(The following interview with Geoff Lapaire was never published so I present it here):

Q & A: Geoff Lapaire on Pure Pwnage

Tonight at 10pm on Showcase the internet series Pure Pwnage makes the jump from the internet to television. The first Canadian web series to make that transition it follows a gamer Jeremy Cale as he attempts to connect with the “real world.” Jeremy is played by Geoff Lapaire who is also the show’s co-creator, writer and producer. On set Geoff sat down with the Post to discuss the dynamic world of gaming and television.

Q Can you pronounce the show’s name and briefly describe the origin of the word?

A For the record: Pure Ownage. It originated from gamer culture like a decade ago. Own was common—it means to thoroughly defeat an opponent to the point of humiliation. If you’ve totally crushed your opponent you’ve owned him. And everyone that’s cool, unique and a good gamer would use that word all the time.

And sometime—probably 6 years ago—now there’s a feud according to the origin when it happened exactly but somebody made a typo “pwn.” Now we’re old school—Jeremy’s old school he’s been doing this for 20 years—he says owned. And also personally as a creator it sounds a bit silly saying powned. That’s for the record.

Q What was it about the internet series that caught viewers?

A Well: we like to think the show is funny. One of the biggest things was the fact it’s authentic gaming culture—written by gamers made for a gaming audience.  But the tv show is something we’re excited about in terms of bring gaming culture to a more general audience.

One of the big things that’s appealing about the show is that—most content made by Hollywood or television that deals with gamers misses the mark. You know gamers are portrayed as immature or sleeping in a race car bed as though gaming is something you did as a kid and you grow out of it eventually but nowadays people don’t grow out of gaming they play video games well into their adult life—gaming is a lifestyle that can stick with you.

I’m a pretty functional guy. I have a girlfriend—I go to parties. Iceland . I drink beer. I have fun: I have sex.  And so do all my gamer friends.

Beautiful people play video games.

Q Could you describe your character.

A I play Jeremy—the focus of this mock-documentary. Jeremy’s a guy who has no special skills because he’s spent his entire life in the basement playing video games. He’s 26 at the start of the series and his mom is finally putting her foot down: her point of embarrassment’s been reached. So she thrusts him into the real world—he’s a fish out of water.

Q Is the general tv audience ready for the world of gamers?

A I think so: yeah. Even if you’re not a gamer I think it’s interesting and the gamer culture that’s emerged from video games. People are gonna find themselves picking up the lingo and getting a great slice of that culture. And be exposed to something you’d otherwise never be exposed too.

Q What is your favourite retro video game?

A If you want to kick it extra old school definitely Nintendo. I’ve always been a big fan of the Mario games—Mario 3—that’s a big game I’ll never forget.

Also published on Medium.