![]() ![]() I've thought about the concept myself often enough, seeing what modern kids are missing. It would get kids immediately enjoying the creation of their own programs and games (And think how it could be used for other lessons! Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Biology, etc.). Something similar, inexpensive, with plenty of useful and easily expandable connections for the hardware fans, and a core language that echoes BASIC for the programming side, is what it needed. The SAM Coupe was a great effort in that direction years ago, but came out too late (Or too early, perhaps?) and was poorly marketed. A version of BASIC with more power and graphical control commands, that will allow kids to dive in and create simple but fun games and experiments with ease. Starting kids off in something akin to BASIC, which no one does any more.īut they need something that will show results reasonably quickly. I think they're remembering the old days of programming on the ZX Spectrum, or BBC, etc. I don't think they're talking about that level of modern programming. "Computer scientists are down by a factor of two." Our universities churn out plenty of them, but Braben's concern is of a growing skill shortage in the sciences: "A real problem is there are way fewer graduates coming through the system now than there were five years ago," he explained. A team of more than 100 worked on it for 16 months, and making the animals move in a realistic manner involved some heavy lifting: "There's all the science and maths of the skeleton tracking," Braben explained "There's also modelling and drawing the movements, the physics of how the skeleton works."Īs well as the scientists, making the game also required people with what the boss called more "touchy feely" skills - designers, writers, artists, animators. ![]() You might think that Kinectimals, a game that allows children to adopt an animal and go on adventures, was a pretty simple affair, not requiring much science. ![]() The company, which now employs more than 200 people, seeks out students in computer science, maths, and physics as potential employees. ![]() "It's a really good place to be based because of the university", he explained. While many great games are still made in the UK, much of the industry is now foreign-owned and that leaves its workforce vulnerable when the games business goes through one of its periodic downturns, and head offices in California or Paris are looking for savings.ĭavid Braben stayed in Cambridge after graduating and in 1994 founded the business he still runs. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Frontier stands out as one of the few British games developers competing with the big players on the major platforms while retaining its independence. Its 3D graphics, its open-ended nature, its creation of a virtual world and an in-game currency - all foreshadowed the way the industry would develop.īut, while it was great to get a quick demo of Elite from its co-creator, I'd really come to talk about the present. I spent a hugely enjoyable afternoon at the firm's Cambridge offices with David, discussing the science which goes into games, his worries about whether Britain is producing enough of those scientists, and finally persuading him to have a quick play with something which, nearly 30 years ago, took the art of gaming onto a whole new level.įor a whole generation, Elite, created by Braben and his fellow Cambridge student Ian Bell, is what first turned them into gamers, hunched over their BBC Micros for hours at a time. And, while the BBC does of course take an impartial view of these matters, I am hoping that someone who represents the best of Britain's games sector walks away with at least one of those golden masks.ĭavid Braben's company, Frontier, has been nominated for two BAFTAs for its work on Kinectimals, a family game which was one of the launch titles for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect system. ![]()
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