Damo9000 and the epic rap battles of VR satire

May 22, 2019May 23, 2019

Damo9000. If you are into Reddit and virtual reality, for sure you know this nickname. He’s the guy creating a satirical newspaper pages on the /r/oculus subreddit. Amazing content that makes all of us laugh, like for instance this one published for the disappointing launch of the Rift S.

Damo9000 rift s launch — Typical newspaper created by Damo on the Oculus subreddit. Here he was expressing our anger for the disappointing features of the Rift S (Image by Damo9000)

Damo is a personal idol of mine, so I absolutely wanted to interview him and have fun with him with a semi-serious Q&A session. I feel so happy that I managed to actually talk with him in occasion of the launch of his “Epic Rap Battles for the History of the Future” video. What, don’t you know what I am talking about? That’s no good…

Damo is a creative guy and now has evolved from just doing memes and newspapers to also doing videos. Yesterday he has just launched on Reddit a masterpiece, that has been made in collaboration with VR_Nima. You must absolutely watch it before going on with the interview. And if you are good enough, you will also be able to find a hidden easter egg…

Have you had fun watching it? I am sure you did. Now you are ready to read the words of the great Damo9000!

Hello Damo, introduce yourself to my readers!

I’m Damo9000, the artist formerly known as Damo3000.

Why the nickname Damo 9000? How does it mean?

What does it mean to you? SkarredGhost means something to me.

How have you started publishing those amazing magazines on Reddit?

The sub was in a state of ridiculous arguing, it was peak Vive VS Rift fanboysism at its worst. Some of the comments were pretty over the top, and the idea of the “Weekly World News” came to me, so I posted it and everyone had a good laugh, and hopefully, a good look at themselves in the proverbial mirror.

Where do you take the inspiration to create them?

Usually inspiration strikes when drama has taken hold of the sub, or some interesting action takes place in the VR world.

What is the newspaper page that you are proud of the most? And why?

I’m not proud of the newspapers. Achievement is it’s own reward. I really enjoy knowing that people are laughing and letting down their guard on the receiving end. Well, most, but not all I’m sure.

You usually publish on /r/Oculus… are you an Oculus fan?

I’m not a fan of Oculus “the corporation” at all, though I can appreciate the hard work and technical achievements their employees contribute to. I really do not like their leadership or direction though. They have made a lot of mis-steps in search of more “control” of VR in my viewpoint. But I always have a good chuckle when I see them fall of the cliff time and time again like Wile. E. Coyote, Super Genius. Beep Beep!

Is Zuckerberg human, in the end?

If he so chooses. So far, I have my doubts. But every single soul is redeemable, I like to think. I would hate to see him smoke his own meat in the end.

https://gfycat.com/FocusedRichCranefly

GIF by Damo9000

What are the best things that have happened in answer to your magazines? Have you ever been contacted by some important people because of your magazines? (e.g. Palmer Luckey, Zuck, etc…)

Well, I’m still waiting on Marky Z and the Funky Bunch to send me a big fat check, asking me to stop making memes. That would be a lot of fun to rip into little peices. I speak with Palmer (who has a good sense of humor) from time to time on Facebook (yes, I’m on Facebook. One does not leave his fellows behind). I’ve met Brendan Iribe in person, he said he likes my newspapers as well (no sure how honest a statement that was, but I’ll take it at face value). And I have been in contact with “The Briefcase Man” as well, who is a very intriguing soul indeed.

damo9000 rift 2 cancelled — Do you remember when Zuck cancelled the Rift 2 project of Brendan Iribe and substituted it with the Rift S? Pepperidge Farm remembers (Image by Damo9000)

Do you agree with me that sometimes in the VR ecosystem we take things a bit too seriously (see the fanboyism on the various subreddits) and we should be more relaxed sometimes?

Fanboyism is silly obviously. Most corporations couldn’t care less about you. They probably see you as hotdogs that have the gold they want. But, I admit being a fan of Valve. They do more good than bad it seems, though no company is perfect. And their games? *Chefs Kiss. At least the ones I’ve played. DOTA and Artifact aren’t up my alley, but Half-Life 2 is a masterpiece.

https://gfycat.com/LightDecimalBrahmancow

Valve Index rising (GIF by Damo9000)

What is the thing that makes you laugh more in these days about the VR ecosystem?

The sheer amount of “experts”, “consultants” and all around snake-oil salesman that have appeared suddenly, when investors were throwing money in the hype furnace. And all these VR-YouTubers making more money than the devs who make the games they “review”. Oh wait, you said “laugh”. Oh well, if we don‘t laugh we will cry.

What do you do during your daily life, when you do not publish magazines on Reddit?

I work in the animation industry. Painting the deserts that the Road Runner zooms about in. Hobbies are creating animations, art, music, memes, and messing about in VR development.

If you would like to give some advice to someone that wants to enter the VR ecosystem now, what would you tell to him/her?

Do not build something that you think people want. Make something that comes from your heart, the truth about YOU. Don’t be afraid to be YOU. Walk in Love and Truth. That’s what the world needs. Sure doesn’t need another Zombie VR Shooter. We all make mistakes, just need to keep getting up and carrying on.

https://gfycat.com/DazzlingRaggedJoey

Jon Karmack in his new rapping career (GIF by Damo9000)

Is Half–Life 3 confirmed?

Yes! And Half-Life 4! and Full-Life 7!

Can you make a magazine page for my readers of The Ghost Howls? Please…

Boo ya!

Damo9000 skarredghost — Yay! An exclusive magazine page all for me! (Image by Damo9000)

I have had an exclusive newspaper page made by Damo9000, now I can die in peace 😀

I really want to thank Damien for the time he has dedicated to me and for all the laughs that he gifted me. I suggest you to follow him on Reddit, Twitter and to cover him with gold on Patreon.

Ah, and if you haven’t found the hidden Easter Egg in the above video, here you are the hidden content… let’s all rap with Jon Karmack 🙂

Long life to Damo9000!

(Image by Damo9000)

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