The BBC, Bandersnatch and British games
Classic gaming
Who’s up for something a little bit different? It might not be common fare around here – and you certainly won’t hear me praising the BBC too often – but the British Broadcasting Corporation has done us a favour and reached into their archive and pulled out a piece of home computer history (see here or watch below).
Back in 1984 the BBC aired a documentary following the efforts of games developers to release a hit title in time for Christmas. The documentary series is called Commercial Breaks, and this episode follows what was one of the biggest publishers of their day, Ocean, as the company endeavours to make a sequel to the game Hunchback. On top of that, Commercial Breaks take a look at Imagine Software, a doomed developers but one with talented staff, some of who would go on to found another grand publisher in Psygnosis.
The documentary might only give us a very narrow look at the wide and deep history of home computer game in Britain, but it’s nice to have something for a part of videogames that is all too often overlooked; especially for someone like myself who grew up with Sega, Nintendo and later Playstation, before a belated introduction to the world of home computers thanks to Retro Games Limited.
Playing videogames, writing about videogames, considering videogames—that about sums it up. Videogames are the one hobby that I’ve kept since I was only little, zapping ducks on the NES or knocking out MR. X. And when I’m not enjoying classics from the bit generation of games or checking out those earliest of polygons, I’m probably playing something from today’s age of modern gaming: if I’m not complaining about it. Something I’m doing at the moment? Taking the Nintendo Switch 2 for a spin.
