User:InflatableSupertrooper/HVCTW
| How Videogames Changed the World | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Entertainment |
| Written by | Charlie Brooker Matt Lees Jon Blythe Cara Ellison |
| Directed by | Al Campbell Marcus Daborn Graham Proud |
| Presented by | Charlie Brooker |
| Theme music composer | Jonathan Dunn[1] |
| Opening theme | Robocop theme[1] |
| Ending theme | Robocop theme[1] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Annabel Jones Charlie Brooker |
| Producer | Ish Kalia |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Production company | Zeppotron |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
How Videogames Changed the World is a one-off British television special by screenwriter and presenter Charlie Brooker which first aired on Channel 4 in November 2013. The show examines the history of video games and its relationship with wider culture by discussing the 25 most significant video games selected by Brooker.
The games discussed in the show were ordered chronologically and cover four decades of video game evolution, from the arcade hit Pong (released in 1972) to The Last of Us, (released for Playstation 3 in June 2013, six months prior to the airing of the show). The games presented were not necessarily selected for their quality but for their significance in terms of their impact to the whole industry and milestone innovations introduced to the medium.[2]
Pundits featured[edit]
- Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
- Allan Alcorn (creator of Pong)
- Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari, Inc.)
- Jeff Minter (games designer, creator of Tempest 2000)
- Keith Stuart (games journalist, The Guardian)
- Peter Serafinowicz (actor and comedian)
- Tom Watson (Labour MP)
- Peter Molyneux (games designer)
- Aoife Wilson (games journalist, Official Xbox Magazine UK)
- Rob Florence (writer and comedian)
- Kate Russell (technology reporter)
- Graham Linehan (television writer)
- Dara Ó Briain (comedian)
- Gary Whitta (screenwriter)
- David Braben (co-creator of Elite)
- Ellie Gibson (games journalist, Eurogamer)
- Labrinth (musician)
- Felicia Day (actress and filmmaker)
- Keza MacDonald (games journalist, IGN UK)
- Pete Donaldson (radio DJ)
- Berni Goode (cyber-psychologist)
- Tim Schafer (co-writer and designer of The Secret of Monkey Island)
- Neil Druckmann (game director of The Last of Us)
- Ron Gilbert (co-writer and designer of The Secret of Monkey Island)
- Susan Calman (comedian)
- John Romero (co-creator of Doom)
- Rhianna Pratchett (writer of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot)
- Matt Lees (games journalist, VideoGamer)
- Quintin Smith (games journalist, Eurogamer)
- Will Wright (game designer, creator of The Sims)
- Malorie Blackman (author and children's laureate)
- Vince Zampella (co-creator of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
List of games[edit]
Reception[edit]
Dan Whitehead, in a review for Eurogamer, found the selection of games well chosen, enabling the show to cover the history of video games as fully as possible given its runtime. He also praised the choice of pundits, highlighting that even the most recognisable of names, such as Jonathan Ross and Peter Serafinowicz, were included because they had a clear love of games and not for their celebrity appeal. Whitehead concluded that the show was a success, fun and informative, but also hampered by the format - having to cover the entirety of video gaming history in one show to an unfamiliar audience, a symptom of the lack of video games representation on television.[1]
Keith Stuart, who appeared on the show, reflected on its merits in a column for The Guardian. Stuart described how ending the show with Twitter was a clever way of showing how gamification has infiltrated everyday lives, with social networks relying on the same reward systems as video games. Stuart liked how the show featured games like Papers, Please, a game that explores guilt and the nature of evil, which helped to remove misconceptions that video games are incapable of exploring real-world issues. Like Whitehead, Stuart concluded with a lament over the lack of video games coverage on television, criticising broadcasters for "ceding responsibility to YouTubers and specialist online documentary makers" and for "failing their audiences".[3]
Sam Wollaston, also writing for The Guardian, gave a mixed review and was critical of the talking heads format. Wollaston commented that despite containing interesting ideas, the show was overly long. For gamers however, Wollaston wrote that the show "would have been pretty much heaven".[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Whitehead, Dan (5 December 2013). "TV review: How Videogames Changed the World". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (29 November 2013). "Charlie Brooker on why video game television is so hard to make". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (2 December 2013). "How Video Games Changed the World – some thoughts". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (2 December 2013). "The Secret Life of Mary Poppins; How Video Games Changed the World – TV review". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2017.