Jenny Sanders investigates how computers have revolutionised television game shows for Micro Mart in 2006.
Have you ever wondered what Chris Tarrant sees on his screen during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Or how BAMZOOKi came about? All is revealed in Jenny Sanders' light-hearted look at gameshow technology, which also features Knightmare and The Satellite Game.
It's a rather superficial description of Knightmare, which is based loosely around the Series 6 setup - though there's a generous shout-out to knightmare.com for the full picture.
Interestingly, Sanders says there was interest from an American company in remaking Knightmare - only without a helmet. It’s not clear whether this refers to the 2004 Knightmare VR pilot where this was the major change, but she is clear that it's not a smart idea.
Knightmare got itself into a small amount of bother with Mary Whitehouse before she realised that it was class.
Alongside the other popular gameshows of the age, there's an unusual plug for The Satellite Game, also made by Broadsword.
Tim Child explains how the successor company Televirtual came about as a vehicle to deliver the virtual actor system, a primitive version of which was used for The Satellite Game.
Tim says the show is 'best forgotten', as the technology was pioneering but not particularly effective at the time. "It's only really a milestone because it was the first ever featured use on TV of real-time 3D software running live from a computer," he adds.
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Credit
- Publication: Micro Mart
- Issue: 919
- Year: 20 September 2006
