I'll try to avoid spoilers as much as possible but I might slip.
First of all, You need to understand one thing. VGHS requires a suspension of disbelief. Once you get past the fact that the world is one where video games are the most important thing to everyone. Think College Football in the US or Football(soccer) in Europe. Once this fact sinks in, VGHS plays like a underdog sports/teen movie.
Because this is a (mostly) freddiew production, there are great action scenes intermittently throughout the series. If you watch the episodes individually, there is a chance that some of them might feel slow, especially if you expect the entire series to be packed to the brim with just pure action. But this isn't another short-form piece, it's long-form and to develop a story, it can't just be all action.
So how is the story? It's what you would expect for a movie set in a high school. It's about growing up, chasing your dreams, the underdog coming out on top, finding your first love, being incredible awkward and hating every single moment of it. You know, high school. Well, maybe the first three are exaggerations but that's the deal. And, in fact, the show often makes fun of the genre it's in.
The point is that you have to look at this show not as a typical Hollywood Teen Drama, but rather a long, highly entertaining, joke on the tropes that Hollywood continues to use that everyone already expects. Though VGHS uses all of these tropes, they're so blatant that you can see that VGHS doesn't take itself seriously. But, that doesn't mean the entire series is just a collection of jokes. When it's required, the show can take a very serious tone and pulls it off fairly well.
Now considering the script, if you're a fan of video games and have a decently wide understanding of various famous games and persons in the field, you'll notice all the little nods and hints throughout the series. But even if you don't know video games, some of the references are so universal that you'll find yourself smiling at having noticed the small details. The references are usually very subtle and not important towards understanding the story or even the specific lines that they're mentioned in. **spoilers** For example, the line "ever since I was E for Everyone" is an obvious reference to the ESRB rating system, and Dean Calhoun's short speech referencing Peter Molyneux, a game designer well known for generating a large amount of hype for his new games and not quite delivering, is great for anyone who understands these references but doesn't matter towards the understanding of the script itself. **end spoilers**
The acting and the characters occasionally leaves you wanting. But for a web series funded by Kickstarter and made by group of people who started their careers on Youtube, you can't fault them for not having A-list celebrities for every extra they cast. Of course, they do recruit Zachary Levi (Chuck) as a supporting role so I guess they can get some awesome people if they really need to.
The point is, ultimately, that VGHS was made on a small budget, for the web and it serves as a proof of concept for the future of media. It's a first step towards a time where web series have the quality and production value of any high budget TV show or movie. And it's a hell of a ride.
First of all, You need to understand one thing. VGHS requires a suspension of disbelief. Once you get past the fact that the world is one where video games are the most important thing to everyone. Think College Football in the US or Football(soccer) in Europe. Once this fact sinks in, VGHS plays like a underdog sports/teen movie.
Because this is a (mostly) freddiew production, there are great action scenes intermittently throughout the series. If you watch the episodes individually, there is a chance that some of them might feel slow, especially if you expect the entire series to be packed to the brim with just pure action. But this isn't another short-form piece, it's long-form and to develop a story, it can't just be all action.
So how is the story? It's what you would expect for a movie set in a high school. It's about growing up, chasing your dreams, the underdog coming out on top, finding your first love, being incredible awkward and hating every single moment of it. You know, high school. Well, maybe the first three are exaggerations but that's the deal. And, in fact, the show often makes fun of the genre it's in.
The point is that you have to look at this show not as a typical Hollywood Teen Drama, but rather a long, highly entertaining, joke on the tropes that Hollywood continues to use that everyone already expects. Though VGHS uses all of these tropes, they're so blatant that you can see that VGHS doesn't take itself seriously. But, that doesn't mean the entire series is just a collection of jokes. When it's required, the show can take a very serious tone and pulls it off fairly well.
Now considering the script, if you're a fan of video games and have a decently wide understanding of various famous games and persons in the field, you'll notice all the little nods and hints throughout the series. But even if you don't know video games, some of the references are so universal that you'll find yourself smiling at having noticed the small details. The references are usually very subtle and not important towards understanding the story or even the specific lines that they're mentioned in. **spoilers** For example, the line "ever since I was E for Everyone" is an obvious reference to the ESRB rating system, and Dean Calhoun's short speech referencing Peter Molyneux, a game designer well known for generating a large amount of hype for his new games and not quite delivering, is great for anyone who understands these references but doesn't matter towards the understanding of the script itself. **end spoilers**
The acting and the characters occasionally leaves you wanting. But for a web series funded by Kickstarter and made by group of people who started their careers on Youtube, you can't fault them for not having A-list celebrities for every extra they cast. Of course, they do recruit Zachary Levi (Chuck) as a supporting role so I guess they can get some awesome people if they really need to.
The point is, ultimately, that VGHS was made on a small budget, for the web and it serves as a proof of concept for the future of media. It's a first step towards a time where web series have the quality and production value of any high budget TV show or movie. And it's a hell of a ride.