''Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?'' (''HAWP'') is an independently produced series of
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
videos created by siblings Anthony Burch and
Ashly Burch
Ashly Burch (born June 19, 1990) is an American voice actress, singer, and television writer. She is known for her roles as Aloy in ''Horizon Zero Dawn'' and ''Horizon Forbidden West'', Mel in ''The Last of Us Part II'', Tiny Tina in the ''Borde ...
. The series uses
surreal humor
Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayal ...
and comical
sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood-related or not.
Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced ...
to examine the themes, industry trends, and societal impact of
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s, with each episode typically focusing on a single game. ''HAWP'' was hosted on
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
for its first year of production, and syndicated to
GameTrailers
''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
until 2013, and has since become independently distributed, most notably on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. , the series has received over 60 million views.
History
''Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?'' was conceived during the summer of 2008, while Ashly and Anthony Burch still lived at home with their parents in Phoenix, Arizona. Anthony Burch was a game reviewer at
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
, his ''Rev Rant'' video features expressing his opinions of tropes commonly seen in contemporary games. Having established an audience on the website, he posted the first ''HAWP'' episode on May 28, 2008. The siblings collaborated over the course of the summer to produce one episode per week, playing mildly exaggerated versions of themselves: Anthony using his deadpan, fast-spoken, strongly opinionated nature, and Ashly antagonizing him both verbally and physically. Over time, as the siblings fine-tuned the comedy and timing of the show, these aspects have come to define their characters.
Discussing the genesis of the series, Anthony states:
Ashly Burch describes the nature of their collaboration:
Since the latter half of the second season, friend and occasional contributor Justin Yngelmo has been credited as co-writer, director, and editor of the series.
A
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
collaboration between the ''Hey Ash'' crew and
Freddie Wong
Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...
premiered at the 2014
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
as part of Nintendo's official contribution.
Format
Almost every episode begins with Ashly, comfortably seated with a controller, as her brother walks up behind her and title-drops the show. Ashly then answers him with the episode's game in a childlike accent. All audio here is supplemented with a game font, and the camera abruptly clips to the content of the week's episode.
The episodes vary in tone, but usually incorporate a great deal of
surreal humor
Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayal ...
. For instance, in one early episode, Ashly re-enacts aspects of ''
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'', strapping a toy child to her back and crushing cupcakes with her posterior on a countertop. Another early episode involves her re-enacting portions of ''
Professor Layton
''Professor Layton'' is a puzzle video game, puzzle adventure game, adventure video game series and transmedia franchise developed by Level-5 (company), Level-5. The property consists primarily of seven main video games, a mobile spin-off, an an ...
'', involving her poking around for hint coins and solving a bizarre puzzle that involves prostitutes. As the seasons progressed, the comedy was tightened through advances in editing and script-writing, and Justin Yngelmo added production value and a refined approach to the creation of new episodes.
Each episode ends with credits in the same font, sometimes involving a line or two of amusing commentary. After DVD releases or other projects by the siblings, promotional notice is given for a slide or two. As of Season Two, the ending theme song was changed to "The Massacre" by
chiptune
Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles.
The t ...
artist
FantomenK, to avoid copyright infringement. Occasionally, a brief stinger will appear, after which the credits will finish.
Characters
Ashly Burch
![Ashly Burch at PAX Prime 2013 (9675510198)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Ashly_Burch_at_PAX_Prime_2013_%289675510198%29.jpg)
Manic, wild Ashly Burch, the eponymous "Ash" of the show's title, plays the unhinged Burch sibling. She regularly and unrelentingly antagonizes her brother, characterizing him on-camera as weak and effeminate. She is usually supported in her frequent bashing of his character by inaction from anyone else present, to his vocal chagrin. On some occasions, a character usurps her, or she will accidentally place herself in a position of detriment: examples include ''
The Sims
''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling video game series of all time.
The games ...
'' pool scene at the hands of Leigh Davis, Papa Burch's effortless position above her such as in
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
episode, or Ashly accidentally defecating in her own bed while attempting to ruin Anthony's room.
Anthony Burch
Anthony Burch, usually portrayed as the single sane character of the series, acts as a foil to Ashly. He is almost always the recipient of his sister's lunacy and absurdity, and usually ignores or calls sarcastic attention to her wild actions. Other characters often comment that he smells bad. If a character is wounded in any episode, it will typically be Anthony, who will fail to receive any aid from the others.
Papa Burch
Breakout cameo character Papa Burch (David Burch) is the patriarch of the Burch household, and an avid reader of
romance novel
A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...
s. In one early episode, he was shown to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the ''
Twilight Saga'', and is usually given a brief one-or-two line appearance per episode. His minimal involvement in the show lends greater comedy to his short appearances, and he appears to be the progenitor of both Ashly's loose grip on reality and Anthony's deadpan attitude. He attends panels focused on his children's work and is a consistent fan favorite.
Leigh Davis
Leigh Davis is the creator and producer of ''Once Upon a Pixel'', a spin-off web series dedicated to re-envisioning video game characters and plots in a
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
-esque approach. She was the real-life wife of Anthony Burch making the transition from girlfriend to fiance on-camera during the surprise intro to ''
The Sims
''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling video game series of all time.
The games ...
'' episode of ''HAWP''. Her character shows an adoring and wide-eyed attitude towards the antics of the siblings, but on two occasions, she has shown a darker side by fatally threatening Ashly Burch. While she was initially an
extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
in the early episodes, her presence has gradually increased, and now she is usually seen in each episode until the season 5 finale following her real life divorce from Anthony Burch.
Reception
''Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?'' has received positive reviews since its inception. The cast regularly appears at the
Penny Arcade Expo
PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...
conventions to meet with fans and discuss the evolution of video game culture. Video game voice actor
David Hayter
David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series. He wrote the film ''X-Men'' and co-w ...
, the voice actor of
Solid Snake in the ''
Metal Gear Solid
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operat ...
'' series, contributed his voice to the Season One finale.
Other work
Anthony Burch is an employee at Rocket Jump; he took the position after leaving his former post as a writer at video game developer
Gearbox Software
Gearbox Software is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, se ...
. He was the lead writer for ''
Borderlands 2
''Borderlands 2'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Taking place five years following the events of ''Borderlands'' (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. T ...
''. Anthony is also the co-writer and co-star of the defunct web series "Anthony Saves the World", and contributed to the
Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
' episodic adventure,
Tales From the Borderlands
''Tales from the Borderlands'' is an episodic interactive comedy graphic adventure sci-fi video game based on the '' Borderlands'' series. It was developed by Telltale Games under license from Gearbox Software, the developer of the ''Borderland ...
. He worked for
Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
,
Visual Concepts
Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in May 1988, the company is best known for developing Sports video game, sports games in the ''2K'' franchise, most recently ''NBA 2K'' and ' ...
and
Santa Monica Studio
Santa Monica Studio is an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. A First-party developer, first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, it is best known for developing the ''God of War (franchise), God of War'' series. Th ...
.
Ashly Burch has starred in several small shorts as well as a 2012 feature-film, ''Must Come Down'', written by Kenny Riches and produced by
Patrick Fugit
Patrick Raymond Fugit (; born October 27, 1982) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Almost Famous'' (2000), ''White Oleander'' (2002), ''Spun'' (2003), ''Saved!'' (2004) and '' Wristcutters: A Love Story'' (2006), and portrayed ...
. She also lent her voice to Tiny Tina, a
non-playable character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
in ''
Borderlands 2
''Borderlands 2'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Taking place five years following the events of ''Borderlands'' (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. T ...
'', as well as the Bane, a "cursed" gun that yells annoying sounds and phrases while severely restricting the user's movement. In addition, she provided the voices of Ayla in the game ''
Awesomenauts
''Awesomenauts'' is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by Dutch video game development company Ronimo Games. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in May 2012, and for Microsoft Windows systems i ...
'' Reid in ''
Aliens: Colonial Marines'', and Miss Pauling in
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
's
Team Fortress 2
''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
short videos. Ashly voiced Chloe Price in Dontnod Entertainment's video game ''
Life Is Strange
''Life Is Strange'' (abbreviated ''LIS'') is a series of primarily episodic graphic adventure games published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. Created by Dontnod Entertainment, the series debuted with the eponymous first installment, ...
'', for which she won a
Golden Joystick Award
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...
. Most recently Burch voiced the protagonist, Aloy in ''
Horizon Zero Dawn
''Horizon Zero Dawn'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The plot follows Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out to uncover her past. The ...
'', which won her two
Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...
and got her a nomination at
The Game Awards
The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley, who worked on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awards, ...
.
The three HAWP-characters Papa, Anthony and Ashly Burch were all featured as Downloadable Content for the 2013 video game ''
Saints Row IV
''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the ''Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...
''. They were all voiced by the original cast and could be called by phone to help the player out in battle or to just hang out with. They can be called separately, however when called together they converse with each other in similar ways as in Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?.
Leigh Davis currently produces a Web Comic named ''JailBird'' as well as running her own website oddlookingbird.com.
HAWPcast & HeyAshTwitch
The show is also the subject of the podcast "HAWPcast", originally involving only Anthony and Ashly Burch, but expanded to include Leigh Davis and Justin Yngelmo, among others. It was updated infrequently and typically surrounded video game philosophy as well as various insights into their lives and backstories, usually around an hour long apiece. The standard HAWPcasts at one point were almost completely replaced by a format called "Keepin' It Real" where the HAWP crew interviewed notable members of the game industry. Regular HAWPcasts returned in 2015 but ceased in 2016.
The HAWPcast was often streamed on their
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
channel.
Episodes
''Upload dates refer to the date the episode was uploaded to GameTrailers.com.''
Season 1 (2008–2009)
Season 2 (2009–2010)
Season 3 (2011–2012)
Season 4 (2012–2013)
Season 5 (2015–2016)
Specials (2013–2019)
References
{{Reflist, 30em
2008 web series debuts
American comedy web series
Video game blogs
Parodies of video games