A Promising introduction on BBC 4 including dancing zip sticks (a type of joystick – for those under 25, that is an old style games controller ) was only mildly ruined by the patronising voice over telling us to “top up our life force”. Ironic considering the tone of Charlie Brooker’s Gameswipe.
The subject might not be to everyone’s taste, and I’ve certainly met designers who only recently pretend to have held a lifelong computer game obsession now that 8 bit graphics are back in vogue. It is the history of computer game graphics (and retro gaming) that provided Flush Draw with the basis for the reworking of their usual Charlie Brooker titles.
Short and sweet this one, and maybe not the best example of this sort of work – the 8 bit style at the start of The IT Crowd springs to mind. Its authenticity is enjoyable nonetheless and I highly recommend sticking around for the programme itself for a refreshing approach to gaming journalism.
For extra points try naming as many of the games as possible that inspired each style.
