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Games Entertainment

The Video Game Revolution 51

Posted by michael from the turn-turn-turn dept.
SH10151 writes "PBS will be airing a special, The Video Game Revolution, this week. "The Video Game Revolution examines the evolution and history of the video game industry, from the 1950s through today, the impact of video games on society and culture, and the future of electronic gaming." Just a heads-up for all the game junkies out there."
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The Video Game Revolution More

The Video Game Revolution

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  • But, did he call the FBI?
  • Well, I live in israel and we don't have PBS here (well, duh), any chance of someone recording this (high quality preferred, of course ;) and posting it online? hm...now that I think of it, is it even legal to do that? well anyway, it would be really nice for this to be online.

  • No Elite? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by meowsqueak ( 599208 ) on Saturday September 04, 2004 @08:10PM (#10159669)
    I can't find any mention of Elite. How can this be a complete history if it doesn't include Braden and Bell's groundbreaking space combat and trading simulation? I'm not sure about the date but I think it was first published in 1984 on the Acorn BBC. Various ports and sequels as well as many games inspired by the original have been written, but none were as revolutionary. For the first time, players were able to invest 'progress' in their games. Rather than single (sometimes long) sessions shooting/running/collecting more and more points in an effort to beat their previous best, Elite pioneered the concept of a persistent session and the idea of the 'save game'.
    • Other games that will not be shown include, but are not limited to....

      1. Any RPG Whatsoever
      2. Half Life(Though Counterstrike MAY be shown)
      3. Street Fighter 2
      4. Sonic The Hedgehog
      5. Centipede
      6. Maniac Mansion
      7. Nethack
      8. Outrun
      9. Soul Calibur
      10. Command and Conquer
      11. Duke Nukem Forever

      Go figure I suppose :E

      • Re:No Elite? (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        They've mentioned Street Fighter 2, go here [pbs.org] and click the 1991 tab. They also mentioned the first RTS game, Dune II, rather than Command and Conquer.

        • Re:No Elite? (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Pluvius ( 734915 )
          Actually, the first RTS was Herzog Zwei for the Sega Genesis. (You might be able to name one earlier than that depending on your definition of "RTS.") Dune 2 was the RTS that everyone else copied (or in the case of Westwood, rehashed). It's similar to the difference between MIDI Maze and Wolfenstein 3-D in the FPS genre.

          Rob

      • Re:No Elite? (Score:3, Funny)

        by Lonath ( 249354 ) *
        11. Duke Nukem Forever

        Nice troll.

  • Deer Hunter but no Half Life? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by meowsqueak ( 599208 ) on Saturday September 04, 2004 @08:12PM (#10159685)
    Their timeline is odd. There's Deer Hunter but not Half Life? I'd be hard pressed to find anyone I know who would consider Deer Hunter to be a gaming 'milestone' but nobody would claim HL wasn't I'm sure.

    • Re:Deer Hunter but no Half Life? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by BlueCodeWarrior ( 638065 ) <steevk@gmail.com> on Saturday September 04, 2004 @08:20PM (#10159731) Homepage
      Wasn't Deer Hunter one of the best selling games of all time?

      I'm definitely not putting down HL in any way, I love the game, it should be on there...but Deer Hunter was pretty big.
    • Was Half-Life really a milestone though? Yes it was a good game, but everything it did had been done before. I really can't think of a single new or 'revolutionary' feature about Half-Life.
      • Well, whenever I think of Half Life I think of 'mods' - or was there a game prior that really started the modding thing? HL was pre-UT wasn't it? Hmmm, not sure.

        I didn't realise Deer Hunter sold so well - is that all that makes it a milestone?
        • Doom I think was where modding really started picking up. Wolfenstein 3D had mod tools available, but it was not as popular as doom mods. Barney Doom and others were available on BBSs in the early days.
          I think what made Deer Hunter a milestone was that it made people realize how pervasive gaming had become. The people interested in computer games weren't just pale overweight nerds, it was also the beer drinkin' gun shootin' blue collar man.
      • but everything it did had been done before

        Stay in the top 25 sales ranking for 5 straight years? Get users so addicted they fall down dead after 31 hours of nonstop play?
        • Silly me, I was referring to the technical aspects of the game. However, I don't believe Half-Life is at the top of the bestsellers lists, if I recall correctly that honor goes to The Sims, which did it in less then 5 years, followed by Myst, and Everquest has been blamed for more deaths, so its still all been done before.
          • However, I don't believe Half-Life is at the top of the bestsellers lists, if I recall correctly that honor goes to The Sims, which did it in less then 5 years

            Work on reading comprehension. The impressive part isn't getting to the top of the list (and in only 5 years???) but STAYING on the besteller list for five whole years.

            Half-Life is a 1998 game still played heavily today. That kind of staying power is unprecedented, and it indicates a real maturity to video games. No longer were the technical imp
      • Yes it was a good game, but everything it did had been done before.

        Besides the injection of plot, the scripted sequences, and the AI that actually did a good job of living up to its name? The first was done by Marathon, granted, but it was Mac-only so it never got to be as influential as Doom was. And System Shock was more of an adventure than an FPS (you could even turn off the shooting parts to focus on the puzzles and the plot), so it doesn't really count. AFAIK, the other two things were unequivoca

  • PBS (Score:1, Interesting)

    by FLAGGR ( 800770 )
    Man.... PBS? Why can't it broadcast over the internet? I *know* (actually, I haven't RTFA yet so no I don't) that it's going to be on a 3am, because during the day they have programs begging for people to donate money, and if you pledge $100+ you get this beautiful white tshirt, and when theyre not doing that, its aurther and other TV shows that are paid for by donations (there are no ads on this TV) and, like the Family Channel also shows, when you only get shows that are paid with the MUCH smaller ammoun

  • What? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by focitrixilous P ( 690813 ) on Saturday September 04, 2004 @08:46PM (#10159847) Journal
    The timeline on the site is odd. Mentions Sega Saturn over Playstation, Pocket Pikachu over Half-Life, nothing of Xbox-live, didn't even mention Doom or Wolfenstein. Lame.
    • not reall since saturn was one of the first successful cd rom based system(yeah I know turbo graphic 1`6 had a cd add on but not many people know about it compared to saturn) Halflfe didnt do anything new oh wait mods been there before with quake,the pocket pikachu was new idea a pedometer that give u things to use ingame. I will give you the no mention of doom or wolfenstien thu.
      • dont wanna sound patroising (i know its not the /. way, but im stoned...)

        are you aware there are multiple entries each year?? i got doomas 2nd milestone in 1993 from the pbs flash timeline thingy

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • The timeline mentions that the Sega Saturn had a modem? What?

    I can see me saying "Doh!" about thirty times during this special's two hours.
  • I'm not spending 2 grand and any cable tv fees to watch this.

    Why on earth wouldn't they play this on plain 'ol non-HD PBS?
  • So it's a show about pacman and how games transitioned from mario to grand theft auto.

    No matter how the stories are presented, there is probably not much that gamers don't already know.

  • My emphasis

    "The Video Game Revolution examines the evolution and history of the video game industry, from..."

    I thought evolution [wikipedia.org] and revolution [wikipedia.org] were somewhat opposed concepts?

  • The nostalgia downloads [pbs.org] section has some wallpaper and buddy icons of suprisingly good quality if anyone cares.
  • They focused more on the effect of the content of games on our society, but I almost think that the time and energy dedicated both to playing and creating games has had a bigger effect on us than the content.

    Still, a lot of good info.

    Eric
    ---------------

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