Video Games : The Movie

SeantheMan · 03-07-2014 05:47AM #1

I hadn't seen any posts or info related to this on here, so here you go.
If I'm mistaken, mods, please delete the thread..

From executive producer Zach Braff comes an epic feature-length documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Featuring in-depth interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE is a celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox, and an eye-opening look at what lies ahead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv2W0lbgVfY

Penn · 17-07-2014 10:28AM

Watched this last night. Wasn't that great to be honest. Too much "Gaming isn't just for nerds!" and not enough about gaming itself. To be honest, if you're into gaming, the documentary doesn't add anything you wouldn't know already. And if you're not into gaming, I don't think it offers enough to hold your attention.

RasTa · 17-07-2014 11:00AM

Yeah it's pretty boring

chrislad · 17-07-2014 12:45PM

I'm waiting for Video Games: The Movie: The Game.

ItsShane · 22-07-2014 10:27AM

Watching this documentary, I felt like I had seen it before.
A lot of these documentaries are very similar.

*briefly talk about pong
*show animated tinelime
*move to atari
*show animated timeline

And so on.

Anybody able to recommend one that feels a little different? What's the best documentary? I enjoyed How Video Games Changed The World.

Penn · 22-07-2014 10:31AM

ItsShane wrote: »

Watching this documentary, I felt like I had seen it before.
A lot of these documentaries are very similar.

*briefly talk about pong
*show animated tinelime
*move to atari
*show animated timeline

And so on.

Anybody able to recommend one that feels a little different? What's the best documentary? I enjoyed How Video Games Changed The World.

The trouble with this doc was that they established a timeline but then kept moving up and down it like a yo-yo, which meant the timeline graphic they made was largely irrelevant, yet it was made to be very prominent. It was all over the place.

Is that "How Video Games Changed The World" the one Charlie Brooker did for Channel 4? I definitely much preferred it. It was a great watch.

Username exists · 22-07-2014 10:33AM

ItsShane wrote: »

Watching this documentary, I felt like I had seen it before.
A lot of these documentaries are very similar.

*briefly talk about pong
*show animated tinelime
*move to atari
*show animated timeline

And so on.

Anybody able to recommend one that feels a little different? What's the best documentary? I enjoyed How Video Games Changed The World.

Chasing Ghosts and The King of Kong both very good

ItsShane · 22-07-2014 10:34AM

Username exists wrote: »

Chasing Ghosts and The King of Kong both very good

Cheers will have a look for em today!

Penn wrote: »

The trouble with this doc was that they established a timeline but then kept moving up and down it like a yo-yo, which meant the timeline graphic they made was largely irrelevant, yet it was made to be very prominent. It was all over the place.

Is that "How Video Games Changed The World" the one Charlie Brooker did for Channel 4? I definitely much preferred it. It was a great watch.

Yes the timeline just got very annoying. There was no need to keep going back and forth. I don't get why they couldn't cover the 70's while they were on it. Same goes for all of the decades.

Yes that was Charlie Brooker!

johnny_ultimate · 22-07-2014 10:39AM

Indie Game: The Movie is also excellent.

These 'general overview' sorts of documentary are never going to be particularly enlightening, unless there's a genuine depth of analysis as opposed to bland cliff notes.

Username exists · 22-07-2014 10:41AM

ItsShane wrote: »

Cheers will have a look for em today!

Just watched the trailers I will have to watch them again, both very enjoyable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HrXIu5ibYk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMJZ-_bJKdI

Don't search anything on The King of Kong until you watch it

Penn · 22-07-2014 10:43AM

King of Kong is brilliant

ItsShane · 22-07-2014 10:44AM

That's my viewing sorted for the next couple of days! Cheers!

solomafioso · 22-07-2014 10:51AM

Reading a few reviews on this and it's getting my hopes up. Just wanted to watch an enjoyable romp through what makes developers tick, not voxpops or talking heads of the "I used to play this" and "It was all the rage" variety.

Suppose you need specific movies about those. +1 for King of Kong. Highly enjoyable if a little dramatic.

Also, Indie Game The Movie is great. Really shows the ups and downs of smaller dev's doing it for the freedom of new ideas (and to see how strange Phil Fish is).

I'd actually say that the Minecraft documentary was enjoyable....what? It was!

Penn · 22-07-2014 11:01AM

solomafioso wrote: »

Just wanted to watch an enjoyable romp through what makes developers tick, not voxpops or talking heads of the "I used to play this" and "It was all the rage" variety.

In fairness, the talking heads they did get did seem very knowledgeable and seemed like proper gamers, as opposed to some D-listers who are just there because they were available and cheap.

BizzyC · 22-07-2014 12:14PM

King of Kong is a great movie.

Indie Game is also pretty cool, bought myself super meat boy after watching it...

Andrew76 · 22-07-2014 01:06PM

Username exists wrote: »

Chasing Ghosts and The King of Kong both very good

Ecstacy of Order: The Tetris Masters is another great doc.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Indie Game: The Movie is also excellent.

Except Phil Fish is in it. Annoying as hell he was.

solomafioso · 22-07-2014 02:53PM

Oh, that reminds me.

The origins of Tetris! This is / was a great doc.

Tetris: From Russia with Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhwNTo_Yr3k

bugs · 22-07-2014 03:08PM

'100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience' is pretty decent, obviously very specific towards japanese arcade shooters & fighting games.

http://www.100yenfilm.com/

'The King of Chinatown' is also somewhat amusing but very specifically fighting games, mostly street fighter.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1651898/

Generic Dreadhead · 22-07-2014 03:31PM

Life 2.0 is interesting, but should have been shorter, not exactly great either.

Burgo · 22-07-2014 05:35PM

Primarily about the history of competitive fps in particular quake and cs. Follows the rise and fall of cpl.

Another cs centric doc detailing the rivalry between two of the bigger american cs teams; complexity and team 3d.

Follows 3 prominent dota players in the buildup to a million dollar tournament.

22-07-2014 09:02PM

I enjoyed this for what it was I have to say, watched it with the little lads as they had no clue where gaming started other than their Wii firstly, followed by Xbox 360, the kids loved it....

They had heard of SNES and Megadrive before so was good to show them the origins of gaming in an easy to watch movie...

Perkinstock · 24-07-2014 09:35AM

Thank goodness, I thought it is just me, and yeah it’s kinda boring,

Skerries · 25-07-2014 09:15AM

yes these catch all documentaries are too wishy washy whereas if they had concentrated on the one subject like the life of Atari or any of the other consoles or areas of gaming it would make a much better watch

Video Games : The Movie

Comments