Anyone who attended the Sydney Armageddon 2011 expo would know about the long list of special guests that made appearances to mingle with the fans. For those who were not, this might clue you in to the sorts of people that could seen wandering the venue. Among them were three members of Rooster Teeth productions, the creators and stars of the popular RedvsBlue web series. Their attendance featured as a huge headline in the promotion of the exhibition. These are also the creative minds behind other web series videos such as Immersion, RT shorts and Achievement Hunter, as well as lines of other  internet phenomena such as RT comics and the Drunk Tank podcast.
We could see that much of their time at the event was spent behind the Rooster Teeth exhibitor booth where they were selling some of their merchandise to eager fans, as well as providing them with photo opportunities, signatures and the chance to just have a friendly and casual chat. Despite their immense popularity and internet fame, they were always friendly and very easily approachable. (Well, once you waited in line long enough.) Following the Roosterteeth Q & A panel on the second day of Armageddon, MasterAbbott, LinkageAX and myself were fortunate enough to have a chat with two of the RT members: Geoff Ramsey and Matt Hullum, also known as the voices of Grif and Sarge from RvB. MasterAbbott worked the camera while I asked them a few questions.
We began with a short discussion about how they were enjoying Australia. What was very surprising to hear was that it was their first ever visit to Sydney, so they had decided to make a holiday out of it. We gave them a little advice with regards to the local wildlife. After discussing what gives them inspiration and what they idolised (besides Joel), we also talked about they responded to their status as internet celebrities, also mentioning these other two guys called Gabe and Tyco from something called Penny Arcade. Their responses to their popularity were very humbling, and personally, I think it’s nice to know that huge internet stars like these can still be so down to earth and casual about their fame.
We also delved into the psyche of the characters that they play. For instance, we established that Sarge has a fear of swear words. Plus we also figured out why his voice changed so much, with his voice initially being modelled after the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. We also learned that certain scences form RedVsBlue reminded Geoff of his time in the army in Kuwait, and how much friendship bonds mean in those sorts of situations. Except when he’s being subjected to Immersion experiments. In those instances, friends can be worst enemies. The last thing you want to wake up to is Burnie Burns in YOUR bedroom.
Finally, they finished off by explaining their ambitions for the future for RT. Want a few hints? President of the Universe. Travelling to the Netherlands. Simpson’s did it.
I’d like to thank Geoff and Matt for taking the time to chat with us, as well as for coming out to Australia to partake in one of our few available convention events. It just goes to show how cool these guys are to their fans by taking the time to travel and meet fans internationally.
If you have not heard of Roosterteeth productions before, or even RedvsBlue, then click on the link below to check out what you’ve been missing. If you are a self respecting gamer, you owe it to yourself to look into this:
As for those of you who are already huge Rooster Teeth fans, but missed out on the opportunity to buy some of their merch at Armageddon, fear not! They also have an online store and international shipping! They have T-Shirts, Wall posters, DVD’s, soundtracks, bags, books, calanders, planners, hats and tonnes of other cool stuff! Check out this link to browse their wares for memorabilia of your favourite RvB characters or moments:
