作者：Alex Ward

与其他人一样，在去年12月初的时候我观看了Channel 4关于我们产业的夜间电视节目。

首先出现的是Charlie Brooker，他描述着自己最棒的游戏是如何改变世界。然后是“Indie Game: The Movie”，这是一些不同的人都推荐我去看的内容。

尽管我很高兴看到Jeff Minter在电视上讨论游戏，我也发现Brooker剩下的节目内容有点无聊。这可能只是我个人的想法，但是对此我真正有热情的是关于游戏如何出现在这个世界上。像The Yak等创造者都是我的英雄。我是在1983年阅读《Personal Computer Games》时知道他的，并因此激励着我开始创造游戏谋生。所以如果我将推出一个谈论优秀电子游戏的节目，他必然会出现在我的列表上。

我不理解为什么谈论游戏要出现这么多喜剧演员和主持人。这并不是有关摩城（游戏邦注：美国历史上最著名的独立品牌，也是黑人拥有的最大的唱片企业）的历史，或者好莱坞的音乐的历史与使用。这些电视节目自然需要突出那些做着这份工作的人才，如作家，编曲者和音乐师。

但是当提到游戏时，我们看到的是许多喜剧演员说着他们也曾拥有一台ZX Spectrum（1982年由Sinclair公司生产的一款8位个人电脑）。这并不能传达给我任何真正的内容，当电视节目是关于其它创造性主题时，我并未看到同样情况的出现。

Indie_Game_The_Movie_Special_Edition(from develop-online)

在全球游戏发展方面，英国一直扮演着非常重要的角色，所以我相信我们有必要讲述英国的故事。除了《马里奥》，《古墓丽影》，《侠盗猎车手》和《使命召唤》外还有更多的其它游戏。但似乎在电视上只出现了这些游戏。或者也许这些是唯一提供高质量游戏画面的内容？我想要看的是一个能够讲述英国历史的节目。

我想要听听硬件创造者的日常工作生活：即来自Sinclair Research，Acornsoft，Dragon Data以及Konix MultiSystem团队的人。

我想要听听英国软件公司成员一天的生活：Ocean Software，Ultimate，Gremlin Graphics，Alligata，US Gold，Quicksilva，Psygnosis以及Sensible Software等等—-即包括在业务方面以及编码装备。David Ward, Chris and Tim Stamper, Ian Stewart, David Palmer, Geoff Brown, Rod Cousens, Ian Hetherington或Jon Hare都在哪里呢？

程序员又在哪呢？除了Minter和David Braben，还有Tony Crowther, Archer Maclean, the Pickford Brothers, David Darling or Philip and Andrew Oliver, Geoff Crammond等等。

超越标题

我也想要听听有关新闻界的故事，包括早期的《EMAP’s Computer and Video Games》以及《Newsfield’s CRASH》和《ZZap!64》。我很困惑会在这一节目中看到Gary Whitta，他是如今一个成功的编剧家。但为什么不是Gary Penn, or Steve Jarratt, Paul Davies, Richard Leadbetter or Joao Sanches？所有的这些人才是真正在写有关游戏世界的出色作家。

总之，我想要听到有关创造出游戏的英国人的故事，以及当前的情况。这些肯定比喜剧演员的一些有趣摘录有意思得多。我们需要讲述这些故事，如此才会有更多人对产业有更彻底的了解。

直到今天，英国仍是游戏不可分割的一部分，即伴随着一些分散在各个城市的创造性小团队并致力于为PlayStation 4以及Raspberry Pi等平台创造游戏，所以我也想听听有关这些人的故事。

在我成长的20世纪80年代间，计算机和计算机游戏更频繁地出现在电视上。

这便是我们需要做的事：激励下一代。而电视机便是做到这点的一种有效方法。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How games still don’t really get on TV

By Alex Ward

Like everyone else, I sat and watched Channel 4’s evening of television devoted to our industry at the start of December.

First up was Charlie Brooker detailing his top pick of games which changed the world. Then Indie Game: The Movie, something I’d been told to watch by a few different people since it came out online.

While I was pleased to see Jeff Minter on TV discussing gaming, I did find the rest of Brooker’s show a bit annoying. Maybe it’s just me, but one thing I’m really passionate about is hearing about how games arrive into this world. Creators like The Yak are my heroes. It was reading about him in Personal Computer Games back in 1983 that inspired me to want to make games for a living. So, if I had to put out a programme talking about great video games, he’d definitely be on my list.

What I didn’t understand was why it needed to feature so many comedians and television presenters talking about games. It doesn’t seem to happen on a programme about, say, the history of Motown, or, as I watched recently, the history and use of music in Hollywood. Those TV shows naturally feature the talented people who actually did the work: the writers, the composers and the musicians.

But when it comes to gaming, we got a load of comedians saying that they, too, had a ZX Spectrum once. It didn’t really tell me anything, and I don’t see this happening elsewhere when television covers other creative topics.

The UK has played an incredibly key part in the growth of gaming globally, and I believe this distinctly English tale needs to be told. There’s more to gaming than Mario, Lara Croft, GTA and Call of Duty. But those seem be the only ones that go on TV. Or maybe those are the only ones that supply quality game footage in time? I would love to watch a programme that told the story of the UK industry.

I want to hear the hardware makers of their day reflect on their work: the guys from Sinclair Research, Acornsoft, Dragon Data, and maybe even the Konix MultiSystem team.

I want to hear the stories from the British software houses of the day: Ocean Software, Ultimate, Gremlin Graphics, Alligata, US Gold, Quicksilva, Psygnosis, and Sensible Software – from both the business side and the coding outfits that gave them games. Where were David Ward, Chris and Tim Stamper, Ian Stewart, David Palmer, Geoff Brown, Rod Cousens, Ian Hetherington or Jon Hare?

Where were the coders? Along with Minter and David Braben, there is also Tony Crowther, Archer Maclean, the Pickford Brothers, David Darling or Philip and Andrew Oliver, Geoff Crammond and more.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

I want to hear from the press too, from the early days of EMAP’s Computer and Video Games to the rise of Newsfield’s CRASH and ZZap!64. I was puzzled to see Gary Whitta on that programme, who is a successful screenwriter today. But why not Gary Penn, or Steve Jarratt, Paul Davies, Richard Leadbetter or Joao Sanches? All of which are smart writers who have something to say about the world of gaming.

All in all, I want to hear from the British talent that helped take gaming from where it was then to where it is now. Surely that would be more interesting and relevant than a few funny soundbites from the current crop of comedians. These stories need to be told so that more people can learn and understand about the industry.

And today, the UK is still an integral part of gaming with innovative small teams scattered around the country making titles for everything from the PlayStation 4 to the Raspberry Pi, so I’d love to see and hear from these guys too.

When I grew up in the 1980s (although to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be a grown-up) computers and computer games were on TV a lot more.

From Making the Most of the Micro and Tomorrow’s World to GamesMaster and Bad Influence, you’d be able to get excited about something new and think about what will be possible in the future.

That’s what we need to do: inspire the next generation. And television is a great way to do that. It’s just a shame that it isn’t covered in any great detail.(source:develop-online)