Talk:Video games in the United Kingdom

I'll to expand it when I have more time... --Yowuza yadderhouse |meh 19:13, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, I've added a developers section. Even though it's incomplete, the article looks long enough... --Yowuza yadderhouse |meh 19:29, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

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Britsoft

The article said: "The combined era of 1980s microcomputer and early 1990s Amiga game development in Britain is known as 'Britsoft'." I've never heard this term before. I really don't think it's a commonly used term. The article cited doesn't really support the definition given, never mind that it has enough traction to justify a mention here. Hairy Dude (talk) 11:42, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

There's far more than enough hits for the term from Google Scholar, and more than 40,000 hits for "britsoft video games". It definitely a term used more in the 80s and 90s and less often now, but it was absolutely used then. --Masem (t) 15:06, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Word's first vs "the numerous volume of well known UK devs"

Masem (talk · contribs), about your revert(s). I can see your point about leaving people out. There are for sure many deserving devs, and I'm sure I'm overlooking people. But I'm not thinking of as much the people vs others, in or out of the UK, rather world history, "firsts".

Already in the article: "Christopher Strachey's Draughts is the first verifiable video game to run on a general-purpose computer." That seems interesting, and too be sure what I have in mind for Braben, somebody else would likely have done when the capability was out there. But he was first. He got OBE, not for nothing, and I would like to know who else would qualify for the lead. Many earlier games are classics, e.g. Manic Miner but to choose a best game, or dev, in general is subjective.

What Braben did with Zarch, most likely nobody else could because the computer wasn't out there, thus none could do the same he did with the Lander demo. He had access others did not (but that seemingly makes it less impressive, though most would not have done it), and I remember Lander/Zarch well. It/Virus won awards, that's not subjective, you never win just for 3D (in games), also for playability.

The 1958 Tennis for Two video game (claims first video as in "animated") predates even Spacewar!, but those came years after Strachey's Draughts. Calling Draughts a first, is I assume true, in some sense, for a video game less plausible, that usually implies (fast) animation. There weren't many computers at all before his game, at least not general-purpose. comp.arch (talk) 22:12, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

If we are talking "firsts", which is fair, the focus is usually on the game and not so much the developer. That is, it is probably right to acknowledge, in the body, that Zarch/Lander was the first game with flat 3D graphics, as well as the earlier Elite for its various line-rendered 3D. But while Braben was behind both, it doesn't seem that Braben himself is heralded as a visionary or the like (in contrast to Strachey's more primitive work). So trying to force in Braben as such a critical figure in UK games history just doesn't seem reasonable, though 100% his name should be included in mentioning Elite and Zarch.

Now, as for what I think should be done, is that there are numerous UK game devs with OBEs, as well as those with BAFTA Fellowships (Braben included, as well as Molyneux and the Rockstar founders), that could be included in a short list of "Notable UK Video Game Developers", which would definitely be fair. Masem (t) 00:12, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Suggest editing this sentence

"This was used in up to 80% of the schools in the UK at the time, and led to creation of the Spectrum and Commodore 64 to help meet growing demand for the systems."

This is nonsense and the given citation doesn't support it. 86.41.213.123 (talk) 12:03, 8 April 2024 (UTC)