As we discussed in class and read in Stephen Kline’s Origins of an Industry the creators of the modern gaming world have had a huge impact on our lives. These people and their inventions (games or platform systems) have shaped the entertainment world around us for over 40 years. As the technology behind these inventions advances, these people have always been at the forefront, leading us towards the next great leap in the industry.
This reminded me of a show that G4 use to show several years back called Game Makers/Icons. The show comprised of 30 minute long episodes that discussed the games, characters, people, and platforms on which the gaming world is founded on. The original show, called Icons, ran from 2002 till 2006 with a total of five seasons. The show was originally called Icons but in the final season all the previous episodes were renamed under the title Game Makers. The title Icons was still used for all the new episodes in the last season.
The most interesting aspect about the show was the many topics it covered including the rise and fall of Atari and Sega, the stories behind creation of the system mascots –Mario (Nintendo), Sonic (Sega), and Crash Bandicoot (Sony) –and of course the stories of the people who made the games and systems that we love. While the show might no longer air on G4, you can still read about the episodes on their website.