The Artists: a new 10-part series about the video game designers who changed the world
Stream our new series The Artists and see the stories of the pioneers behind the pixels
From their beginnings as bizarre electronic curios for kids in the early 1970s through their ubiquitous worldwide ascent in the late 1990s, video games haven't stopped inspiring and inciting an eager audience over the last 40 years. But despite the massive culture impact games have had, surprisingly little is widely known about the artists who created them.
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The Artists dives into the relatively undocumented first three decades of the video game industry and tells you the stories of the designers, companies and, of course, seminal games that have transformed video game history through these eras.
Despite their massive success and cultural impact, video games haven't enjoyed the same hagiography afforded to comparable mediums. We all know Scorsese, Spielberg and Coppola, but how many will recognize the names of Crawford, Bunten or Romero? For a massive audience, video games are the films of the 21st century, and their primary source of storytelling. How did that happen?
Through exclusive interviews with the designers and programmers that had front row seats to the technological revolution that brought interactive entertainment into our homes, The Artists documents these unheralded creators — including John Romero (Doom), Trip Hawkins (founder of EA), Bill Budge (Pinball Construction Kit) and many others. These personal, engaging stories reveal what it was like to create games during this era.
Check out more of the art created for the series below and watch all 10 episodes online now!
