How Videogames Changed the World

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How Videogames Changed the World
How Videogames Changed the World.png
Written by Charlie Brooker
Matt Lees
Jon Blyth
Cara Ellison
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
Production
Running time 1h 37m 35s
Production company(s) Endemol UK
Release
Original network Channel 4
Original release 30 November 2013
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

How Videogames Changed the World was a one-off television special by Charlie Brooker which first aired on Channel 4 in November 2013. The show examines the 25 most significant video games according to Brooker, and through that, covers the history of the medium and its impact on wider culture.

List of games

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  1. Pong
  2. Space Invaders
  3. Pac-Man
  4. Manic Miner
  5. Elite
  6. Super Mario Bros.
  7. Tetris
  8. The Secret of Monkey Island
  9. Street Fighter II
  10. Doom
  11. Night Trap
  12. Tomb Raider
  13. PaRappa the Rapper
  14. StarCraft
  15. The Sims
  16. Grand Theft Auto III
  17. Shadow of the Colossus
  18. World of Warcraft
  19. Wii Sports
  20. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  21. Braid
  22. Angry Birds
  23. Minecraft
  24. The Last of Us
  25. Twitter

Reception

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. 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".[2] 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".[3]

References

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External links

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