History LetsPlay / GamingGarbage

* SophisticatedAsHell: [[https://youtu.be/pNzYxVHovTM This video]] proves you to can be this when upgrading to an UsefulNotes/XboxOne.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: In-universe.
-->'''Lowtax:''' Are we ''enjoying art'' again? Is that the problem?
%%* UnexpectedlyAbandoned: ''Nine-Eleven''

* ObviousBeta: Almost every single game they play (hell, they're ''lucky'' if it's beta-quality, or even ''pre-prototype'' quality.)

* FauxHorrific: One of Lowtax's [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moments of Funny]] is [[https://youtu.be/F9II_cq01hY "Let's Play: ''Death Unknown''"]], where he parodies the overblown "scarecam" style popularized by LetsPlay/PewDiePie and LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}} by playing a horror game almost completely devoid of any readily identifiable horror elements and [[ScreamingAtSquick acting comically horrified at]] ''everything''. This was also done in an earlier video: "Let's Play: ''Nightmare!''", though without the camera and was done with Shmorky, rather than a solo run.

-->'''Shmorky:''' And here comes LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}!\\

* TakeThat: LetsPlay/PewDiePie and {{LetsPlay/Markiplier}} are common targets. In fact, the original ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' LP was made solely as a takedown against [=PewDiePie=] and [=PewDiePie=]-style "LP recording over-exaggerated reactions during gameplay" LetsPlays - lowtax would link to random ones he'd find in the original thread, ask the goons how the hell they would be considered funny, and let the goons go to town.

** Also breaks out a theme for ''[=HouseGhost=]'' to the tune of the WesternAnimation/DuckTales theme song. "[=HouseGhost=], woo-ooh! Dun duh-da-da, every ghost is getting houses..." This becomes a RunningGag in later videos.

** Singing certain things to the tune of the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'' theme song, usually if they involve houses and/or ghosts.

* PhallicWeapon: The [[ADateWithRosiePalms rather unusual]] idle animation for the axe in ''Night Terrors''.

* WorkOffTheDebt: An improvised IdiotPlot comes up in the ''Crimelife 2'' free-roam where Lowtax plays so much of the bowling minigame that he becomes indebted to the bowling alley and needs to pay them off through crime.

* PhallicWeapon: The [[ADateWithRosiePalms rather unusual]] idle animation for the [[AnAxeToGrind axe]] in ''Night Terrors''.

* VocalEvolution: During the ''Cry of Fear''/GTA clone videos, Lowtax's delivery was dryer and less [[LargeHam hammy]]. Shmorky started out speaking in a relatively deeper, flatter tone resembling a stereotypical {{nerd}} voice before adopting a more whimsical, emotive style, and becoming increasingly higher pitched. Starting in late 2013/early 2014, Shmorky's voice started becoming very frail, dainty and timid, often breaking and constantly squeaky in tone. They later some of his confidence back, but their tone still remains rather shrill and harsh in the latest videos. A more broad summation of their voice and overall inflection would be going from an "uh" sound (IGTOVE-era) to an "ah" sound (VGA-era) to an "ee" sound (GG-era).

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Being new to the Let's Play medium, Lowtax was more hesitant and low-key in his dialogue and delivery, but within only a couple months became the ultra-snarky LargeHam we all know and love. Shmorky's voice and personality started out as that of a laid back, nasally accented {{Nerd}}, before evolving into a exuberant {{Keet}} and then descending into a quivery ShrinkingViolet, all while [[SerialEscalation becoming higher and higher in pitch with every video]].

** "Let's Play ''[=Doland8=]''". Shmorky and Lowtax walk the player through an indecipherable FreeToPlay GameMaker MMO using UncannyValley animated avatars while {{Jump Cut}}ting to obscure pre-2000s computer games and making up lots of non-sequiter shit. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoGIV_XMD8 It's better if you see for yourself.]]

** ''Crimelife: Somertun'' takes this UpToEleven by consisting entirely of the ''Adventures'' game template with absolutely no changes. ''It is literally the exact same game''.

** Taken UpToEleven in "[[https://youtu.be/LQQCDxfv1SY Let's Play: ''Real Life'']]" where Lowtax takes footage of a typical workday and scarecams the hell out of it.

** ''Nightmare Dungeon'' easily cranked this UpToEleven by including near-constant jump scares, until one was happening every 2-3 seconds and Lowtax was just trying to kill himself as fast as possible so they'd stop.

** Bladevampirek's ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' games ''Blood Craze [[https://youtu.be/i2u1k_j-Ddo 1]] & [[https://youtu.be/GDlPbxHAWUE 2]]'' and ''[[https://youtu.be/h6NvGRdkqX8 Blood Days]]'', {{Boss Game}}s where every other boss you fight is ThatOneBoss. You're a OneHitPointWonder that has to dodge massive enemy sprites that [[HitBoxDissonance kill you with a single pixel of the rectangle that contains their respective sprite]] which ''also'' happen to move significantly faster than your character ''and'' [[DamageSpongeBoss require dozens upon dozens of hits]] by your [[DenialOfDiagonalAttack one-way projectiles]] to kill ''and'' have unpredictable moving patterns. As bad as the ''Blood Craze'' games are about it, ''Blood Days'' takes it UpToEleven by facing you against a boss that adds similarly killbox-sized BeamSpam to the mix, and a fight against [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} Pinhead]] which requires you to punch a well-guarded box about a hundred or so times as he shifts erratically all over the screen. The first two games were miraculously completed by Lowtax and Shmory, while the third put Lowtax and professional e-sports athlete [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]] through an hour before collapsing in disillusionment.

** "Let's Play: ''Goldrush in the Forest''" takes this UpToEleven. (See Mundane Made Awesome above)

* {{NO INDOOR VOICE}}: Like with the YouMakeMeSic example below, Lowtax and Shmorky will read certain things in ALL CAPS at the top of their lungs. This includes games such as ''The Endless Stairwell'' where the use of capitalization is stylistic.

* YouMakeMeSic: Both Lowtax and Shmorky will read everything as-is, pronouncing spelling and grammar mistakes as if they were actual words, phrases and sentences for [[PlayedForLaughs comic effect]].

* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: Lowtax consistently pronounces ''[[https://youtu.be/oTqpMQseeDg Crisis City]]'' as "Criss-iss City".
-->'''Lowtax:''' An entire city of Crisses.

''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ Gaming Garbage]]'' is the name of Website/SomethingAwful founder Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka's Website/YouTube channel which, beginning in the Spring of 2013, became primarily a LetsPlay channel in which both he and WebAnimation/TheFlashTub co-founder Dave "Shmorky" Kelly searched the internet for the bottomest of the very bottom of VideoGame barrels to find crudely designed homebrew {{freeware}} games, often programmed in entry-level template software programs such as GameMaker and UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}. The videos involved Lowtax (usually) attempting to play through [[ObviousBeta barely (if at all) playable]] digital cacophonies of primitive and unprofessional one-man graphic and sound design, often relying on stolen assets in order to give the illusion of something that wasn't made by a delusional child, while both he and Shmorky provided [[HilarityEnsues appropriate]] commentary.

After Google suspended Lowtax's monetization efforts, he and Jonathan slowed down on the comparatively labor-intensive work of Let's Plays in favor of a Gaming Garbage podcast, "Murder the Internet". However, by late 2019 the podcasts had stopped and gaming content made a return, usually in the form of livestreams with Jonathan, until Jonathan got a job elsewhere. Ever since then - just like in the [[BookEnds beginning]], the channel has remained Lowtax's solo channel consisting mostly of livestreams while still retaining the Gaming Garbage title.

In November 2021, Lowtax committed suicide after being overwhelmed by debts.

''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ Gaming Garbage]]'' is the current name of Website/SomethingAwful founder Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka's Website/YouTube channel which, beginning in the Spring of 2013, became primarily a LetsPlay channel in which both he and WebAnimation/TheFlashTub co-founder Dave "Shmorky" Kelly search the internet for the bottomest of the very bottom of VideoGame barrels to find crudely designed homebrew {{freeware}} games, often programmed in entry-level template software programs such as GameMaker and UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}. The videos involve Lowtax (usually) attempting to play through [[ObviousBeta barely (if at all) playable]] digital cacophonies of primitive and unprofessional one-man graphic and sound design, often relying on stolen assets in order to give the illusion of something that wasn't made by a delusional child, while both he and Shmorky provide [[HilarityEnsues appropriate]] commentary.

The first official title that was used for the channel was Interactive Gaming Television Online Video Entertatinment, or IGTOVE. It proved to be short-lived, replaced by the more appropriate Video Game Abomination Broadcasting (VGA), and the name stuck for the remainder of 2013 before eventually being changed to Gaming Garbage in late Winter of 2014.

In September of 2014, Lowtax [[WordOfGod announced]] via Website/{{Twitter}} that he would [[https://twitter.com/lowtax/status/507920997538729984 no]] [[https://twitter.com/lowtax/status/508465407402213376 longer]] be doing videos for the Gaming Garbage channel "in the foreseeable future." The channel is still being used to upload Let's Watch videos made in collaboration with {{WebVideo/Retsupurae}}. Chances of the series ever continuing got even worse as Lowtax and Shmorky's friendship continued to worsen. In 2016, Lowtax started uploading videos with his wife Ashli and daughter Lauren as co-commentators.

The channel was essentially reborn in 2017 as Lowtax recruited his friend Jonathan as the new official co-host (with Lauren occasionally co-hosting streams), while the Shmorky era is now regarded as a bit of an OldShame for the channel. After Google suspended Lowtax's monetization efforts he and Jonathan have slowed down on the comparatively labor-intensive work of Let's Plays in favor of a Gaming Garbage podcast, "Murder the Internet".

* {{Jerkass}}: Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen in "Let's Play: ''Jay's Mod''", playing off his {{GIFT}} persona and [[VitriolicBestBuds relationship]] with Lowtax.

** AbandonedHospital: ''Codename: Horror''
** AbandonedLaboratory: ''Stalked @ Home''
** AbandonedMine: ''Fabricant''
** AbandonedPlayground: ''Grand Theft Normo V''
** AbandonedWarehouse: ''Halls''
** GhostCity: ''Crisis City''
** GhostTown: ''Exploration Nation''
** GhostPlanet: ''SAVE CAPTAIN KIRK!''
** GhostShip: ''Lumber Island''
** HauntedCastle: ''The Groundskeeper''
** HauntedHouse: ''Fear House''
** OldSchoolBuilding: ''Elementary Memories''
** SinisterSubway: ''VideoGame/CryOfFear''
** UnexpectedlyAbandoned: ''Nine-Eleven''

--->'''Zykov_Eddy:''' I'm so glad I've discovered Gaming Garbage two months ago, it quickly became one of my favorite channels on youtube. I've never had so much fun watching someone playing horrible indie games. It's a comedy goldmine.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation[InUniverse]: Lowtax likes to do this to a lot of the characters in the games they play. The monster in ''Halls'', for example, is just a real estate agent who can only communicate in screams and circling her customers rapidly. Batman is a KleptomaniacHero who keeps stealing things to add to his giant collection in the Batcave. VideoGame/PacMan[[labelnote:*]]specifically, his ''VideoGame/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures'' incarnation[[/labelnote]] is a selfish, egotistical, megalomanic and sociopathic {{Jerkass}} that [[DesignatedHero just so happens to be the main protagonist for whatever reason]].

* AWinnerIsYou: Given the quality effort put into every ''other'' aspect of the titles...

-->'''Shmorky:''' Now I just feel bad.

* DeadpanSnarker: Lowtax (most of the time, anyway.)
* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace:
** ''Luigi's Forgotten Mansion''
** ''Fear House''
** ''Nightmare Dungeon''
** ''Dark World''
** ''The HORROR of HELL HOUSE''
** ''Caves of Hell''

** Shmorky [[YMMV/MemeticMutation gets themselves dead]] with a pistol after losing a bet and going completely nuts in "Let's Play: ''Horse Racing''".

** "Let's Play: ''SecretOfTheMagicCrystal''" ends with a CrazyPrepared Lowtax still losing the race, likely to him [[TooDumbToLive not checking his horse's stamina first]].
** TotalBiscuit and Lowtax [[RageQuit breaking down and quitting]] the NintendoHard ''Nightmare on Elm Street Blood Days'' after approximately half an hour of dying to [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} Pinhead]].

--->'''Lowtax:''' This is the guy who always makes the fucking stupid VideoGame/HalfLife rip-offs!

* FauxHorrific: One of Lowtax's [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moments of Funny]] is [[https://youtu.be/F9II_cq01hY "Let's Play: ''Death Unknown''"]], where he parodies the overblown "{{scarecam}}" style popularized by LetsPlay/PewDiePie and LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}} by playing a horror game almost completely devoid of any readily identifiable horror elements and [[ScreamingAtSquick acting comically horrified at]] ''everything''. This was also done in an earlier video: "Let's Play: ''Nightmare!''", though without the camera and was done with Shmorky, rather than a solo run.

* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: ''SlenderTheArrival'' was at least arguably SoOkayItsAverage enough to put a child through, but when it was followed by an abysmal SCP "game" consisting of nothing more than a stairway and comical JumpScare, as well as the [[https://youtu.be/xDHuRQbnTo4&list=UUPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ video game]] ''and'' [[https://youtu.be/gF6uEvwyTeg&list=UUPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ musical]] [[MindRape works]] of infamous ''Beestmeel'' creator [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Steward HK Lar Lover]], viewers actively started to become worried about Lowtax's parenting.

* LargeHam: Lowtax becomes this quite frequently [[CharacterizationMarchesOn after the first few LPs]].
** LargeHamAnnouncer: The ''Greenlight Eye'' videos.

* LetsPlay: A deconstruction.

** ''[[https://youtu.be/j_UupXuV-Nk Survival Horror]]'' is not, in fact, a SurvivalHorror game in the traditional sense, but rather a {{maze|Game}} with solid magenta walls and a floor that consists of a snapshot of a villainous-looking {{Bishonen}} and randomly scattered [[Videogame/MegaManX Zero]] sprites while the [[EarRape "music"]] from ''VideoGame/CrazyBus'' plays.

** The comments for "Let's Play: ''Horrific Horror''" mentioning that its music was taken from ''TheBindingOfIsaac''.

* RapidFireNo: See NoJustNoReaction entry above.

* RedOniBlueOni: Shmorky and Lowtax, respectively

** Lowtax following any utterance of "here I/we am/are" with "{{Miss America|Pageant}}".

* SelectiveObliviousness: Lowtax himself frequently skips or otherwise ignores instructions and documentation, then proceeds with frantic {{ButtonMashing}}, typically breaking the game in the process.

* SerialEscalation: The pitch and harshness of Shmorky's voice.

* ShortRangeShotgun: Taken UpToEleven in ''Crime Line'', where every type of gun has either borderline melee range or totally unorthodox shot trajectory.

-->"Dear sir, if I may, please allow me to notify you and the public in general of my opinion of your play style. I find it [[{{Scrub}} trite and shallow, to be generally lacking in skill]] as evident in your selection of weaponry. May I suggest you find solace in a [[Console/WiiU completely different video game entertainment system]], one with [[CasualGame titles that suit your strengths accordingly]]. Once this has been accomplished, please [[SuicideDare entertain the option of altering your life state to that of which directly opposes the one you currently inhabit]]. Sincerely, [[TheStoner Weed420]][[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]][[AllMenArePerverts XXX]]."

** Lowtax's 8-year-old daughter Lauren gives her thoughts, along with her father's, on the inexplicably popular ''SlenderTheArrival'', ''Minecraft'' Adventure mod/''Endless Stairwell'' clone ''Cube SCP-087'' and ''Beestmeel'' follow-up ''Prep Froth Time Travel 2''.

** ''Greenlight Eye'' is a TakeThat against SteamGreenlight and its lack of quality control.

** TakeThatAudience: The compilations of dim LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} fans questioning if they know they're playing a fake clone of Minecraft.

** The second stage of ''Mega Lord'' contains a series of segments that you must complete before an off-screen bomb explodes while the {{invincibility}} music from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'' plays.

* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: In ''[[https://youtu.be/ZnVn-oES5T0 Miami Traffic 3]]'', an AnthropomorphicAnimalAdaptaion of VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity.

* {{Mockbuster}}: ''Sonic Unleashed'', ''Dead Space'' and ''Metroid Prime'' are extreme [[VideoGameDemake demakes]] of their respective sources in the form of [[{{Unwinnable}} severely broken]] [=MSPaint=]-drawn platformers. ''Far Cry 3'' takes it even further by being a half-baked ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}} II'' WAD with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' map design whose only connection to any actual ''VideoGame/FarCry'' game is a basic fractal generated wall tile meant to resemble greenery of some sort.