  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Live or die and thank God for me! | „ |
| ~ The Jimsaw Killer |
The Jimsaw Killer is a fictitious persona of game-reviewer Jim Sterling (birth name: James Nicholas Stanton) for his game-review and critique webseries The Jimquistion. Jim uses The Jimsaw Killer once a year on Halloween and alludes to his re-emergence leading up to his Halloween special as if he was a real killer. When the Jimsaw Killer does appear, he does so to punish practitioners of various injustices throughout AAA video game marketing.
Build up[]
Though in prior years, Jim Sterling used a fictionalized persona of Scarecrow to roleplay as, on October 5, 2015 in the episode "Enjoy The Silence, Feel The Noise", Jim first address the wild rumors that he uses his Patreon money to build ironic death traps, something he strongly denies, while at the time wearing a mask, hood, and carrying a switchblade, while standing in front of a buzz saw. At the end of the episode, Jim's figurine, or a vary similar figurine to/of miniature fantasy Willem Dafoe, is caught making a prepared recording for a Capcom executive, in which he elaborates on a trap to stick said executive into a room filling with poison gas, with the key to get out of the room having been surgically implanted in their penis and thus the only way to get out is to cutopen their penis. The miniature fantasy Willem Dafoe refers to the process as On-Dick-DLC. However, shortly before the video ends, the puppeteer behind the miniature fantasy Willem Dafoe concludes the trap is slightly overkill, ending the recording and instead deciding to workshop a new trap.
Halloween 2015[]
On the following episode "Homicide", The Jimsaw Killer himself is caught on another scrambled recording at the end of the video. In fact, he is making a bargain with an anonymous blackmarket Dealer going by the name "C.B." Jimsaw briefly let them slip he has a Patreon and thus can easily pay for the "goods". When asked about what he meant by "Patreon", the Jimsaw Killer quickly changes the subject, reminding C.B. That his main concern should be the goods. Once the deal is confirmed Jimsaw says that it is huge load off his mind and hangs up after affirming payment details about leaving unmarked bills under a bridge for the drop off.
As a brief precursor to the following episode, "Pay Day", a recording is shown from a first person perspective of the Jimsaw Killer standing in front of two trucks, one containing Mountain Dew and the other containing Doritos. With Jimsaw gloating that all the pieces of his plan are coming together nicely.
In the episode, "Why I Kick The Starts" Jim ends the video quickly, explaining he has to go attend to some important business, restating that it has nothing to do with the whole "Jimsaw thing the papers are talking about". The outro of the video concludes with US X-Box representative Philip Spengler being ambushed in his car by Jimsaw, who was hiding in the back seat with a chloroform-laden handkerchief he uses to abduct Spengler.
On the 2015 Halloween special of The Jimquistion "The Golden Sins Of Horror Games". The fate of Philip Spengler is revealed, as he awakens in a garage with a bucket on his head, with his shoes and socks removed. Next to Spengler is a television with a recording of Miniture Fantasy Willem Dafoe playing, announcing the situation to Spengler in Jimsaw's distorted voice. The recording states that the rabid engine of X-Box user's fanaticism has been fueled by his commercial for Mountain Dew and Doritos and that he wants to see if Spengler can swallow his own medicine. As he has Jimsaw's elaborate bucket trap on his head, Spengler cannot hear what is being said well. Exasperated that his victim cannot savor the situation he is in, Jimsaw comes into the room himself to explain the ironic punishment to him.
Jimsaw elaborates upon his trap, saying the bucket on Spengler's head is a waterproof device with the tube on top attaching to a supply of Mountain Dew. Jimsaw goes on to say that the only way out of there is a key to the trap on the other side of the garage but it is across a sharp-jagged sea of Doritos. He says he has resolved the plot hole of no one showing up by having long since attended to the neighbor (by sending them bad video games and a pound of weed to keep them busy).
Following the video, it is revealed that the bucket was actually not watertight and the Mountain Dew leaked out after being pumped in. Jimsaw takes the blame, saying that the bucket not being as secure as he predicted was his fault. However, Jimsaw restates that even with drowning not being an issue, Spengler will not be going home if he cannot get to the door across the Doritos so he is still going to need to walk across them barefoot. Spengler refuses, though Jimsaw states that both of them have to go home sometime so he had better cross the Doritos and be done with it. In a desperate move to put an end to the whole affair Spengler tells Jimsaw he will pay him $20.00 to do it for him instead. Intrigued by the promise of $20, Jimsaw agrees to do so instead, taking off his shoes and going to cross the Doritos. Almost immediately Jimsaw recoils in aggony as the Doritos cut into his feet. While Jimsaw is reeling in pain, Philip Spengler puts on Jimsaw's shoes and quickly flees across the Doritos. Seemingly defeated, Jimsaw proclaims that Spengler still has to walk home covered in Mountain Dew.
After the credits, Jimsaw's television plays recording he had not planed on. The video plays with video game developer, Cliff Bleszinski, revealing Jimsaw's scheme was actually not his own, but a farce engineered by Bleszinski. He asks who else would have a Mountain Dew guy, or could get a truck full of Doritos. Jimsaw then recalls his phone call with "C.B." he took to get his supplies. Bleszinski states it was all an setup to pay Jimsaw back for giving his game Gears of War 3 an 8/10. Bleszinski had sealed the exits and removed all supplies and entertainment other than the traps themselves. The only thing Cliff Bleszinski left Jimsaw is a game of Thunder-Cats, a game Jim Sterling had reviewed and found horrendous. The video ends with Jimsaw crying out in despair at being caught in his own trap with such a horrible game and Cliff Bleszinski laughing.
Halloween 2016[]
| “ | Rumors abound that genius criminal-mastermind the Jimsaw Killer is back from dead and is planning to embark on a new rein of terror across the nation. I'd just like to address people's fears and concerns and let them know that - A: Jimsaw Killer is dead. B: Jimsaw Killer never existed to begin with, probably; And C: I'm definitely not him. | „ |
| ~ Jim Sterling |
In October 2016 in the episode "A Depressing Post-Mortem Of Battleborn" Sterling would announce that rumors are circulating The Jimsaw Killer has reappeared. In the episode "JimSAW" Jimsaw would reappear for the year's games. This time Jimsaw had his sights set on Michael Rowe, inventor of microtransactions. Michael wakes up in a garrage, handcuffed to a table with a cellphone next to him. The Jimsaw Killer uses the phone to make enigmatic introductions and give instructions on the year's game. Michael's confusion quickly gets set aside as he determins he can just call for help. Exasperated, Jimsaw rushes into the room to take the phone away before Michael can call the police and commenting that, that was not how the game is played. Jimsaw states Michael will be punished for his invention of microtransactions. Before Michael can argue the point Jimsaw recites all the games tainted by microtransactions while still being 60 dolar games, Plants vs Zombies, Overwatch and Deus Ex: Man-Kind Divided. Jimsaw states the only way for him to make things right is with some microtransactions of his own. Jimsaw points out a whole in the side of the table Michael is handcuffed to. The hole had a scale hooked up to a digital switch, set up is for Michael's fingers, when the right amont of flesh is paid the switch would release a key for the cuffs and he would be allowed to leave.
After some time of waiting, Michael falls asleep, Jimsaw wakes him up in anger, demanding he play the game as instructed, Michael is adamant that he will not cut his fingers off, Michael counters that he cut Jimsaw's fingers off instead to move things along. Jimsaw remains bored but refuses to be the one who loses his fingers. At a stalemate, Jimsaw says he has an assistant, Chip, and they can cut his fingers off but at the very least Michael will need to be the one to do it. Michael agrees and Jimsaw leaves to get Chip.
As Chip hears Jimsaw call out to him and flees before he can find him. Unable to find Chip, Jimsaw returns with some bottled water for Michael while they figure out the next move, however upon his return, Jimsaw find Michael has escaped his restraints. When asking how Michael had escaped without losing his fingers at which point Michael points out the various holes he found in the setup since he has been gone; Namely that, the handcuffs were dollar store handcuffs and easily broken, the nail that afixed the cuffs to the table was barely nailed in and easily removed, the scale seemed unreliable, the box the key was in was did not even have a lock and he could have sawed through the cuffs with the saw. Frustrated Michael renews his desire to remove Jimsaws fingers as punishment for his flimsy scheme. Jimsaw states that the economy hit everyone hard that year and a dollar can go a long way. Jimsaw states he just wants to put people into ironic death traps to rehabilitate them. When Michael asks why he was there Jimsaw reveals he knows his wife calls him "Mik"e, making his name "Mike Rowe", and that he had broken into Mike's car to find evidence, which had lead him to find numerous receipts, receipts for transactions. Jimsaw concludes Mike Rowe's transactions confirms he is the man "microtranslations" were named after as the inventor of the concept.
Mike points out Jimsaw is sick, Jimsaw confirms he is indeed sick, and recounts the events of the previous year. Jimsaw states he would eventually escape his own death trap but with the time spent locked in it he needed to use the Doridos and Mountain Dew as food. Relying on Doritos and Mountain Dew as his sole source of sustenance for three days had destroyed Jimsaw's immune system, thus he needed to have a Mountain Dew drip connected directly to his veins lest the sudden suger crash kill him. Mike points out again that Jimsaw is insane and he is not the Mike Rowe Jimsaw was thinking of, his name was just Mike Rowe and even if he was the executive that created the concept, Jimsaw had to know people cannot just go around putting each other in ironic death traps. Confronted with his mistake, Jimsaw tries to pass the ordeal off as a big social experiment - a prank and Mike was never in any real harm. He turns to the camera to recite the moral of the whole thing, but as he does, one of Jimsaw's torture implements that Mike uses to knock him out is a dildo-bat.
When Jimsaw awakes Mike is gone, leaving only his business card out of habit. Frustrated, Jimsaw goes back upstairs to his house. Jimsaw notices his collection of Boglins is missing. Outside Michael is phoning his boss, to report their ploy had worked and it was all part of a Trojan Horse play to allow him inside to steal the Boglins. Michael states it was easy as Jimsaw's brain was
addled from a combination of Mountain Dew and Saw movies. Jimsaw checks Michael's business card, stating that he is a Boglin burglar for Umbrella Corp. On the phone Michael's boss, Albert Wesker, instructs Michael to bring him the merchandise and with Jimsaw's Boglins to complete his collections, he shall be the "#1 Boglin Boy!". Jimsaw is left alone, foiled and Boglinless.
Halloween 2017[]
| “ | I am here to show you how you can do more, than just carve a swath of destruction across a city, a settlement or a cornfield; You can make-money-doing it as well. | „ |
| ~ The Jimsaw Killer |
In 2017, the Jimsaw Killer returned to sell aspiring serial killers aid to exploit their victims for cash instead of just killing them. In the episode, "Slay to Pay", initially Aloy (of the the game Horizon Zero Dawn) is seen stalking a man. Jimsaw interrupts her before she can kill him to inform Aloy and the audience of fantastic new opportunities. Jimsaw proceeds to pitch to Aloy and the audience that they need not just kill victims, they can use his service, Scientific Stalking, to get rich. Jimsaw's method is that since the audience (as the potential killers) are going to be stalking prey anyway so they can use the information gathered on them to get rich. Jimsaw offers that observing the make and model of the victim's car can help figure out how much they are worth, thus allowing to make savvy investments while hunting prey. The Jimsaw Killer goes on to say that observing spending habits is achievable while going through their trash, increase the chance that the person about to be killed is worth more than the average person.
Applying his method to Aloy's intended victim shows that he has a gambling problem, which allows Jimsaw to exploit him for money, while sadistically torturing him with his "Live-or-Die Loot-box". The loot box has a chance to give the victim one of many different items that may be of use to him to escape (though it has a 75% chance to dispatch a form of pain instead.) Using the loot box has "a perfectly affordable" fee of $1.99 per try. Through exploitation of the victim's gambling habit, achieved through Scientific Stalking, Jimsaw is able to persuade the victim to not only keep hurting himself, but also to spend money doing it.
For an additional $5.00 The Jimsaw Killer offers a tape of a professionally recorded death threat for elaborate death traps as read by David Hayter. Jimsaw's final bit of advice is to use Stockholm syndrome, or as the AAA market calls it "Audience Retention"; Claiming there is no need to kill a victim when you can just keep them coming back to keep torturing themselves in elaborate death traps while paying money. Jimsaw explains how no matter how much one exploits and abuses someone, if done correctly they start to like it and even defend it as they volunteer to continue submitting themselves to the practices. Thus with Jimsaw's Scientific Stalking potential serial killers can both silence the voices in their head, while becoming a successful entrepreneur.
- The sketch employs 2017's recently indoctrinated game industry practices to exploit players. Such as tracking gamers on social media to find out their interests and vulnerabilities in order to exploit them, Using perpetual gambling systems to psychologically addict players to paying and sizing up spending habits to identify potential "Whales". The sketch's entire point was to show how predatory marketing has become in the AAA game industry.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Jimsaw is a tribute to Jigsaw, based on Jim Sterling's love of the Saw movies.
- Jimsaw is a fantasized reaction to Jim Stephani Sterling's frustration with the game industry.
- Jim Sterling's previous take on the Scarecrow seems to have been the alpha version of Jimsaw.