Discovery Channel Charts Rise of the Videogame

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Discovery Channel Charts Rise of the Videogame


The Discovery Channel [http://www.discovery.com/] will examine the history and impact of videogames with a five-part special mini-series called Rise of the Videogame, premiering November 21.

Beginning with the early 1970s and carrying through to today, the series will look at how videogames are created, produced, marketed and distributed, along with the evolution of the industry from the earliest days of Atari's [http://www.atari.com/] empire to the three-way console war being waged today. The first episode, titled Level One, will start with the infancy of the industry, which began "not with a bag but with a ping," focusing on the perseverance of early pioneers who believed videogames could become a dominant form of entertainment despite the doubts and misgivings of the public.

Following weekly, Level Two will pick up in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Japanese designers like Doom [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/04/12], when the industry first came under fire for its potentially harmful and addictive effects on children. In Level Four, the increasing power of game systems that have allowed the development of both complex "God games" as well as tools for improved teaching techniques and creative expression will be looked at. Finally, in Level Five, online worlds will be the subject, as players escape the mundane banality of the real world to make emotional connections in the virtual.

Rise of the Videogame debuts at 8:00 p.m. EST on the Discovery Channel, with subsequent episodes appearing weekly. More information is available at the Discovery Channel's Rise of the Videogame website [http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/video-game/video-game.html].


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Kronopticon

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Nov 7, 2007
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a must see i bet, sounds delicious, and filled with one or two mis-conceptions. i must see it, and save it on sky plus
 

Arbre

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Jan 13, 2007
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That one sounds neat. A bit of layman, lots of pîctures and music, and obviously, no absurd antigame bias.
Well, I hope.
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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I'm not really getting the impression that this is going to be one of "those" videogame stories. It sounds more like a straight-up history of the industry and culture. Obviously we'll hear from the anti-game fringe in the later episodes, particularly the one featuring the emergence of 3D technology, but I'm not expecting some kind of surprise hatchet job.