Achievement Hunter
Achievement Hunter logo used on their videos/website in 2016. | |
Division | |
Industry | Entertainment |
Genre | Comedy gaming, Let's Plays, game walkthroughs |
Founded | July 6, 2008 |
Founders |
Geoff Ramsey Jack Pattillo |
Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
Key people |
Geoff Ramsey Jack Pattillo Gavin Free Michael Jones Ryan Haywood Jeremy Dooley Trevor Collins |
Services |
Online video Community website |
Number of employees | 18 |
Parent | Rooster Teeth |
Website | Official Website |
Achievement Hunter is an American video gaming division of Rooster Teeth Productions. Founded by Geoff Ramsey and Jack Pattillo on July 6, 2008, the website is largely based on the achievement mechanic found in seventh and eighth generation video game consoles. Since its founding, Achievement Hunter has grown to become a core component of Rooster Teeth, hosting a wide variety of videos related to video games. Achievement Hunter videos are currently hosted by these six members: Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo, Gavin Free, Michael Jones, Ryan Haywood, and Jeremy Dooley. While most videos feature these six 'core' members of Achievement Hunter, others show up regularly.
Achievement Hunter has a large presence on YouTube – where it runs the Achievement Hunter and LetsPlay – garnering a combination of more than 5 million subscribers and 2 billion video views.[1][2][3][4]
History and development
2008–10: Inception and growth
In 2008, Geoff Ramsey's interest in gaming achievements resulted in the realization that no community-based website related to achievements existed.
Burnie and I were both huge achievement fans ... and we were constantly racing each other to get more achievements – trying to outdo each other for gamerscore – and to that end we were playing at ton of games in our free time and trying to find information about how to get certain achievements online and it was a bit of a crapshoot… there were a few site you could go and look at… but I'm kind of a visual dude, and it really helps me if I can sit down and watch a video… So we were talking about how great it would be if a site like that existed one day and how helpful it would be for us and I said "Fuck it, I'll just make that site" and decided to do that[5]
As a result, Ramsey approached Burnie Burns, then CEO of Rooster Teeth, about creating a website based on achievements; Burns agreed, and Ramsey created Achievement Hunter, which shares a similar design to the main Rooster Teeth website.[6] Ramsey later elaborated, saying he had grown tired of making Red vs. Blue and enjoyed working on this new, creative outlet in his spare time.[7] Alongside employee Jack Pattillo, Ramsey regularly released achievement guides and Easter egg videos, often receiving assistance from select volunteers from the Rooster Teeth community. David Dreger also assisted in the founding of the site.[8][9]
2011–12: Employment growth
In 2011, Achievement Hunter hired Ryan Haywood as an editor and manager; Haywood later began being featured in videos as a host in March 2012, becoming one of the main crew members. Four new shows were introduced to Achievement Hunter in 2011. One of them, Rage Quit, led to the official hiring of Michael Jones as a full-time staff member in August 2011.[10]
In December 2011, Achievement Hunter also began creating Let's Play videos. The success of the videos resulted in a weekly sub-series in 2012, in which the main hosts play Minecraft. Weekly Let's Play videos focusing on Grand Theft Auto games are also released.[11][12]
Achievement Hunter hired Gavin Free in 2012, after he had assisted with the company for many years. In March 2012, Achievement Hunter debuted Game Night, in which Ramsey and Caleb Denecour play games with community members; the series switched to a live stream format in 2014. Community member Ray Narvaez, Jr. was hired in April 2012, having worked as a contract host for multiple years. Later, in September 2012, contract editor Franco Scarcello created Five Facts, which was generally hosted by Pattillo and Ramsey and focused on little-known facts about various video games; it was not renewed for a sixth season in May 2016.[13]
2013–present: Popularization
In early 2013, Achievement Hunter introduced a competition series titled VS, in which the employees challenge each other to compete in games. In April 2013, Achievement Hunter launched their own channel on YouTube, which hosts a variety of their videos.[1] Later in 2013, the company retired Achievement HORSE, replacing it with Achievement HUNT, in which a variety of employees challenge each other until the word "HUNT" has been spelled.
In October 2013, Pattillo hosted a 24-hour live stream benefiting Extra Life, a charity benefiting hospitalized children. With appearances from other Achievement Hunter members and various Rooster Teeth employees, the live stream managed to raise $340,000. This charity live stream has become an annual event, with 2014's Extra Life live stream raising over $442,000 for Children's Miracle Network.[14] At RTX in July 2014, community members Matt Bragg and Jeremy Dooley were hired as editors and secondary hosts at Achievement Hunter.[15]
In early 2015, Achievement Hunter hosted the first Let's Play Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. In April 2015, Narvaez departed from the company as a full-time employee to focus on Twitch live-streaming, although he continued to voice his character for the company's X-Ray and Vav animated series until its eventual cancellation.[16] In mid-2015, Achievement Hunter launched a new YouTube channel, named after themselves, thereon they upload series of videos that were previously uploaded to the Rooster Teeth channel. Additionally, they moved out of Rooster Teeth's Stage 5, Austin Studios office into their own office nearby.[17]
Dooley was promoted to a main host in October 2015, during an episode of Let's Play Minecraft.[18] A weekly podcast titled Off Topic was announced in early October, hosted by Michael Jones. Four test episodes aired live and were only available to "First Members" on their website. The first official episode aired to the public after the initial tests. Jones serves as the main host of the show and makes the most frequent appearances alongside other Achievement Hunter employees and special guests.[19]
From 2015, Achievement Hunter would feature celebrities as guest collaborators in some of their Let's Play videos such as Rahul Kohli,[20] Dan Campbell from The Wonder Years,[21] Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham,[22][23] Dante Basco,[24][25] James Buckley,[26] Lannan Eacott, and pop punk band Neck Deep. [27]
Let's Play Live!
Let's Play Live! is an on-stage event produced by Rooster Teeth in which the Achievement Hunter members play video games and perform comedy sketches in front of a live audience. Their first event was held on February 20, 2015, at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas.[28] On September 14, a behind-the-scenes documentary was released about the event for sponsors on their website.
Three more Let's Play Live! events were held in 2016, with the first at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 17,[29] the second at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on August 19, and the third at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York on October 8. These events also feature appearances by other members of the Let's Play family; Funhaus, ScrewAttack, Kinda Funny, Cow Chop and The Creatures.[30]
In 2017, four Let's Play Live! shows were announced as the East Coast Tour. The tour was held from April 24 to April 30, with them going to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida.
One Lets Play Live! show was held in 2018 as part of RTX 2018 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on August 2.
Event Dates
Date | Name | Location | Associated act(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 20, 2015 | Let's Play Live! | Austin, Texas | Funhaus |
June 17, 2016 | Let's Play Live! 2 | Hollywood, California | Funhaus, ScrewAttack, Kinda Funny, Cow Chop and The Creatures |
August 19, 2016 | Let's Play Live: Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | Funhaus, Kinda Funny and The Creatures |
October 8, 2016 | Let's Play Live: New York | New York City, New York | Funhaus and Cow Chop |
April 24, 2017 | Lets Play Live! East Coast Tour | Newark, New Jersey | Funhaus |
April 26, 2017 | Baltimore, Maryland | Funhaus | |
April 28, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Funhaus | |
April 30, 2017 | Tampa, Florida | Funhaus | |
August 2, 2018 | Lets Play Live! RTX Austin | Austin, Texas | Funhaus |
Charity
With members of Rooster Teeth that work outside of Achievement Hunter, the group works with different charities to raise money through livestreams and other methods. This is in part to Jack Pattillo being a part of Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth's Charity Director,[31] causing him to be a large part of organizing events, promoting them on the Achievement Hunter page, and asking fans and friends to be a part of the event. He summed up the point in a statement; "When Rooster Teeth calls on its fans to support a cause, we can count on them to help us make a huge impact."[31]
Through cooperation between Make-A-Wish and the Achievement Hunter parent company Rooster Teeth, the members of Achievement Hunter met teenager Erik Battany during RTX in August 2015.[32] Battany and his family had been gifted VIP passes to RTX 2015, meeting them at a VIP party and the next day played with members for an Assassins Creed: Syndicate mission. On 23 May 2014, there was another visitor through Make-A-Wish, a boy named Jacob.[33][34]
List of shows
Series | Primary contributor(s) | Series premiere | Series finale |
---|---|---|---|
Forced Enjoyment | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | March 25, 2008 | July 28, 2010 |
Achievement Guides/Achievement Unlocked | Various | July 29, 2008 | Ongoing |
Pajamachievements | Griffon Ramsey | December 20, 2008 | September 25, 2009 |
Easter Eggs | Various | July 14, 2009 | Ongoing |
Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU) | Various | March 4, 2010 | Ongoing |
Behind the Scenes | Various | May 5, 2010 | Ongoing |
Fails of the Weak | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | September 22, 2010 | May 13, 2016 |
Achievement HORSE/PIG | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | December 6, 2010 | January 2, 2016 |
Rage Quit | Michael Jones | January 20, 2011 | March 8, 2017 |
This Is ... | Various | March 29, 2011 | August 14, 2015 |
Things to Do In: | Various | November 30, 2011 | Ongoing |
Let's Play | Various | December 7, 2011 | Ongoing |
A Look Back At | Brandon "Fragger" Light; Ray Narvaez, Jr. | December 16, 2011 | August 15, 2012 |
Game Night | Geoff Ramsey, Caleb Denecour | March 23, 2012 | February 14, 2014 |
Trials Files | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | April 24, 2012 | November 4, 2014 |
Retro Active | Brandon "Fragger" Light | May 30, 2012 | October 31, 2012 |
Quick Bits | Various | August 20, 2012 | December 17, 2012 |
Five Facts | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo, Franco Scarcello | September 11, 2012 | May 17, 2016[13] |
Coming Soon | Kdin Jenzen | March 5, 2013 | May 1, 2015 |
Versus (VS) | Various | March 8, 2013 | January 19, 2017 |
GO! | Various | October 29, 2013 | August 28, 2016 |
Achievement HUNT | Various | October 30, 2013 | May 10, 2016 |
How To: | Joel Heyman, Adam Ellis, Jeremy Dooley, Matt Bragg | February 6, 2014 | May 15, 2016[35][36] |
Play Pals | Michael Jones, Gavin Free | May 8, 2014 | Ongoing |
Countdown/Top Five | Various | May 12, 2014 | January 5, 2016 |
Imaginary Achievements | Jeremy Dooley | August 13, 2014 | April 8, 2015 |
MegaCraft | Matt Bragg | August 18, 2014 | August 12, 2015 |
Let's Watch | Various | September 18, 2014 | Ongoing |
Grab Bag | Various | September 25, 2014 | April 21, 2016 |
Achievement Hunter vs. The World | Various | October 16, 2014 | Ongoing |
Sunday Driving | Various | November 6, 2014 | July 5, 2015 |
Shenanigans | Various | December 19, 2014 | April 12, 2017 |
Presented With Comment | Jeremy Dooley (with various contenders) | August 1, 2015 | January 7, 2016 |
Off Topic Podcast | Michael Jones (with various AH members) | October 30, 2015 | Ongoing |
Great Levels in Gaming | Max Bernard | December 29, 2015 | Ongoing |
VR the Champions | Ryan Haywood, Gavin Free, Jeremy Dooley, Michael Jones, Jack Pattillo | April 12, 2016 | Ongoing |
Theater Mode[37] | Various | April 29, 2016 | Ongoing |
Heroes and Halfwits[38] | Frank J. Kim, Geoff Ramsey, Griffon Ramsey, Michael Jones, Gus Sorola, Ryan Haywood | June 9, 2016 | Ongoing |
RouLetsPlay | Various | September 29, 2016 | Ongoing |
Schooled[39] | Geoff Ramsey, Millie Ramsey | October 3, 2016 | Ongoing |
Between the Games | Various | October 11, 2016 | Ongoing |
Battle Buddies | Ryan Haywood, Jeremy Dooley | May 9, 2017 | Ongoing |
Chaos Corner | Lindsay Jones | December 28, 2017 | Ongoing |
Cast and crew
|
|
|
References
- 1 2 "LetsPlay - YouTube". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ↑ "Achievement Hunter- YouTube". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ↑ "GameFails- YouTube". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ↑ "LetsPlay Community- YouTube". Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ↑ Giddens, Greg. "Interview Geoff Ramsey and Jack Pattillo on Achievement Hunter". Resolution Magazine. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ↑ Burg, Dustin (July 28, 2008). "RvB launches achievement website, achievables unlocked!". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- ↑ Palamountain, Jamie. "An Interview with Geoff Ramsey - RTX Sydney 2017". YouTube. The Loaded Gamer. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- 1 2 Sliwinski, Alexander (28 July 2008). "Rooster Teeth creates Achievement/Trophy database site". Engadget. AOL Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 "RIP Ex-Achievement Hunter Knuckles Dawson". 343 industries. 343 industries. June 22, 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
Knuckles Dawson was one the original achievement hunters for Rooster Teeth back in day he created a large library of achievement videos while narrating the viewers through the achievements.
- ↑ "Rooster Teeth Podcast No. 228". Rooster Teeth Productions. July 23, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ↑ Amini, Tina (May 4, 2012). "Launch Your Friends Off Helicopters in Grand Theft Auto IV". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- ↑ Vas, Gergo (February 27, 2014). "Almost nailed it! The Achievement Hunter crew is back on track with GTA V, and they're really pushing the limits of possible stunts this time". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Scarcello, Franco (June 15, 2016). "The End of Five Facts". Achievement Hunter. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ↑ Brouwer, Bree (October 27, 2014). "Rooster Teeth Raises $442, 389 For Extra Life, LeVar Burton Reads Adult Kid's Books". Tubefilter. Tubefilter, Inc. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Ramsey, Geoff; Pattillo, Jack; Haywood, Ryan; Jones, Michael; Free, Gavin; Narvaez, Ray, Jr.; Jones, Lindsay; Jenzen, Kdin; Denecour, Caleb (July 6, 2014). Achievement Hunter Panel #2. RTX. Austin, Texas. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- 1 2 Brouwer, Bree (May 6, 2015). "Ray Narvaez, Jr. Leaves Rooster Teeth, Moves To Full-Time Twitch Streaming". Tubefilter. Tubefilter, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Brouwer, Bree (July 2, 2015). "Rooster Teeth's Achievement Hunter Gets Its Own Channel, Offices". Tubefilter. Tubefilter, Inc. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (October 16, 2015). Let's Play Minecraft Episode 177 - Blocking List (Part 2). Rooster Teeth. Event occurs at 32:35. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ↑ Jones, Michael (October 28, 2015). "Brand New Achievement Hunter Podcast, Off Topic!". Michael Jones - roosterteeth.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (June 17, 2015). Let's Play - Left 4 Dead 2 with Rahul Kohli. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (November 18, 2015). Let's Play – Madden 16 with Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (January 14, 2016). Let's Play - Lego Dimensions with Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (January 19, 2016). Let's Play - StarWhal Just the Tip with Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (May 21, 2016). Let's Play - SMITE with Dante Basco. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (March 24, 2016). Let's Play - StarWhal Just the Tip with Dante Basco. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (May 4, 2017). Let's Play Hot Seat: GTA V Feat. James Buckley. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (April 5, 2016). Let's Play - Rocket League with Neck Deep. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Let's Play Live! | Rooster Teeth". roosterteeth.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ↑ "Rooster Teeth Mounting 'Let's Play Live' Tour with Mills Entertainment - VideoInk". VideoInk. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (2016-04-18), FIVE-WAY IN 4K – Let's Play Live Trailer!, retrieved 2016-04-28
- 1 2 "Rooster Teeth To Host 24-Hour Stream This Weekend For Children's Charity 'Extra Life' - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ↑ "Make-A-Wish Foundation Helps Fan Meet Rooster Teeth, Achievement Hunter Stars". Tubefilter. 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ↑ "Rooster Teeth🐓 on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ↑ "Make-A-Wish® South Dakota: I wish to go to the Rooster Teeth Headquarters". Make-A-Wish® South Dakota. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (15 May 2016). "How To: Fin with Special Guest Mario" – via YouTube.
- ↑ "'How To' coming to a end | Rooster Teeth". roosterteeth.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (2016-04-15), Theater Mode Trailer, retrieved 2016-04-28
- ↑ Achievement Hunter (2016-06-07), Heroes and Halfwits Trailer, retrieved 2016-07-01
- ↑ Brouwer, Bree. "Achievement Hunter's Team Gents Dish On Partnering With Kids In 'Schooled' Season 2". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- 1 2 Bugeja, Kane (June 16, 2014). "Michael and Lindsay Jones Panel at Supanova 2014". Capsule Computers. Capsule Computers. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Matovina, Larry [@larrymatovina] (February 25, 2017). "Now that @_TrevorC is the Supervising Producer of Achievement Hunter, we needed a new lead editor. Happy to say it's me! New Trevor!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
- 1 2 Hardy, Steffie [@TheSteffie] (April 29, 2016). "AH editors AKA The Most Disappointing Boy Band Ever" (Tweet). Retrieved May 18, 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Blanchard, Andrew (May 27, 2016). "Working Title". Rooster Teeth. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
- ↑ Dillard, Ashley (December 21, 2016). "Ask the Editor - 7 Days of 7 Days to Die". Rooster Teeth. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ↑ Achievement Hunter [@AchievementHunt] (August 12, 2017). "Just announced: @AlfredoPlays is now part of the AH family!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Lien, Tracey (21 June 2013). "Ex-Rooster Teeth contributor found dead in West Vancouver". Polygon. VOX Media. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ↑ Burns, Michael Justin "Burnie". "David Dreger Update". Rooster Teeth. Rooster Teeth. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ Light, Brandon. "Fragger". Rooster Teeth. Brandon Light. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ↑ Jones Castillo, Jose. "JJ News". Rooster Teeth. Jose Jones Castillo. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Bernard, Max [@maxbarnyard] (July 4, 2017). "Unfortunately AH declined to renew the contract. I may return to independent production but my first priority is getting FT employment set" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Burton, Mica (May 19, 2016). "Officially Hunting Achievements". Rooster Teeth. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ↑ Collins, Trevor [@_TrevorC] (May 10, 2018). "It's our editor Neal's last day. He finally discovered my slow additions to his work station" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Achievement Hunter. |