How Videogames Changed The World - 30th November at 9:00pm on Channel 4

MitchKoobski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xAIpVxL3HU

From Pong to Grand Theft Auto, Charlie Brooker delves into the history of videogames and pulls out a selection of its most significant titles.

From Atari to Angry Birds, How Videogames Changed the World explores how interactive entertainment evolved from a penny arcade diversion into a medium that some believe is art, and shows how it is changing the way we work, communicate and, of course, play.

Joined by Jonathan Ross, Dara O'Briain and gaming legends like Will Wright and John Romero, Brooker looks at how videogames have become the most progressive art form of the last 40 years.

This humorous and insightful tour will surprise and entertain the uninitiated and dedicated gamers alike.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/charlie-brooker-on-how-videogames-changed-the-world/

Definitely going to be watching this. The documentary is being followed by Indie Game The Movie too.

Grumpypants

Awesome, I really like Brooker and loved his Gameswipe show this looks very entertaining. Indie Game the movie is brilliant as well.

returnNull

cheers for the heads up..dont watch much tv so would of missed it.

Guyanachronism

Guardian Interview with Charlie Brooker

I had seen the ads but Brooker's style of humour had put me off and it being Channel 4, I thought it was just going to be sensationalist about school shootings etc. but from that interview he does seem well informed and capable of some criticism of gamers.

Sarky

Charlie Brooker quite likes games. His Gameswipe thingy was a half decent piece on explaining games to folks who might not have a clue. If he went on about school shootings I'm fairly sure he'd be saying what utter bollocks it was to link them to video games.

krudler

Sarky wrote: »

Charlie Brooker quite likes games. His Gameswipe thingy was a half decent piece on explaining games to folks who might not have a clue. If he went on about school shootings I'm fairly sure he'd be saying what utter bollocks it was to link them to video games.

I dunno why C4 don't just let him have a decent regular series with reviews, interviews, retrospectives etc. Gaming is a gigantic market and no tv station seems to see this. Any games show is usually aimed at de yoof innit.

Sarky

I think he touched on it in the above interview. Getting footage of violent games on a show requires all kinds of paperwork and going through lawyers and executives that might not have a clue, or are just paranoid.

He'd be better off doing his own Youtube series, I imagine.

Agricola

Lots of people in their 30s and 40s in the UK who are gamers, isnt the average age supposed to be something like 32?
I don't see why the tv comissioners cant realize there are people out their who want to see more programmes like this. If Brooker was to get a series doing retrospectives on important games of the last, say 20 years, I'd definitely watch it. Maybe they think all game debate belongs online. Surely as time passes, that notion has to make less and less sense.

Guyanachronism

Agricola wrote: »

Lots of people in their 30s and 40s in the UK who are gamers, isnt the average age supposed to be something like 32?
I don't see why the tv comissioners cant realize there are people out their who want to see more programmes like this. If Brooker was to get a series doing retrospectives on important games of the last, say 20 years, I'd definitely watch it. Maybe they think all game debate belongs online. Surely as time passes, that notion has to make less and less sense.

They do constant reruns of Guru Larry's Retro Corner on Information TV, they're just 15 minute segments and I watch them everytime but on the other hand, Viva (German MTV) has a weekly series that needs a lot of gimmicks and overy animated hosts to be remotely interesting (may have more to do with the Germans than the topic).

I think the show would need more than the reviews, trips to expos and the occasional interview to keep it interesting.

Also as Brooker himself mentions in the interview a lot of statistics are skewed by the number of casual gamers. Does someone who played Farmville or Candy Crush Saga see themselves as gamers and would they be interested in such a show.

MadYaker

Wow, Ill definitely be watching this.

krudler wrote: »

I dunno why C4 don't just let him have a decent regular series with reviews, interviews, retrospectives etc. Gaming is a gigantic market and no tv station seems to see this. Any games show is usually aimed at de yoof innit.

The internet already has a monopoly on this in many ways. Any news or info we want can be found there, and all the youtubers are essentially doing what T.V producers and presenters do. All gamers are fully computer literate. A lot of people who watch a lot of T.V are older people who may not be comfortable with getting their news from the internet.

Retr0gamer

Sarky wrote: »

Charlie Brooker quite likes games.

He definitely does considering he got his start doing a long stint at PC Zone. He was great on there and even got an issue of the magazine banned from some stores

MitchKoobski

Retr0gamer wrote: »

He definitely does considering he got his start doing a long stint at PC Zone. He was great on there and even got an issue of the magazine banned from some stores

haha how did he manage that?

Retr0gamer

MitchKoobski wrote: »

haha how did he manage that?

He was having a joke about videogame violence. The first Tomb Raider was just out and since Lara goes around killing endangered animals he photoshopped some kids killing endangered animals since it was influencing them to do it. Lots of awful cheap gore effects in them but some of the UK retailers got wind of the 'violence against animals' in it and banned the issue from the shelves

Retr0gamer

From wikipedia:

In February 1998, one of Brooker's one-shot cartoons caused the magazine to be pulled from the shelves of many British newsagents. The cartoon was titled "Helmut Werstler's Cruelty Zoo" and professed to be an advert for a theme park created by a Teutonic psychologist for children to take out their violent impulses on animals rather than humans. It was accompanied by photoshopped pictures of children smashing the skulls of monkeys with hammers, jumping on a badger with a pitchfork, and chainsawing an orang-utan, among other things. The original joke was supposed to be at the expense of the Tomb Raider games, known at the time for the number of animals killed, but the original title, "Lara Croft's Cruelty Zoo", was changed for legal reasons.

dreamers75

Brooker used to do Digitiser too

Funny man.

pablomakaveli

Anyone catch the piece on the PS4 on channel 4 news the other night? It had Charlie Brooker introducing an unimpressed Jon Snow to games. It was quite amusing to watch but Snows reaction probably reflected the view on gaming held by the media in general.

Retr0gamer

pablomakaveli wrote: »

Anyone catch the piece on the PS4 on channel 4 news the other night? It had Charlie Brooker introducing an unimpressed Jon Snow to games. It was quite amusing to watch but Snows reaction probably reflected the view on gaming held by the media in general.

I just watched it there. Very funny, felt sorry for Charlie Brooker!

It kind of illustrated some points about how bloated and front loaded with crap games have become. Jon Snow hadn't a clue what he was doing but the points he made were valid. He hadn't really got a clue what he was doing because games today are front loaded with tutorials and cutscenes and other crap. He barely even got to play it or see anything in action. Games are just too eager to impress and not alienate their audience with cutscenes and tutorials that when you step back from them and look at them as an outsider it's easy to see how ridiculous it all is.

Now if Jon Snow was given something like Super Mario Bros which had you going straight into the action he might have understood games better. It might not have changed his opinion but being actually able to experience the game from the off would have at least given him a better understanding.

I can kind of see now how Wii Sports became so popular with certain demographics.

GTR63

cml387

On at the moment.

So far we've had pong, space invaders and pacman.

MadYaker

I'm waiting for them to get to the mid nineties so I might see something I'm familiar with!

Burgo

Damn didn't realise it was 2 hours long. Will catch it sometime soon.

cml387

Burgo wrote: »

Damn didn't realise it was 2 hours long. Will catch it sometime soon.

Is this an example of how games have ruined our attention span:D

MadYaker

Its only an hour, there some movie about games on at ten.

cml387

MadYaker wrote: »

Its only an hour, there some movie about games on at ten.

Nope, my listing says two hours

Tipsy McSwagger

Really impressed so far. Elite was a game changer and I'm surprised I have never heard of it. I hope he mentions all the ET games being buried in the desert.

MitchKoobski

Great stuff so far. Lots of really good points being made.

Mickeroo

Not going to be able to watch this tonight, does anyone know if it will be on 4OD after?

Guyanachronism

PaRappa the Rappa such an odd but brillant choice!

MadYaker

Is Dara O Brian actually an avid gamer or is this just scripted bs?

pablomakaveli

MadYaker wrote: »

Is Dara O Brian actually an avid gamer or is this just scripted bs?

He is a gamer. Seen him on several shows before talking about games.

brianregan09

Twitter......Really