Kotaku: Documentary

British Media Regulator Investigating Misuse of Video Game Footage As "Secret IRA Terrorism Footage"

Brian Crecente — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT

British communications regulator Ofcom is investigating how a UK documentary examining possible connections between Muammar Gaddafi and the IRA confused video game play for actual IRA footage of a helicopter being shot down. More »

Idiot Documentarians Reveal "Secret IRA Terrorism Footage". It's a Video Game from 2009.[Update 2]

Brian Crecente — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:50:58 EDT

A UK documentary examining possible connections between Muammar Gaddafi and the IRA apparently confused video game play for actual IRA footage of a helicopter being shot down. More »

You Know What Would Make an Awesome Video Game Documentary?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:20:00 EDT

Commenter GiantBoyDetective has the drive, the limited resources, and the low-cost manpower to create the ultimate low-budget video game documentary. Now he just needs a subject. Let's brainstorm in today's Speak Up on Kotaku. More »

"I'm the Best Man. I Did It." Viral Freestyler Eli Porter Gets His Own Documentary, "People's Champion"

Joel Johnson — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Remember Eli Porter? You probably wouldn't by name. But he's the kid who went viral in the "Iron Mic" freestyle competition with the famous "I'm the best man. I did it." line. And for some reason filmmakers Trent Babbington and Walker Warren decided to make a documentary about that moment—and I'm glad they did. More »

Arcade: The Last Night at Chinatown Fair is Coming This Fall.

Mike Epstein — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:20:00 EDT

Documentarian Kurt Vincent says that after raising over 29,000 dollars through Kickstarter he plans on releasing his film, Arcade: The Last Night at Chinatown Fair, this fall. [Arcademovie.com] More »

Get Your Minecraft Story in the Minecraft Documentary

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:15:00 EDT

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2 Player Productions is currently toiling away on a very slick-looking documentary about indie sensation Minecraft. Want to be in the flick? Here's how. More »

New York's Famous Chinatown Fair Arcade Could Live On In Documentary Form

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:30:00 EDT

New York's infamous and grungy arcade holdout, Chinatown Fair, shut its doors earlier this year. Should you have happened to miss this momentous occasion or simply miss the sights and sounds of the decades-old hangout, it's now the subject of a documentary, one that you can help become reality. More »

A History Of Adventure Games, Get Lamp, Ready To Get

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:40:00 EDT

Do you love computer adventure games? You know, Zork, Planetfall, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or anything that falls under the "interactive fiction" description or bears the Infocom label. Then get Get Lamp, a long-in-the-making documentary. More »

This Could Be The Beginning Of A Beautiful Mass Effect 2 Cosplay

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EDT

Holly Conrad wants to be part of a Comic Con documentary. To do so, she and her friends are creating the ultimate Mass Effect 2 cosplay, complete with female Shepard, Tali, the Illusive Man, and an animatronic Grunt. More »

You Can Help Fund Indie Game: The Movie

Mike Fahey — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:20:00 EDT

After covering the 2009 Game Developers Conference, BlinkWorks Media decided they wanted to create a documentary film that studies independent game developers as a way to understand the medium and the theory behind video games. More »

Game Violence Documentary Can Be Seen Free Online

Owen Good — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:30:00 EST

"Moral Kombat," the 2007 examination of violent video games by the brother of Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin, will be available for view online free for the next 30 days. More »

Second Skin Coming To DVD In August

Mike Fahey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Second Skin, a documentary about virtual worlds and their inhabitants that we've been keeping tabs on since it started casting in 2006, is finally coming to DVD this August. More »

A First Look At Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO

Brian Crecente — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a second run at turning the successful Star Wars franchise into a money generating massively multiplayer online game, this time one created with the help of BioWare. More »

Double Fine's Scott C. To Autograph Alternate King of Kong Cover

fdemarco — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:20:50 EDT

The folks behind I am 8-Bit, the art show featuring works based on video games, is holding an event this Saturday in Alhambra, CA. On hand will be Double Fine Productions' art director Scott C. who will be personally be autographing prints of his alternate DVD cover for the documentary, King of Kong: Fist Full of Quarters. The print is a nice sized 18 x 24 inches and will sell for a paltry $20. It's a pretty cool piece and having the autograph of someone who worked on Psychonauts would be pretty freaking sweet. You can go get your signed copy of the dvd and or print at Gallery Nucleus, 210 East Main Street Alhambra, CA. The event will go from 7 - 11pm and will feature such exciting extras as free booze and a Donkey Kong high score tournament with prizes. More »

Biohazard Commercial Documentary

fdemarco — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:00:00 EST

This a pretty interesting short documentary on the making of a commercial for Biohazard 2/Resident Evil 2. The commercial was directed by zombie master George Romero and starred (the recently deceased) Brad Renfro as Leon Kennedy. I can't say that I've ever seen a documentary on the making of a commercial but this one is actually pretty interesting with the possible exception of the vapid quotes from the gal playing Claire Redfield. It lasts about eleven minutes and is definitely worth a watch. More »

Filmakers to Produce E.T. Landfill Documentary

fdemarco — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST

Some Auburn University students are planning a documentary on the famed E.T. landfill. The landfill, which many still claim is an urban legend, has been widely discussed in video game circles for years. Now our intrepid filmmakers are out to find the legendary dumping ground with their film E.T.'s March. More »

Second Skin Hits Close To Home

Mike Fahey — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:20:36 EST

Second Skin is an upcoming documentary by Pure West Films that focuses on the lives of seven MMO gamers, exploring how their games of choice have affected their lives. It touches on many popular MMO topics, such as falling in love, becoming addicted, gold farming, and the effects virtual worlds can have on the handicapped. It's really easy to make fun of the people you see in this, the first trailer for the film, but not so much when you've been there. Having been addicted to MMO's in the past, I see a bit of myself in the film's subjects. In the past I've spent weeks at a time rolling out of bed into my computer chair (if I even made it to bed) and immediately logging into Everquest, to the point where it was really the only thing that mattered in my life, and yeah - I've fallen in love online as well. Maybe one day I'll tell you folks all about it. For now, enjoy the trailer. More »

Gamasutra Catches Up With Alexey Pajitnov

fdemarco — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST

Gamasutra has a great article up right now in which they pay a call on gaming pioneer Alexey Pajitnov. For the uninformed, Pajitnov is the creator of a a little game called Tetris. They caught up with him at the GameCity conference in Nottingham, England before a viewing of the documentary Tetris: From Russia With Love to discuss his views on such subjects as the casual gaming scene (including Katamari Damacy), his new projects and the history of Tetris. It's some terrific weekend reading if you have some free time if only to hear the perspective of a true old school gamer on the modern gaming scene. Also, if you have never seen one of the several documentaries that follow the long arduous history of one of the most addicting games ever made, do yourself a favor and check one out. It's an amazing story filled with more drama and intrigue than most soap operas. More »

Rise Of The Videogame Begins Tonight

Mike Fahey — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:30:04 EST

Just a quick reminder for those of you graced with cable—and not forced to choose between apartment-contracted 'bargain' cable providers or pointing a satellite dish directly at a tree, praying for a fastidious woodpecker to come along. Tonight at 8pm eastern is the premiere of the Discovery Channel's five-part documentary, "The Rise of the Videogame." It explores, using former Kotaku guest editor Geoff Keighley's words, "a look at how the social and political climate shaped games and game designers in the 70s through present day." I can assure you it's much more interesting than it sounds, stuffed with game developers both famous and obscure. Tonight's show features the dark, misunderstood beginning of the video game phenomenon, when people struggled to understand the concept itself. If you won't watch it for you, watch it for sad, cable-less me. More »

King of Kong Coming To DVD

fdemarco — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:00:00 EST

GoNintendo is reporting that King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is heading for DVD. So, if you missed it in the theaters, now is your chance to see grown men acting like bratty children over who has the highest game score in the comfort of your own living room. The DVD, put out by New Line Cinema, will sell for $19.98 and will have an anamorphic widescreen transfer and commentary from director Seth Gordon and producer Ed Cunningham and a the obligatory extra features. Provided all goes as planned, the disc should be hitting shelves January 29, 2008. More »

Discovery Channel to Air 5 Hour Videogame Documentary

geoff — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:40:00 EST

Today the Discovery Channel announced that it's going to air a five-hour prime time documentary entitled "Rise of the Videogame." It covers the entire history of the industry and has interviews with the likes of Ralph Baer, David Jaffe, Will Wright, Peter Molyneux and even some now-obscure names like Ken and Roberta Williams, the founders of Sierra Online. I should disclose that I wrote the treatment for this show and served as a producer on it alongside World of Wonder (the company behind Inside Deep Throat). As opposed to a standard "History Of" documentary, the series takes a look at how the social and political climate shaped games and game designers in the 70s through present day. The first episode will premiere on Wednesday, November 21 at 8 PM (ET/PT) with new episodes to follow every Wednesday night through December 19th. If you want more details on each episode, you can read the press release after the jump. More »

Documentary About Game About Killing

Brian Crecente — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:04:29 EDT

I've always held that Danny Ledonne made the game based on the massacre at Columbine High School out of a sense of outrage. It was, I believed, a way for him to deal with the shooter and its aftermath. But the more Ledonne makes himself the center of the story, they less I believe that. In his latest work, Ledonne has created a documentary about the aftermath of his game about the aftermath of the massacre. Judging by the rather short trailer, it feels like the documentary is a little too much about Ledonne and not enough about the very real and complicated issues involving both the shooting and the idea of tacking serious subject matters with video games. More »

King of Kong Speaks

Kim Phu — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:40:00 EDT

The King of Kong documentary has been making the rounds this year in various film festivals around the US and now there is a controversy over how one of the movie's "characters" was portrayed. In the movie, two men (Billy Mitchell and Steve Weibe) are trying to be crowned the King of Donkey Kong. Mitchell has held the title of the highest score in Donkey Kong up until recently, when Weibe and a documentary crew set out to challenge it. More »

Another Look at 'Gold Farmers'

Maggie Greene — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:30:49 EDT

Via CNET Asia, another look at the documentary Gold Farmers (we covered it last year), directed/produced by Ge Jin, and still a work in progress. More »

C&C3 Documentary Hits 360

Brian Crecente — Wed, 02 May 2007 11:00:13 EDT

A documentary just hit the Xbox 360 that shows the making of Command & Conquer cinematics. The 20 minute documentary includes interviews with the actors, cinematographers, and costume designers that created the Tiberium cheesefest we all know so well and love. Brian Crecente More »

Clips: The Mythology of God of War

Brian Crecente — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:40:16 EDT

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball Up For Pre-Order

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:20:04 EST

Regular pinballers will remember the Williams company's failed attempt to revitalize sagging pinball sales with their Pinball 2000 series. What looked like cool technology was largely ignored by the masses and shunned by many hardcore pinball fans leading to the closing of Williams pinball division. More »

Clips: Moral Kombat, The Video Game Violence Documentary

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 21:20:22 EST

That's not a typo, but the title of the upcoming film (at one point expected to see release in 2005) on video game violence from Spencer Halpin, brother of the Entertainment Consumers Association's Hal Halpin. Despite featuring some very alarmist soundbites—as well as giving The Silver Fox another outlet to deliver his anti-Rockstar speech promising a "Columbine on the factor of 10"—the documentary appears to have very high production values and looks to be a must-watch for those interested in the topic of violence in games. Michael McWhertor More »

Clips: Nerdcore for Life

Brian Crecente — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:00:03 EST

I was browsing around YouTube when I stumbled on this new video for the upcoming Nerdcore for Life documentary. It sounds like the documentary includes a chunk of performances from the latest Penny Arcade Expo too. Brian Crecente More »

8-Bit the Movie

egauger — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:40:45 EDT

According to VH1's GameBreak, 8-Bit is the best movie about video games ever made. More »

Game Documentary Hits Mod Art Museum

Brian Crecente — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:30:30 EDT

Justin Strawhand dropped me a line today to point out that his new documentary, 8 Bit: A Documentary about Art and Videogames, will be premiering in a few weeks at The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. More »

MMO Documentary Casting Call

egauger — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:20:00 EDT

MMO intellectual blog the Daedalus Project reports that New York-based documentary makers, Pure West Docs, are making a film about MMOs called Second Skin, and they need YOU. More »

In the Game Halfway There

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:00:49 EDT

Documentary In the Game is about halfway toward completion, according to William Young over at GoldenKnight Productions. More »

Bungie Bringing Halo 3 Documentary

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 20:39:48 EDT

Looks like Master Chief fans will have something more to look forward to in regard to the E3 teaser trailer for Halo 3. After audio director Marty O'Donnell's loose lips let slip that something was coming down the pike, the team decided to make an official announcement. More »

E3 Documentary

Brian Crecente — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 14:00:07 EST

E3 From the Outside In, a hopeful documentary maker is looking for a $15,000 hand-out. The group wants to make a documentary about E3. They call it an "unprecedented look at E3 that no one's been shown before: from the outside-in." How refreshing, usually documentaries try the whole inside-out method. More »

Documentary Maker Looking for Gamers

Brian Crecente — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 08:06:20 EST

Casting Unlimited has an open call for gamers to participate in a documentary about to get underway called Connected. More »

QuakeCon 2005 Documentary

ataylor — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 12:50:03 EDT

Over at PlanetQuake3, the latest news is that Ilya 'bilz' Kushnir has released his Quakecon 2005 documentary: 22 minutes of staff interviews, game comment, attendee interviews and "comic interludes". More »

Got Lamp?

ataylor — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 03:45:17 EDT

Jason Scott, the bloke who made that documentary on bulletin boards, has a new project in development. Called GET LAMP, it is a documentary about text adventures, plus "the storytellers who created them, and their unique place in the history of computer games". More »