Rise of the Videogame on Discovery Channel

[Sinistron]

Was watching the second eppy of this last night and turned it off in disgust when they skipped over the pc-engine.  They went from Famicom/NES straight to Megadrive/Genesis and then started talking about Playstation like it was the pioneer of home system CD gaming.   

[nat]

Interesting. But that's bullshit. The PCE/TG-16 deserves mention on any video game documentary for many things: CD gaming, 5-player multi-player capabilities (what systems had this before the PCE?), first 16-bit graphics console, etc.

I watched the first episode in this series last week and I was excited to see the followup since the first seemed to go so in-depth. They covered all sorts of obscure shit, lots of which I've never seen or heard of before.

I just don't get it. How can you skip over a system that was a true pioneer of many things we still find in game systems today?

[Sinistron]

Yeah they flubbed it.  Second episode had this segment on Leisure Suit Larry- which I slightly enjoyed.  but how are you gonna do a segment on Leisure Suit Larry and no mention of pc-engine?  I know there's no relation there- I'm just saying.  It's an hour-long show on the period- get your priorities straightened.  Actually they flubbed the Leisure Suit Larry bit too.  The whole time they're talking about Leisure Suit Larry being the first adult oriented game (which isn't true)- and they're showing scenes of the REMAKE of the 1st Leisure Suit Larry- not the original.

[Sinistron]

I did turn it off before it was over- but I doubt they would double back to the PC-engine after going from Famicom to Megadrive to Playstation.

[NecroPhile]

Glad I missed that.  They can't provide in depth coverage of everything, but it's super gay to just ignore big chunks of gaming history like that.  It's bad enough that they left out the Turbo, but how could they skip the SNES too?

[Sinistron]

I turned it off after about 45 minutes I think- but yeah they'd have to double back to SNES after going to Playstation- SNES is a fourth generation machine and Playstation is a fifth.  They were showing different Mario games through the years however and they probably showed SNES Mario titles- but didn't mention SNES while I was watching.  Maybe on the third episode?  I've lost faith in the series though.  And correct me if I'm wrong- but I don't remember "Computer Space" being mentioned in the first episode- another outlandish slight.

[Sinistron]

I must have this sexiest of posters.

[_Paul]

Most commentaries on videogame history seem to act as though Japan never existed back then and the only things that are important are those that did well in the US.

[Sinistron]

well they mentioned the Famicom before the NES and the Megadrive before the Genesis.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I will mention it again(since I've mentioned it on these boards before) that once while watching the news, they had a thing on violent video games, & they showed.......Ninja Spirit!  This was a few years back, during the reign of PS2, & I saw a young kid, with a Turbo controller, playing Ninja Spirit.  Wierd.

[TR0N]

Watch it but it realy didn't tell me any thing that i knew all ready.

No surpise they skipped the pce/tg16.My guess,there looking at the consoles that have the most commerical sucess.

Yeah the pce did great in jpn but it was a flop in the u.s.

That's like expecting them to cover the,NeoGeo when it was a cult hit in the u.s as well.

[Keranu]

This sounds a lot like the video game documentary I saw on the Game Show Network back in like 2004. They didn't mention the Turbo whatsoever, said the Sega CD was the first console to introduce CD games, and spent a lot of time on classic PC adventure games.

[WoodyXP]

Sounds like this documentary is based on an American's perspective.  To an average American the Turbo is rubbish, and not worth commenting on.

[MissaFX]

What next?  Final Fantasy as the first RPG game?

Oh and that yellow arcade machine is insane.  Someone needs to revive this design.  I would feel like I just stepped inside something from 2001 standing next to one of these.

[Sinistron]

Computer Space- according to Wikipedia (okay not the MOST reliable of sources- but still...)- is "generally accepted that it was the world's first commercially sold coin-operated video game — and indeed, the first commercially sold video game of any kind, predating the Magnavox Odyssey by six months, and Atari's Pong by one year".  Which is why it should have been featured on the show.  And yeah- that machine is the cat's ass.

[Kitsunexus]

So you mean a video game documentary actually decided to forgo factual information in favor of COMMERCIALISM!? I'm SHOCKED, SHOCKED I tell you. 

[MissaFX]

Tonight I learned that Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom were 3-D games using dedicated floating point unit processors.  Gee, I never knew my fathers 386 DX 25 had a 3-D chip.

[Kitsunexus]

Tonight I learned that Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom were 3-D games using dedicated floating point unit processors.  Gee, I never knew my fathers 386 DX 25 had a 3-D chip.

Floating-point isn't 3D, I mean, it helps with some 3D maths, but calling it a 3D accelerator would be incorrect.

I doubt Wolfenstein used floating-point maths, but I read somewhere that Doom did (I'd be damned if I could find it again, for some reason it seems like something I read way back in CGW).  Also, the dedicated processor is actually sometimes true, because older processors that did not have the floating point sometimes got upgrade chips (remember those, they were still making them even with the original Pentium and Pentium 2) with this capability.

[NecroPhile]

Tonight I learned that Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom were 3-D games using dedicated floating point unit processors.  Gee, I never knew my fathers 386 DX 25 had a 3-D chip.

Surely no 3D chip, but it likely had a 387 math coprocessor for floating point operations (as Kitsune alluded).  The introduction of the 486DX essentially ended the use of coprocessors, as the floating point unit was on chip.  They did make a 487 coprocessor for use with the 486SX processors, but they were actually complete 486DX processors that would disable the 486SX completely.

[MissaFX]

I rememeber specifically the 387 chip was optional.  Wolfenstein and Doom are both 2-D games, which use tiles and sprites as far as I know.  Specifically the special talked about dedicated floating point processors and how Doom and Wolfenstein were ONLY possible because of them.  Doom might use polys for the walls, but the rest of the game is 2-d for sure.  Nirgends on the PC-FX is more 3-D than Doom.

[Kitsunexus]

I rememeber specifically the 387 chip was optional.  Wolfenstein and Doom are both 2-D games, which use tiles and sprites as far as I know.  Specifically the special talked about dedicated floating point processors and how Doom and Wolfenstein were ONLY possible because of them.  Doom might use polys for the walls, but the rest of the game is 2-d for sure.  Nirgends on the PC-FX is more 3-D than Doom.

The more important issue here is how Rise Of The Triad kicks both previously mentioned games' asses.

[OldRover]

Wolfenstein was a raycaster game. It was developed long before 3D hardware even appeared on the commercial market. DOOM uses a software-based BSP tree algorithm. Neither game originally requires or even supports the use of a math coprocessor. Quake was the first FPS by id that required a math coprocessor (since it used an actual 3D engine), but even it still was software-based. I don't know about FPS games made by other companies, mainly because most of them at the time simply recycled id's engines.

[Turbo D]

quake was and still is bad-ass. 

[MissaFX]

Wolfenstein was a raycaster game. It was developed long before 3D hardware even appeared on the commercial market. DOOM uses a software-based BSP tree algorithm. Neither game originally requires or even supports the use of a math coprocessor. Quake was the first FPS by id that required a math coprocessor (since it used an actual 3D engine), but even it still was software-based. I don't know about FPS games made by other companies, mainly because most of them at the time simply recycled id's engines.

The history channel needs you to work for them   I've never even heard of ray casting.

[kenomac78]

i have been looking for the torrent of this show, i have seen 1 and 2 but not 3! where is it?

 i need to see what they say

[cybercross]

Most commentaries on videogame history seem to act as though Japan never existed back then and the only things that are important are those that did well in the US.

Of most of the American video game docs I've watched it definitely fells that way. They often tend to go on what was popular in the US, and despite any other not-so-mainstream game/console (regardless of having huge cult-status or some kind of influence on the industry), they see it as unimportant. They should've had more coverage-and episodes.
As for the the show it self, it was a mixed bag for me. The 2nd ep was the only one that was interesting at all-even though they left several gaps of unmentioned consoles . As for the rest, I could care less about Sim City or a history lesson on FPS-no offense to those who do. I'd love to see a documentary on Japanese video gaming history-at least maybe they would have better coverage on the PC Engine.

[nat]

The only FPS games I get any enjoyment out of are the originals-- Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Rise of the Triad etc. Around the time of Quake is when I started becoming less interested in that kind of stuff.

But yeah, I wish someone would do a REAL video game documentary and cover the actual history of video gaming, not just the stuff we saw as popular in this country. It's a crime to call your program a "documentary" when you leave out huge chapters from the land where it all started-- Japan. If it wasn't for Japan we wouldn't have video games today. At least, not like we do now.

[NecroPhile]

It's a crime to call your program a "documentary" when you leave out huge chapters from the land where it all started-- Japan. If it wasn't for Japan we wouldn't have video games today. At least, not like we do now.

I heartily disagree that the Japanese are the originators of video gaming.  They may have revitalized the market after the '84 crash, but it would've been done by somebody else if not the Japanese, so they shouldn't even be credited for the gaming industries current state.  If anything, I'd credit the computer industry for the latter day advances in gaming, as computers have long been pushing the technology envelope much further than consoles have.

[Odonadon]

It's a crime to call your program a "documentary" when you leave out huge chapters from the land where it all started-- Japan. If it wasn't for Japan we wouldn't have video games today. At least, not like we do now.

I heartily disagree that the Japanese are the originators of video gaming.  They may have revitalized the market after the '84 crash, but it would've been done by somebody else if not the Japanese, so they shouldn't even be credited for the gaming industries current state.  If anything, I'd credit the computer industry for the latter day advances in gaming, as computers have long been pushing the technology envelope much further than consoles have.

I disagree with your statement, I think it's the other way around - someone would've invented one eventually, and the videogames we see today wouldn't exist without Japanese influence.  PC games haven't been as influenced by the Japanese as console games.

OD

[MurderDate]

I watched the gaming DVD that Netflix has , the one hosted by Tony Hawk.. Man, what garbage. They skipped over PC-E entirely too.  Screw'em.  I say good - keep the real deal (that is, PC-E/TG16) underground.  If you want it you have to go and find it!

[WoodyXP]

Rise of the Triad

Word life. 

[NigazAllucard]

Watch it but it realy didn't tell me any thing that i knew all ready.

No surpise they skipped the pce/tg16.My guess,there looking at the consoles that have the most commerical sucess.

Yeah the pce did great in jpn but it was a flop in the u.s.

That's like expecting them to cover the,NeoGeo when it was a cult hit in the u.s as well.

Exactly ,my opinion is same.

I disagree, but they really reports only most commercial consoles.But the true must be said.Duo/engine was the very first cd-r console.
Anyway isn't so bad documentary .I liked.

[TR0N]

Watch it but it realy didn't tell me any thing that i knew all ready.

No surpise they skipped the pce/tg16.My guess,there looking at the consoles that have the most commerical sucess.

Yeah the pce did great in jpn but it was a flop in the u.s.

That's like expecting them to cover the,NeoGeo when it was a cult hit in the u.s as well.

Exactly ,my opinion is same.

I disagree, but they really reports only most commercial consoles.But the true must be said.Duo/engine was the very first cd-r console.
Anyway isn't so bad documentary .I liked.

That is was nec even had ads but they bash the nes in a few of them.

While ingoreing the sega genesis big mistake there if you ask me.

Heck by the time the snes came out it became nintendo vs sega.

Even when i stuck by,the console you either had a snes or genesis.

Still it just comes down to bad management with nec&tti at the time.

I thought the history channel look into video games was ok,but realy they skip to much.

[NigazAllucard]

I thought the history channel look into video games was ok,but realy they skip to much.

and its that I really liked at all.
I agree with u, they skip to much, but their documentary is another big step against "gamistic haters", like that guy who said videogame its ONLY for children and other bullshit stuff like that.

[Beld VanGuard]

I've been telling my friends, co-workers, and fellow gamers for years (usually after they ask "what game system is THAT?") that the Turbo series of systems for it's time, was far and away, without arguement, the best system ever made. Then I'd proceed to pound them with info and facts and counterpoints till I won lol.

If these "experts" don't wish to cover this milestone is gaming technology, hell with em.

We need a show just dedicated to NEC's gaming....

[CrackTiger]

I've been telling my friends, co-workers, and fellow gamers for years (usually after they ask "what game system is THAT?") that the Turbo series of systems for it's time, was far and away, without arguement, the best system ever made. Then I'd proceed to pound them with info and facts and counterpoints till I won lol.

If these "experts" don't wish to cover this milestone is gaming technology, hell with em.

We need a show just dedicated to NEC's gaming....

You mean like PCEngineFX TV?