Video game documentaries

Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.

A crew search for all of the old Atari 2600 game cartridges of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" that were tossed into a landfill in the 1980s.

The first year in the life of independent game studio "Mojang" following the landmark success of their debut title, "Minecraft."

Go behind-the-scenes to learn about the dogged development and unique philosophy at work in the making of the universally acclaimed, hit video game, The Last of Us. The Last of Us is available now.

Learn how video games are made, marketed, and consumed by looking back at gaming history and culture through the eyes of game developers, publishers, and consumers.

Beginning with Space Invaders in 1978, arcade games began to appear everywhere. By 1982, there were 13,000 dedicated arcade locations across North America. It was the Golden Age of Arcade Games, generating $3.2 billion dollars in 1983. By 1985, revenue had fallen 97%. Atari declared bankruptcy. Arcades closed. Most of the old games were converted or destroyed. A few were packed into warehouses where they remained, largely forgotten, for at least another decade. This is the story of arcade video games, and the generation who grew up in the arcades attempting to collect and preserve their fondest memories.

1982's Video Game World Champions share their philosophies on joysticks, groupies and life.

The Art of the Game documents a cultural shift in the entertainment people enjoy by following a group of college students as they compete for a job in the increasingly influential video game industry. Through a series of interwoven stories, the film explores the passion, creativity, and change taking place in interactive entertainment, and its oftentimes misunderstood artistic culture.

A documentary that follows the journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world.

'From Bedrooms to Billions' is a 2 and a half hour feature length documentary movie telling the remarkable, true story of the British Video Games Industry from 1979 to the present day. Developments in computer technology in the UK of the late 70's early 80's helped inspire a generation of small team enthusiasts, hobbyists, school kids, bedroom coders and entrepreneurs to make and release some truly classic games. 'From Bedrooms to Billions' tells the story of how the creativity and vision of a relatively small number of individuals allowed the UK to play a key, pioneering role in the shaping of the billion dollar video games industry, which today dominates the modern world's entertainment landscape. 'From Bedrooms to Billions' is the first to attempt to bring this amazing story together. Featuring interviews with key contributors to the UK story such as Peter Molyneux, Jeff Minter, David Braben, David Perry, Mark Healey, Jason Kingsley and many others from across video game development, publishing and journalism from over the last 40 years, combined with compelling archive. 'From Bedrooms to Billions' reveals some of the remarkable stories, struggles and successes that saw the UK video games industry go from quite literally nothing into a major force littered with original thinkers, innovators and eccentric characters. The film takes you on a wonderful journey through those early 8 bit years, the transition into the 16bit era and PC, the influence of the Japanese and American consoles and the availability of finance, right through to the present day of triple AAA games, indie development and the future. 'From Bedrooms to Billions' is regarded as the most comprehensive and thorough video game documentary ever created and is essential viewing for anyone interested in video games, either as a player or as a creator.

An adventure-filled documentary on Nintendo that follows two gaming enthusiasts, as they hit the open road in hopes of buying all the 678 official retail-licensed Nintendo games in 30 days with no online purchases.

Follow three professional video game players as they overcome personal adversity, family pressures, and the realities of life to compete in a $1,000,000 tournament that could change their lives forever.

The history of video games.

A documentary that captures the greatest world record Tetris players as they prepare for the Classic Tetris World Championship. From the days of Thor Aackerlund and his historic victory at the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, right up to the present and Harry Hong's perfect "Max-Out" score, this documentary expertly chronicles over two decades of Tetris Mastery.

An intimate, fascinating look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging, hugely popular genre of computer games.

King of Chinatown documents the two-year journey of professional video game player Justin Wong as he, along with his manager, TriForce, attempt to make a career of gaming in the competitive Street Fighter 4 scene.

With limited sound, simple graphics, and tiny amounts of computing power, the first games on home computers would hardly raise an eyebrow in the modern era of photorealism and surround sound. In a world of Quake, Half-Life and Halo, it is expected that a successful game must be loud, fast, and full of blazing life-like action. But in the early 1980s, an entire industry rose over the telling of tales, the solving of intricate puzzles and the art of writing. Like living books, these games described fantastic worlds to their readers, and then invited them to live within them. They were called "computer adventure games", and they used the most powerful graphics processor in the world: the human mind. Rising from side projects at universities and engineering companies, adventure games would describe a place, and then ask what to do next. They presented puzzles, tricks and traps to be overcome. They were filled with suspense, humor and sadness. And they offered a unique type of joy as players discovered how to negotiate the obstacles and think their way to victory. These players have carried their memories of these text adventures to the modern day, and a whole new generation of authors have taken up the torch to present a new set of places to explore. Get Lamp is a documentary that will tell the story of the creation of these incredible games, in the words of the people who made them.

Although technology continues to evolve, a group of die-hard gamers refuses to abandon the classic arcade games of yesteryear. The 80's live on for these enthusiasts, who compete against each other and history to record the world's highest scores. Portland gamer Bill Carlton is one of the most brazen, fearlessly taking on some of the toughest records on the books. HIGH SCORE follows Bill as he attempts to take down the Atari classic Missile Command and its twenty year-old record. To get the 80 million points he'll have to play the game on one quarter for over two days straight. There is no pause button. There will be no sleep. There can only be one victor in this classic story of Man versus Missile Command.

'Race to World First' documents the struggles, triumphs, and frustrations of the 25-man World of Warcraft guild Blood Legion as it prepares to beat the newest bosses released within the game by Blizzard Entertainment. This is a global battle between 12 million people and competition is intense. As the race gets underway, the film broadens in scope to include players from Finland, Russia, Australia, Great Britain, Greece, and Germany. They discuss what it takes to compete at the highest level, and the rivalries and life/game conflicts that inevitably arise. 'Race to World First' redefines the image of the gamer, focusing on the commitment, cooperation, and tremendous diversity within this culture. For gamers both proud and closeted.

Moral Kombat takes a look into the controversial subject of violence in video games. Director Spencer Halpin shows the constant conflict between the game creators' first amendment right to make a violent game and the eminent threat that violence poses on the next generation.

Chronicles the history of the game "Super Columbine Massacre RPG!." The film traces back the 16-bit role-playing game to its inception, through the 2006 shooting at Dawson College in which the game was singled out by the media as a "murder simulator" that "trained" the shooter, and finally the game's removal from the list of finalists at the Slamdance 2007 Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition - prompting half the entries and a sponsor to pull out of the festival in protest.

Follow the rise and fall of the King of Arcades as one man pursues his dream against all odds.

100 Yen is a historical documentary about the evolution of arcades and the culture surrounding it - from the birth of arcades to the game centers that still thrive today.

A documentary about women in gaming.

A documentary on classic video arcade collectors across North America. Those who were the first to look into the neon haze of a vector/raster screen and fall in love. The first quarter poppers, the "vidiots" who never grew up.