners? Only David Jaffe knows.
119	15	Grand Theft Apple	September 22, 2013
Now you can take the GTA experience wherever you go! Just don't crime and drive.
118	14	Anger in Ouya Town	September 16, 2013
Turns out that giving out FREE MONEY brings out some unsavory behaviour.
117	13	The Mighty Mega Nine	September 9, 2013
Keiji Inafune's new game totally isn't Mega Man at all you guys.
116	12	Ubisoft and Nvidia Sittin' in a Tree	September 2, 2013
Ubisoft has formed a mighty alliance with Nvidia! OMG THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!! It's so cute!
115	11	Plants vs. Productivity	August 26, 2013
Humans love Plants vs. Zombies. But couldn't we be doing something better with our time?
114	10	A Little Less Kinection	August 19, 2013
Microsoft announces yet more changes to the Xbox One. At the rate they're going you'll just be buying a rebranded PS4 on launch day.
113	9	Same Sexy Sims	August 12, 2013
Is The Sims the most progressive game ever? Maybe? Maybe.
112	8	Sweet Treats	August 5, 2013
Before you jump into the latest dating sim, watch Kathleen's handy primer.
111	7	Self Control 2	July 29, 2013
Stardock Software is dangerously close to poking a hornets' nest.
110	6	The Peripherals	July 22, 2013
There is now an entire documentary about a video game peripheral from the 1980s. We've arrived.
109	5	Mystery, Intrigue, ISK	July 15, 2013
Spies, double-agents, space carriers: an average day for EVE Online.
108	4	Mattrick Goes to the Dogs	July 8, 2013
Not content with ruining one company, Mattrick sets his sights Zyngward.
107	3	No One Can Hear You Pee	July 1, 2013
Looking for a way to deal with some inconvenient people? Give them Routine on Oculus Rift.
106	2	XBox-One-Less-Thing	June 24, 2013
Microsoft changes its tune on the Xbox One, and an app that lets you have sex with your iPad!
105	1	XBox On Point	June 17, 2013
Underwhelmed by the Xbox One. Here's a few reasons why.

Season Two

#top

# in Series	# in Season	Title	Date
104	52	OMG The Bubble Popped	June 10, 2013
When a Zynga employee is laid off in the woods, does anyone hear the sound of them going "hooray"?
103	51	Cube Vindication	June 3, 2013
There really was something in the Cube. It was in our hearts all along!
102	50	Meet My Xbone	May 27, 2013
CheckPoint takes on the new Xbox One, aka, the Xbone
101	49	Save our Pac Mans	May 20, 2013
Pac Man is being "re-imagined" with a "cool" cartoon and video game. Think about how awful that would be... and then keep going.
100	48	They Came for Our Guns	May 13, 2013
EA doesn't do "real guns" in its games anymore. Sort of. Not really? False.
99	47	Irony Tycoon	May 6, 2013
Your tears. They are delicious.
98	46	Ridiculous Cloning	April 29, 2013
Peter Molyneux is going to be disgustingly rich.
97	45	Oh Yeah, Ouya	April 22, 2013
The Ouya! It's the next big in next big things, and not much else.
96	44	What is Worst in Life	April 15, 2013
Once again, EA is literally the worst.
95	43	Downloadable Consumerism	April 8, 2013
Oh my gosh! Ads in SimCity! And I don't even have to PAY for them? Thanks EA!
94	42	Restructuring Expectations	April 1, 2013
It shouldn't be easy to be successful, but it should at least be attainable.
93	41	The Origin Hackshack	March 25, 2013
Origin security problems and publishers that don't like female protagonists.
92	40	Five Servings of Zombie	March 18, 2013
The folks behind DayZ just want you to be healthy.
91	39	Kicking Expectations	March 11, 2013
What should you do differently if you KickStarter is over-funded? Everything, and nothing.
90	38	Getting Down to Bidness	March 4, 2013
THQ is auctioning off its junk. Literally.
89	37	Sony’s PS4 Play	February 25, 2013
Sony said a lot of words, but did they say anything important?
88	36	Litigation is Magic	February 18, 2013
For a two hour long game, Journey sure was expensive to make.
87	35	A Door Closed, a Windows Open	February 11, 2013
XNA discontinued, Amazon Coins and more!
86	34	The Accidental War	February 4, 2013
We all knew Reddit and SomethingAwful would fight eventually, but we didn't expect this...
85	33	A Modest Proposal	January 28, 2013
Okay, THQ didn't listen, but maybe Atari will.
84	32	SWTOR SGR OMG	January 21, 2013
BioWare tries to do the right thing and the media shits all over them.
83	31	THQ Going to Pieces	January 14, 2013
Sounds like everyone has a chance to get in on some of this THQ auction action.
82	30	PSGone	January 7, 2013
The doors closes on the PS2, and Eidos' Life President is also a Commander now.
81	29	Eternal Lawsuit	November 19, 2012
Don't sue someone you've ripped off.
80	28	Features We Won’t Wii-Use	November 12, 2012
Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aime bore us to tears with peripheral Wii U features.
79	27	The Price of Progress	November 5, 2012
Square Enix is listening, and realizes it has to hide its shenanigans better.
78	26	Games are Really Big	October 29, 2012
All we know about Dragon Age 3 is that it's big. We guess that's good?
77	25	A Blue Streak of Sadness	October 22, 2012
Every time we hear Sonic news these days it's always sad.
76	24	Trouble on the Farm	October 15, 2012
Zynga is doing so poorly, they might be better off if they didn't exist.
75	23	Pork Barrel Participation	October 8, 2012
Who can resist the siren song of gold avatar armor?
74	22	SC2: HotS Goes F2P?	October 1, 2012
Blizzard recently mused out loud what StarCraft might look like as a free-to-play title.
73	21	Disputed Borders and Lands	September 24, 2012
Kathleen gives us the historical context for why some former Soviets don't like their Borderlands options.
72	20	Mixed Martial Boobies	September 17, 2012
DOA5 flip-flops on its bounce-bounce. Again.
71	19	Games for Windows or Not	September 10, 2012
There's too many different services that share the same names. Get it together, Microsoft.
70	18	Core Crisis	September 3, 2012
What is gameplay worth to you? Square says: Your time and eyeballs.
69	17	On Blackest Isle	August 27, 2012
Black Isle is back! Kind of? Is it? Wait a second here.
68	16	Almost No Odd Job	August 20, 2012
GoldenEye's famous multiplayer mode was developed on the sly and nearly didn't happen.
67	15	Final Fantasy Apology	August 13, 2012
It's refreshing when a company admits it's screwed up. Really, badly screwed up.
66	14	MechWarrior	August 6, 2012
Because releasing actual mecha into the world couldn't possibly go wrong.
65	13	Square Enix Versus Rumors	July 30, 2012
If you're going to make up rumors about FF Versus 13, there's way more hilarious ones than, "It's cancelled."
64	12	Gamer Marketing	July 23, 2012
When making something you want gamers to buy, make sure it's super shiny and ridiculous.
63	11	Games & Movies	July 16, 2012
Every time there's a spec of good news about a video game movie, there's an equal torrent of horrid crap.
62	10	Assassin’s Editions	July 9, 2012
If you want any variety of bonus features with your copy of Screed 3, there's an edition for that.
61	9	DOA Flashback	July 2, 2012
Remember how DOA5 was going to be all mature and grown-up? About that…
60	8	Til Ring Out Do Us Part	June 25, 2012
Soul Calibur adds wedding costumes, and Zynga has stopped pretending they aren't terrible.
59	7	UFC Extremely Disputed	June 18, 2012
THQ had better never let Saints Row go if they keep making decisions like these.
58	6	E3 Throwdown	June 11, 2012
Does E3 even care that gamers were upset with the show?
57	5	Infinite Lawsuit	June 4, 2012
Activision may have now settled with West & Zampella, but the gaming lawsuit of the decade left us a final parting nugget of gold.
56	4	Beyond Infinity	May 28, 2012
Ahh, the delightful nuggets of ridiculousness that come from court filing papers.
55	3	Too Much of a Good Thing?	May 21, 2012
Look, we love Tim Schafer too, but this is just getting silly.
54	2	Zyng and Zag	May 14, 2012
Zynga gets in the news so much these days you'd think they were a tabloid celebrity.
53	1	God of Gore	May 7, 2012
Sony is taking extra special care to make sure God of War 4 has beautiful blood-goo.

Season One

#top

# in Series	# in Season	Title	Date
52	52	Are Fezzes Cool?	April 30, 2012
Indie-darling Fez is finally out and everyone knows they love it, but they're not sure why.
51	51	Power Sink	April 23, 2012
Is your console destroying the country's power grid? Yes. The answer is yes.
50	50	There is No Bubble	April 16, 2012
Kickstarter is taking over video game self-funding. But is there an end to it?
49	49	EA is Just the Worst	April 9, 2012
Did you hear? Electronic Arts is basically the devil!
48	48	Ubi Goes Soft	April 2, 2012
Ubisoft is introducing a new anti-piracy scheme that sounds... good?
47	47	Gaming the System	March 26, 2012
For all the money gaming makes the US, the US sure seems to hate gaming.
46	46	The Masses Are Effected	March 19, 2012
Welcome to largest video game entitlement complex since Minecraft ladders.
45	45	GDizzle	March 12, 2012
Graham & Paul hold down the fort while Kathleen reports in from GDC.
44	44	Foot X Mouth	March 5, 2012
The thing about saying stupid things on the internet is that everyone can hear you.
43	43	Is It Worth It?	February 27, 2012
Is Square allowed to charge $18 for an iOS game? Yes, but should they?
42	42	Legacy of Shame	February 20, 2012
Dead or Alive's new lead wants to class the series up a bit. Let's see how that goes.
41	41	Double-Extra Fine	February 13, 2012
Does this change the game? Only insofar as Tim Schafer is making it this time.
40	40	Tera-Fied	February 6, 2012
En Masse bans the world, Netherrealm has an identity crisis and Everquest lives!
39	39	Tower Heist	January 30, 2012
Can Zynga get away with ripping off someone else's game? Well, they already have.
38	38	Masters of Code, Not Money	January 23, 2012
Among the stories this week, a tale of poor accounting and idiocy.
37	37	Survey Says!	January 16, 2012
Cheaters gonna cheat!
36	36	Exhausted Fantasy	January 9, 2012
Square continues to ignore pleas for Final Fantasy 7, and maybe that's for the best.
35	35	Unarmed Avatars	January 2, 2012
If Microsoft removes guns from the avatar marketplace, how will the avatars defend themselves against the Kinectimals?
34	34	Clipshow	December 26, 2011
When there's no news, CheckPoint makes its own! CheckPoint's own news is silly and mostly just footage of us ruining takes.
33	33	2011 CheckPoint Awards	December 19, 2011
The best video game awards ever. We don't even know of any others.
32	32	Game for Fashion	December 12, 2011
The fashion world is like a rickety construction of wood, stone and glass, rocked by an Angry Bird dress.
31	31	Acts of Ville-ainy	December 5, 2011
Zynga's grip is becoming so tight that their own users are slipping through their fingers.
30	30	The Glitchy Scrolls	November 28, 2011
Skyrim Glitch is Best Glitch
29	29	Gotta Get Deals on Friday!	November 21, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
28	28	UbiHardball	November 14, 2011
Hollywood is scared and afraid that someone might know how to do their job better than they do.
27	27	Battlefail 3	November 7, 2011
EA and DICE don't seem to think that BF3's failures are your fault for wanting to play it.
26	26	Uncharted Charted	October 31, 2011
If the game you love gets a score you don't, the only possible answer is impotent rage.
25	25	The Ultimate Scrolldown	October 24, 2011
Mojang and Bethesda are locked in a legal battle of mutual silliness. (Featuring a guest appearance by Russ Pitts)
24	24	Manual Stimulation	October 17, 2011
Look, we're all excited about Skyrim but just chill out a bit, okay?
23	23	HD Remix	October 10, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
22	22	Fantasies: How Not to Be Final	October 3, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
21	21	Sony Knows It Has a Problem	September 26, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
20	20	The Birds!!!	September 19, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
19	19	Project - Buy Our Shit	September 12, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
18	18	Retirement Plan	September 5, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
17	17	Nintendo 4DS	August 29, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
16	16	Gamestop Ex-Stream	August 22, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
15	15	Season Passé	August 15, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
14	14	Blizzard of Cash	August 8, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
13	13	Socially Inept	August 1, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
12	12	3DSadness	July 25, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
11	11	Plants vs. EA	July 18, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
10	10	PS4Life	July 11, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
9	9	Supremely Legal	July 4, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
8	8	You Know What You Did	June 27, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
7	7	For the Lulz	June 20, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
6	6	E3 Roundup	June 13, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
5	5	Secret C.O.D.E	June 6, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
4	4	Patently Silly	May 30, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
3	3	Plugged Valve	May 23, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
2	2	Bungie Jumping	May 16, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
1	1	Into the Breach	May 9, 2011
From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.

See Also

• Escapist News Network, CheckPoint's predecessor.
• Action 9, LRR's other fictitious news agency.

External Links

• Penny Arcade Television
• CheckPoint Archive - PATV