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Good Game: Spawn Point
Current logo, used since 2018
Created byJanet Carr
Presented by
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series15
No. of episodes591
Production
ProducerEliot Fish[1]
Running time25 minutes (2011–present)
15 minutes (2010–2011)
Original release
NetworkABC3 / ABC Me (2010–2023)
ABC Family (2024–present)
Release20 February 2010 (2010-02-20) –
present
Related
Good Game

Good Game: Spawn Point (abbreviated as Good Game SP or GG:SP, or known simply as Spawn Point) is an Australian video game review programme.

It is a spin-off (also described as a "sister program"[2]) of the original Good Game that only carries reviews of games ACB-rated as G or PG, and professes to be "For young gamers, by gamers". It debuted on ABC Entertains (then known as ABC3) on 20 February 2010.[3] Spawn Point was originally hosted by Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell and Stephanie "Hex" Bendixsen from 2010 to 2016, when the latter departed; the former departed the following year. Later hosts included Gus Ronald, Angharad Yeo, Gemma Driscoll, William Yates, and Harry Jun. The series moved to ABC Family on 23 August 2024.

Production

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Original logo

Spawn Point began in 2010, hosted by Steven O'Donnell and Stephanie Bendixsen. The ABC has described Good Game: Spawn Point as "featur[ing] a family friendly mix of gamer reviews, stories about gaming culture and plenty of audience interaction".[2] PlayStrat said, "The standard Good Game edition is a more adult oriented series—which includes reviews of games that fall into more mature classifications (i.e. they include violence, sexual content, profanity). It's good, therefore, that the show has the Spawn Point variant to allow the younger crowd to get their fill as well".[4]

The show originally ran for 15 minutes, but was extended to 30 minutes per episode from Series 2, Episode 21 on 2 July 2011.[5][6] O'Donnell said, "The 30-minute show will allow us to review more games, produce more stories about game culture and delve deeper into gaming's rich history".[7] Creator and executive producer Janet Carr said Spawn Point "is achieving a total TV share of 16.2% among children 5–12 years old and its average audience share is up 114% on series one. Series two has been extended due to the enormous response from the audience and it will give gamers more ways to interact with the show and make it their own".[7] In 2011, Good Game: Spawn Point reached 166,000 viewers per episode.[8]

As the show is "for younger gamers", it is not suitable to review games rated M, MA15+ or R18+. Bendixsen said "occasionally we might give you a glimpse of a mature title but only where it's necessary to make a point", and adds that the contentious content would always be excluded.[9] On 1 July 2011, TV Tonight said "Together with ABC2's Good Game, Good Game: SP has reached over 1.3 million vodcasts, the most downloaded vodcasts of any ABC programme this year. ABC3's Good Game: SP website has recorded 254,000 visits and 1.6 million page views since January."[7] O'Donnell named the "Ask Good Game" segment his "favourite part of the show, reading those letters and making the noises". He added "It's my dream that one day kids might look back on GGSP in the way I look back on shows from my youth, I hope we do it well enough that this might happen."[10]

Bendixsen announced her departure from the show in January 2017; supporting host Gus Ronald and Angharad Yeo took her place.[11] O'Donnell departed from the show in December 2017,[12] and was replaced by Gemma Driscoll in 2018.[13][14][15] Ronald departed the show in 2018,[16] replaced by William Yates in 2019.[17] Yates departed in 2020.[18] In November 2022, Yeo announced her departure at the year's end.[19] Harry Jun, who was a supporting host in 2023, joined Driscoll for a series of ten special episodes in 2024.[20][21]

Presenters

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Main hosts

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 Former   Current 

Name Nickname First show Last show
Steven O'Donnell Bajo 20 February 2010 9 December 2017
Stephanie Bendixsen Hex 2 December 2016
Gus Ronald[note 1] Goose 18 February 2017 15 December 2018
Angharad Yeo Rad 17 December 2022
Gemma Driscoll Gem 10 March 2018 incumbent
William Yates Will 2 March 2019 12 December 2020
Harry Jun[note 2] Harry 23 August 2024 incumbent

Supporting hosts

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 Former   Current 

Name Nickname First show Last show
Jackson Gothe-Snape Ajax 1 May 2010
Jax Jax 19 February 2022 10 December 2022
Suraj Kolarkar Dr. Deviser 18 March 2023 16 December 2023
Notes
  • The show was also presented by D.A.R.R.E.N. the Robot from its inception to May 2022.[note 3]
  • The show was also been presented by AAISA the Robot from 2022 to 2023.[note 4]
  • A puppet named Screen Goblin was introduced in 2024.

Guest hosts

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  • Kayne "Tremmers" Tremills (2010) hosted Series 1, Episode 19 (26 June 2010), replacing Bajo as he was at E3 2010.
  • Pip Rasmussen (2017) hosted Series 8, Episode 19 (24 June 2017), replacing Rad and Goose as they were at E3 2017. Also guest hosted Series 8, Episode 35 (14 October 2017), to celebrate female developers for International Day of the Girl.
  • Tim Mathews (2017) hosted Series 8, Episode 36 (21 October 2017).
  • Bajo, Hex and Goose returned as guests for the 10th anniversary special on Series 10, Episode 20 (6 July 2019).
  • Bajo and Hex returned as guests on Series 15, Episode 1 (23 August 2024).

Series overview

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The first seven series were hosted by Hex and Bajo. Episodes originally ran for 15 minutes, and were extended to 30 minutes during the second series. The eighth series was exclusively referred to as Spawn Point in 2017, and hosted by Bajo, Goose and Rad as a trio. The ninth series returned to the original title and introduced Gem as a new presenter. The tenth and eleventh series were hosted by Rad, Gem and Will. The fourteenth series was solely hosted by Gem, with Harry and Dr. Deviser as supporting hosts. The fifteenth series, consisting of ten special episodes, was hosted by Gem and Harry.

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
14220 February 2010 (2010-02-20)4 December 2010 (2010-12-04)
24212 February 2011 (2011-02-12)26 November 2011 (2011-11-26)
34218 February 2012 (2012-02-18)1 December 2012 (2012-12-01)
44216 February 2013 (2013-02-16)30 November 2013 (2013-11-30)
54222 February 2014 (2014-02-22)6 December 2014 (2014-12-06)
64221 February 2015 (2015-02-21)5 December 2015 (2015-12-05)
74220 February 2016 (2016-02-20)2 December 2016 (2016-12-02)
84318 February 2017 (2017-02-18)9 December 2017 (2017-12-09)
94110 March 2018 (2018-03-10)15 December 2018 (2018-12-15)
104223 February 2019 (2019-02-23)7 December 2019 (2019-12-07)
114222 February 2020 (2020-02-22)12 December 2020 (2020-12-12)
124013 February 2021 (2021-02-13)18 December 2021 (2021-12-18)
134419 February 2022 (2022-02-19)17 December 2022 (2022-12-17)
144018 March 2023 (2023-03-18)16 December 2023 (2023-12-16)
1510523 August 2024 (2024-08-23)20 September 2024 (2024-09-20)
52024 (2024)TBA

Segments

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Reviews

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Review segments are presented by the host throughout the show. Each time a current game is discussed while footage is shown to the viewers. At the end, a star is given to the game.

Perfect scoring games

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GG: Spawn Squad

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GG: Spawn Squad is a spin-off series which premiered in 2022. Episodes run for 15 minutes and feature host Gem competing in video games against child guests or content creators. The second series debuted in 2024 and featured both Gem and Harry as presenters, airing on ABC Entertains rather than ABC Family.

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
12023 September 2022 (2022-09-23)3 February 2023 (2023-02-03)
23030 March 2024 (2024-03-30)9 November 2024 (2024-11-09)

Notes

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  1. ^ Ronald previously served as a supporting host from 2 July 2011 to 2 December 2016.
  2. ^ Jun previously served as a supporting host from 18 March to 16 December 2023.
  3. ^ "D.A.R.R.E.N." stands for "Digital Assistant for the Research & Regulation of Excessive Noobery", formerly "Data Analysing Robot for the Ruthless Extermination of Noobs".
  4. ^ "AAISA" stands for "Amazing Artificially Intelligent Science Assistant", formerly "Amazing Artificially Intelligent Scoop Assistant".
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References

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  1. ^ "Yes, Good Game: Spawn Point Will Be Hiring A Replacement For Bajo". Kotaku Australia. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "ABC Television | The complete TV guide for ABC1, ABC2, ABC ME, ABC News24 & ABC iView". Abc.net.au. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  3. ^ "ABC to launch new kids digital TV channel ABC3". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Good Game: Spawn Point now in 30-minute episodes". PlayStrat. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. ^ Harris, Leigh (8 July 2011). "Videogame TV show Good Game: Spawn Point expands | Games industry news | MCV". Mcvuk.com. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. ^ "ABC TV Blog: ABC3". Blogs.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "ABC3 extends Good Game: Spawn Point". TV Tonight. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Good Game returns to ABC2 in 2012". PlayStrat. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Good Game Spawn Point - Ask Good Game: Gabby, Chris, chaosvampire and James". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Bajo and Hex, hosts of Australian TV shows Good Game and Good Game Spawn Point - AMA". Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  11. ^ Yeo, Amanda (31 January 2017). "Good Game Has Been Cancelled". Kotaku. Univision Communications. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  12. ^ Daal, Joel Van (1 November 2017). "Bajo departs ABC". MCV Pacific. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  13. ^ Serrels, Mark (1 November 2017). "Yes, Good Game: Spawn Point Will Be Hiring A Replacement For Bajo". Kotaku. Univision Communications. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  14. ^ Van Daal, Joel (27 February 2018). "ABC announces new host for Good Game: Spawn Point". MCV Pacific. NewBay Media. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  15. ^ Wright, Steve (1 March 2018). "Good Game Spawn Point returns next week with new host". Stevivor. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  16. ^ Naylor, Adelaide (18 December 2018). "Goose bids farewell to GGSP". The Influence. Trade Media. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Meet The New Host Will & We Review My Time At Portia!". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  18. ^ "The GGSP 2020 Game Awards & Will's Farewell". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  19. ^ Yeo, Angharad [@angharadyeo] (18 November 2022). "let me use the last few days of twitter to announce that after 10 fruitful years I'm leaving Good Game Spawn Point at the end of this year" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Knox, David (22 August 2024). "Good Game Spawn Point". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  21. ^ Jun, Harry [@_harryjun_] (4 October 2024). "We just wrapped on filming the last 5 special episodes for season 15 of Good Game Spawn Point!". Retrieved 15 October 2024 – via Instagram.
  22. ^ "Spawn Point - Portal 2". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Ori and the Blind Forest". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Spawn Point - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Spawn Point - Cuphead". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  26. ^ "Spawn Point - Super Mario Odyssey". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
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