Video Game Night on Channel 4 (November 30)

Thought this would be interesting.
Includes a 2 hour Charlie Brooker special on How Video Games Changed The World and Indie Game: The Movie.
I quite like Brooker's work so I'll be watching this.

EDIT: Here's a trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVGD5suu90I

Gameswipe was good so I'm sure that will be too but he does seem to be quite dismissive of Nintendo at times.

Indie Game: The Movie is really good. I highly recommend it - it's a compelling look at a few indie developers during development of some of their hit games. Phil Fish comes off as a driven to the point of obsession, Jon Blow comes off as some sort of indie game guru and Edmund McMillen as the nicest man in the world.

I've got a lot of time for Brooker so I'll almost definitely give that a watch. They should stick King of Kong and Scott Pilgrim in there as well.

King of Kong! Great viewing that - I never in a million years expected to be as compelled as I was watching that.

Might give Indie Game a watch, but I'll be skipping Brooker. TV doesn't need *another* Complete History Of Gaming show, and it certainly doesn't need Charlie to do it.

I'd say it does need both those things.

Buskalilly wrote:

I'd say it does need both those things.

But there's been loads of the former, and the most recent one was done by the latter!

Really? I feel like games barely get a look in on TV and Gameswipe was great so I'm up for more. I doubt I'll learn anything new but it should be a good watch.

Buskalilly wrote:

Really? I feel like games barely get a look in on TV and Gameswipe was great so I'm up for more. I doubt I'll learn anything new but it should be a good watch.

That's the thing- if GW was a regular thing, closer to the other two nWipe shows in terms of format I wouldn't be so bothered- but when you look at the range of games-related, regular video content there is on the internet, there is *so much more* something like Channel 4 could do with their money and resources. Instead, they're spending two hours going "Well, videogames exist- and now let us never speak of them again", pretty much the same as GamesWipe was for BBC Four, and indeed every games show on mainstream British TV since GamesMaster, which finished fifteen years ago.

I don't expect C4 to start doing full Let's Plays in prime time- that's obviously absurd. But given how long games has been going, how much money games is worth and how broad (and broadening!) games is as a medium, it really does deserve a lot more attention than the tokenism it's getting, especially considering how said tokenism is being pretty much dominated by a humourist whose only real joke is pointing at something and saying how shit it is.

That's all pretty fair. I guess its one of those things that's easier to enjoy if you don't care about the issues at the heart of it. I'd love to see a weekly videogames show with a sense of humour (made by people I don't want to murder) but to be honest, TV as it is today is pretty much dead to me. If I have to turn online for decent content, so be it.

Also, I think you're selling Charlie short.

Buskalilly wrote:

Also, I think you're selling Charlie short.

I don't think I am- I didn't say I didn't like Brooker's stuff.

Brooker has form as a games person (we all know his early career) so I'm not that worried about the factual content- in fact, as far as someone who can be on camera as well is concerned, his is probably the safest pair of hands going in that regard.

My problem is his humour is one of negativity- the focus is going to be disproportionately drawn to the smaller, less savoury and otherwise non-representative elements of gaming and I have a feeling that the takeaway from this show for many, coupled with the fact that the only other time games get into mainsteam media is to say how evil and wrong they all are and gaming's current love for beating itself up for the sake of beating itself up, won't be what we want it to be.

No, that's fair, this will probably give an awful impression of the industry to any outsiders who tune in. Even in 'wipe he spent a disproportionate amount of time on negatives. While I think there is a great deal that the games industry needs to have a long, hard look at, it would be nice to see something on television or in the papers painting it in a slightly better light.

I think now more than ever there's a market for a weekly games magazine show to rise up. Gaming's more in the mainstream than it's ever been, so it's surprising that it's not represented on TV more.

JayMoyles wrote:

King of Kong! Great viewing that - I never in a million years expected to be as compelled as I was watching that.

Same. I put off watching it for a really long time, I'll definitely be checking out Indie game the movie

Yes! Bless you Charlie, and also thanks Channel 4. When I was a kid, they always had the more minority-focused programs (e.g. GamesMaster - and remember they used to have Kabaddi). Then Big Brother came and the ratings came in, and therefore the desire to please the terminally derpy. Thankfully in the last few years they've got their act together again (the presentation of the Paralympics was fantastic). I'm so glad this isn't on e.g. BBC3.

Slightly off-topic rant over

Relevant?
Brooker teaches Jon Snow how to play videogames but Charlie's never seen a PS4 before and doesn't know how to eject the disc. This is actually terrible and makes you want to punch the screen.  

http://www.channel4.com/news/charlie-brooker-jon-snow-games-ps4-playstation-video

Jimbob wrote:

Then came and the ratings came in, and therefore the desire to please the terminally derpy.

FUN FACT: Just because you've chosen not to like a programme doesn't make people who do like it "Terminally Derpy".

Brooker article thing for the Guardian. "Why Video Games TV is so hard to make"

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/29/charlie-brooker-video-game-television

Apparently,Brooker agrees with Beemoh.

He's very eloquent, isn't he? And also passionate - I had no idea that he started out as a games writer. Today I have learned!

Not watching, but does anyone remember a show on ITV, back in the midnight 90s that did reviews of new releases of games, vhs and cassettes/cds. I've asked people before but no one can seem to remember it even existing.

I can think of a few others Games Master on C4, Sky then had ago in the 2000's, there was even a gaming channel which was rubbish.

I know some weird channels like showcase have shown gaming shows not sure if any do now apart from challenge with the blurb.

ZeroJones wrote:

He's very eloquent, isn't he? And also passionate - I had no idea that he started out as a games writer. Today I have learned!

I think he was also involved with the first CeX store in the UK.

Indie game the movie was brilliant! Absolutely couldn't help but smile at the part where Ed & Tommy (Team meat) were laughing away at people's reactions to super meat boy, didn't watch the brooker thing before but I will eventually.

Loved Team Meat's part of the movie - you can't help but share in their success, they (especially Edward McMillen) seem like nice hardworking guys. Love their games too.

What did you think of Phil Fish's part in the film?