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Acorn Arcade forums: News and features: David Braben interviewed
 

David Braben interviewed

Posted by Phil Mellor on 13:30, 12/3/2007 | ,
 
David BrabenDavid Braben, co-author of Elite, has been interviewed by the BBC technology programme Click at the Science Museum's Game On exhibition.
 
He discusses whether it is still practical for bedroom coders to write games: "I'm a little skeptical - I hugely think it's a very good idea for people to be able to learn to program at home ... I was very lucky - machines like the Acorn Atom and BBC Micro were very easy to program. I was in the right place at the right time; it's much harder to get started now. So anything that people like Microsoft [XNA] can do to encourage that is a good thing."
 
We also get to see a PDP-1, a super computer used for space research in the 1960s, which ran one of the earliest computer games, Spacewar, on an oscilloscope.
 
Seems like the programme was recorded some time ago - they keep mentioning the Wii will be coming out soon, and the exhibition finished in February - but it was broadcast last night and you can watch it again here
 
  David Braben interviewed
  mavhc (14:05 12/3/2007)
  SimonC (14:09 12/3/2007)
    krisa (14:31 12/3/2007)
      rich (14:46 12/3/2007)
        monkeyson2 (14:56 12/3/2007)
          moss (15:19 12/3/2007)
          rich (15:27 12/3/2007)
            monkeyson2 (15:42 12/3/2007)
              SimonC (11:40 13/3/2007)
                mavhc (22:57 14/3/2007)
                  SimonC (10:47 15/3/2007)
          richcheng (16:36 12/3/2007)
 
Mark Scholes Message #99810, posted by mavhc at 14:05, 12/3/2007
Member
Posts: 660
This was on Digital Planet a while ago, a program you can watch, well, listen to, on RISC OS: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/downloadtrial/worldservice/digitalplanet/rss.xml
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Simon Challands Message #99811, posted by SimonC at 14:09, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99810
Elite
Right on, Commander!

Posts: 398
There's something odd-looking about that Elite running in the background. It looks too wide for the original BBC version, but there's something else that doesn't feel quite right either.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Kris Adcock Message #99813, posted by krisa at 14:31, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99811
Member
Posts: 62
It's not the Beeb version - I think it's the NES/Famicom one.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Richard Goodwin Message #99814, posted by rich at 14:46, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99813
Rich
Dictator for life
Posts: 6824
There's certainly a big chunk of text across the middle that's too big for anything in the Beeb version.
________
RichGCheers,
Rich.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Phil Mellor Message #99817, posted by monkeyson2 at 14:56, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99814
monkeyson2Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler

Posts: 12380
I don't like Click. The presenter sneers at everything, and is the fourth person in the world who I'd quite happily slap in the face (after Jimmy Carr, George Bush, and Stephen Hendry.)
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
John Hoare Message #99820, posted by moss at 15:19, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99817

Posts: 9348
Click is terrible. It's the most patronising technology programme I've ever seen. How far we've fallen from the days of Micro Live...

I love the BBC, but their technology output is generally woeful.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Richard Goodwin Message #99821, posted by rich at 15:27, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99817
Rich
Dictator for life
Posts: 6824
He played Elite for ages, and blames it for not getting a girlfriend, but later says he only got to "average"? Weak. Sounds like one ad-lb writer didn't know what the other was doing.
________
RichGCheers,
Rich.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Phil Mellor Message #99828, posted by monkeyson2 at 15:42, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99821
monkeyson2Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler

Posts: 12380
He played Elite for ages, and blames it for not getting a girlfriend, but later says he only got to "average"? Weak. Sounds like one ad-lb writer didn't know what the other was doing.
Depends which version he played, of course:

http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/faq.htm#A4

But I don't really see him as an ArcElite fan.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
richard cheng Message #99834, posted by richcheng at 16:36, 12/3/2007, in reply to message #99817

Posts: 655
I don't like Click. The presenter sneers at everything, and is the fourth person in the world who I'd quite happily slap in the face (after Jimmy Carr, George Bush, and Stephen Hendry.)
You wrote Stephen Hendry, but I read Stephen Hawking
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Simon Challands Message #99920, posted by SimonC at 11:40, 13/3/2007, in reply to message #99828
Elite
Right on, Commander!

Posts: 398
Should be able to do it in a couple of hours on any version of Elite. If you want to make it hard try with Elite A and no saving allowed. I think I once got to Competent doing that, but Poor was more typical.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Mark Scholes Message #99993, posted by mavhc at 22:57, 14/3/2007, in reply to message #99920
Member
Posts: 660
Should be able to do it in a couple of hours on any version of Elite.
I got up to about 600 kills per hour on BBC Elite, so that's 11 hours, plus the time it takes to get the equipment.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Simon Challands Message #100002, posted by SimonC at 10:47, 15/3/2007, in reply to message #99993
Elite
Right on, Commander!

Posts: 398
Should be able to do it in a couple of hours on any version of Elite.
I got up to about 600 kills per hour on BBC Elite, so that's 11 hours, plus the time it takes to get the equipment.
I'm talking about getting to Average, not Elite.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 

Acorn Arcade forums: News and features: David Braben interviewed