Kotaku
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.
Discovery Channel Examines the History and Impact of Videogames in New Special RISE OF THE VIDEOGAMEPut down the joystick in favor of the remote control and join Discovery Channel for a pixel-by-pixel exploration of the history of videogames in the new, five-part special RISE OF THE VIDEOGAME premiering Wednesday, November 21 at 8 PM (ET/PT).
RISE OF THE VIDEOGAME captures the (r)evolution of videogames from the early 1970s and the days when Atari ruled through today, examining how the videogame industry has changed and how videogame entertainment is created, produced, marketed and distributed.
Level One
U.S. Premiere
Wednesday, November 21 at 8 PM (ET/PT)The videogame started not with a bang but with a ping. Unlike other forms of entertainment, videogames turn the viewer into a player who actively shapes the outcome of their experience. At first video games and the creators were as misunderstood by the public as rock & roll in its infancy. But those closest to the videogame business persevered and never lost sight of the ability videogames had to become a dominant form of entertainment.
Level Two
U.S. Premiere
Wednesday, November 28 at 8 PM (ET/PT)In the late 1970s and early 1980s, instead of controlling spaceships and tennis rackets, videogame technology allowed players to command recognizable characters with real faces and back stories. This paralleled the importance of the hero's journey that was popular in movies of the time like "Rocky" and "Star Wars," as well as mirrored the rise of individualism and conservative meritocracy, where one man can make a difference. Game creators were liberated to create more complex videogames with heroic journeys, and Japanese creators like Shigeru Miyamoto rose to prominence with star characters Super Mario, Luigi and Zelda.
Level Three
U.S. Premiere
Wednesday, December 5 at 8 PM (ET/PT)It was a foreign concept to early game designers but with games like "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" and "DOOM", video games grew from their primitive 2-D roots into richly detailed 3-D worlds. These groundbreaking 3-D games led the industry down new paths both thrilling and troubling. Critics questioned if these games were getting too real, too violent and too addictive. For the first time game designers had to grapple with tough questions.
Level Four
U.S. Premiere
Wednesday, December 12 at 8 PM (ET/PT)Since the invention of the computer man has feared "the machine" and its ability to think. But a computer's unique computational power has also led to the development of seminal games that are unpredictable, intelligent and malleable. "God games" like SimCity and Civilization simulate entire worlds and let players experiment with cause and effect. Other designers have used artificial intelligence to create lifelike characters and worlds that shape themselves to each player. And some games are so technologically advanced that they have become tools for learning, or better yet, creative expression.
Level Five
U.S. Premiere
Wednesday, December 19 at 8 PM (ET/PT)Can a computer game make you cry? With the introduction of PlayStation 2's "emotion engine" in 1999 game developers had the technology to enable deep, moving stories that tugged at gamers' heartstrings. The rise of online virtual world games added another emotional dimension, letting players make real connections (including marriages) through a virtual game and helping them escape a world rife with violence and terror.
.
Comments
Definately will schedule that, sounds great.
Btw I love your writing Geoff, keep at it.
Very cool. Sucks I don't have pay-TV... :(
YouTube will likely have it though. Can't wait to check it out. It's nice to not be demonised in the media now and again.
I'm watching all of them!
in before jaffe haters.
@elevenoverzero: Same, I should've paid my cable bills rather then buy video games, oh well.
Ralph Baer, now there's a guy alot people don't even give proper credit to!
Well this should be interesting, I never figured the discovery channel to be doing this though.
I'll set it up on my TiVo now, in case I miss them when they air. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
@Tomahawk214:
I agree. Nice work, Geoff.
@jeffram:
You assume. The three people before you may very well hate David Jaffe, and just haven't voiced it. On a related note, "In before..." is just as bad as "[Blank] called and they want..." or "First!".
Do you have any idea if this will air in the UK at all?
@kimcheese:
Agreed, he was the true father of video games. I remember watching a documentary on how the "Crash" of the early video games happened. He started with just moving a simple dot around the screen, and then evolved it into a dot chasing another dot, Fox and the Hound, which was the first TRUE game, not Pong.
Can't wait (actually, the real reason I wish it was sooner is due to my lack of memory and severely underused agenda...) Be sure to remind us when it's starting!
Geoff...one of the few TV/internet personalities who actually know his shit.
here's a 47 min History of Video Games documentary that Discovery Channel already did awhile back. [video.google.com]
Nice, I am sure to watch this when they air it.
This sounds great! I will definitely watch this. Thanks for the heads up.
I wonder if they'll have the great Baer/Bushnell battle...
I would so pay to see them have a fist fight now, Bushnell has size on his side, but scrappy lil Baer could sling his NATIONAL MEDAL OF TECHNOLOGY across Bushnell's face....
It's nice to see someone actually give props to Ralph Baer considering I haven't even seen him mentioned anywhere on television since his special on TechTV/G4 and that was almost 4 years ago if my failing memory serves me correctly.
Wow - now I feel old if the Williams' are considered obscure.
Inside Deep Throat is a very well made doco, so props to getting videogames the same treatment.
Hopefully this will get wide distribution and we'll get to see it outside of the USA.
That, or it's put up on torrents...
I don't know but i remember watching something very very similar to that in discovery aroud 3 or 4 months ago. It was also a 5 part series and the chapters were almost identical to that description.
Pretty cool, I'll check it out. Discovery made some excellent documentaries in the past.
@charlie_pr: I know that one, it was called "I, Videogame" in some regions and "The Era of the Videogame" on others.
@TheContender: Yes, it was "The Era of the Videogame". It's the same one? or a very similar one? Anyway it was a superb documentary.
Wow, so Discovery shows more videogame content in 5 hours than G4 shows all day?
Yeah, I went there.
Good to see Discovery is branching out.
I love Discovery. Everything from Deadliest Catch to Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs. Planet Earth was amazing. This sounds like another sweet program, and I'll definitely have to check it out. Thanks for giving us a heads up.
Recording this crap. I love watching VG docs. Makes me what to break into the industry.
Roberta Williams is a credit, attention-grabbing hog.
I remember TLC did something like this.
Nice. 5 hours? Whoa.
I don't see no Moral Kombat.
Anybody know where we can get a torrent of this? I doubt EZTV will have it.
This sounds like it will be really good. I am happy to see that a good documentary will make on a channel that a good portion of people will watch. Also does anyone think that someone will make a big stink about this being on a somewhat educational channel.
The descriptions suggest that this isn't "I, Videogame", a documentary that thought the history of FPS games went Wolf3d->Doom->America's Army.
I wanted to hurt my TV at that point.
Nice, I'll have to make sure the VCR is correctly hooked up to record. Wish I could put this on the other tape I have when I think it may have been MSNBC did a history of gaming, but 5 hours won't fit. Now I gotta get a vcr tape too. Going to write myself a reminder for Nov 21.
cool, hope it shows up on the uk discovery channel, im allwasy on there feeding my mythbustesr/ american chopper addiction anyway so i no doubt see if it is.
amm im wondering they showed some documentaries here in south America called the era of the video game... i dont know why but they sound similar, be funny if they showed it here , and if im wrong ( most likely case) i cant wait to see some good video game history.
Man I'll never get to see these if they don't happen to come out on DVD.
*crosses fingers*
@StorminNorman: Actually, the descriptions leave no doubt that this IS "I, Videogame." Unless you're suggesting that the two documentaries coincidentally have 5 1-hour long episodes, each covering the exact same concept and games in the same order?
It was a really good series, and whilst they did gloss over a lot, not to mention make various omissions and errors, it was more about looking at different aspects of the medium as a whole and how it's been affected by and also impacted society, as opposed to simply following the chronologically linear history of the medium. It was obviously intended to be interesting for people who aren't as knowledgeable about games as we are, and, given its even-handed approach (especially in regards to violence), we should be glad our favourite hobby is gaining this kind of credibility.
I love Discovery and it's programs, but please beg them to re-run this at a suitable time. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to do anything but play Mass Effect come Nov 20ish
Schwwweeeet! Now I can combine two of my favorite hobbies- videogames and Discovery Channel! Now if Jade hosted this thing, my head would just explode.
Is Geoff Keighley an associate editor now or something?
@EternalGameNation: He's filling in for Crecente. He's doing a mighty good job at it too!
Although he could use more hair and alcohol. I miss that.
Thanks for the info Geoff! Definately going to check this out.
"...with games like "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" and "DOOM" ... These groundbreaking 3-D games led the industry down new paths both thrilling and troubling. Critics questioned if these games were getting too real, too violent and too addictive."
This made me laugh.
Man, I'm only going to be able to catch the last two hours of this. Some days I wish I had tivo or something like that. But most stuff on tv these days is crap.
I wish I had cable or dish or whatever. It won't be online right?
I'm really excited for this. I love learning things from those inside the industry.
I'm also glad to see Ralph Baer get some credit, some of his papers and the "Brown Box" are now in the Smithsonian: [invention.smithsonian.org]
Maybe they can get Scott Murphey alongside Ken Williams, and then they can fist Sierra and make another Space Quest game.
This is frickin' awesome. I'm psyched.
This is one of the better gaming documenteries made, aired as "I, Videogame" in my region long time ago.