Ogeeku.com was created in 2011 as an experiment to bridge the emotional and social experiences of what is typically presented at a convention to an online medium.
Ogeeku began as a conversation between Jon Brence, Charlotte Parker and Jason Justice, who each had grown an appreciation for the anime and pop culture convention circuits. In coordination with SMBC Theater members and with fan support, they launched the inaugural website and programming.
The site encompassed a variety of content – from daily articles to product/film/game reviews to celebrations of cosplay and fandoms. The site also maintained a regular broadcast schedule – with a multitude of hosts contributing to the programming internationally on Justin.tv/Twitch.tv.
Some of those programs included: “Movie Talk with Xerxes”; “Mondays with Char”; The Legend of Sprycooper; Duo shows with Adam & Mike / Snotsnit & Will; Multiplayer sessions with Katasku, Deyvplays and Aniyoshi.
In 2012, Ogeeku operated a 24-hr livestream called the Space-Wars-A-Thon on Twitch.tv, where members of Ogeeku in the Nerd Castle (a flex-creative space for SMBC Theater/Ogeeku), where the crew played as many of the Star Wars games they could during the time allotted. They raised $3000 via IndieGoGo to make the site and its projects come further to life.
By tuning into streams, contributing articles and participating in the Ogeeku forums, users acquired a digital currency which they were able to utilize site-wide. The design of the website was in a constant state of transformation – A/B testing user behavior on sections, incorporation of new elements and shift in content types. Ogeeku was attempting to be many things at once, rather than hyper-focusing on one and owning that area.
In addition to digital content, Jon expanded Ogeeku into local and fan-focused product lines – mostly focused around the BitRom (a necklace that resembles that of a handheld game cartridge) and other pixel items. In partnership with GaymerX, Jon developed official first year gifts for attendees modeled after their BitRom design.
In its last year, Ogeeku was tapped as a production company for several projects.
The first was a video game design collaboration with Toyota called the Corollacade.
The second was a vintage arcade development project with Oakley.
The third was a partnership with SPJA/Anime Expo, where Ogeeku centered itself in the Entertainment Hall of Anime Expo as a community-uniting initiative. They introduced the Ogeeku Shoppe at the event and featured friends of the family: JapanLA, Geeky Glamorous, Messy Pink, Miss Kika, ChubbyBunny and the DefectiveGeeks.
Due to significant upkeep costs and creative differences for future investments, Ogeeku.com was shuttered in 2015. Members of the site spun off to create separate projects such as UniG33k.