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The Artists Season 1

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Computers were built to process data—but can they also make us cry? Meet “The Artists,” the video-game designers, developers, and programmers who revolutionized the way we experience American entertainment and storytelling.

Try Topic’s new streaming service for free.

Topic Studios produces award-winning film, TV & podcasts, supporting creators at the forefront of culture.

Topic is a First Look Media company

The Artists

Documentary•TV-G•1 Season | 9 Episodes

Computers were built to process data—but can they also make us cry? Meet “The Artists,” the video-game designers, developers, and programmers who revolutionized the way we experience America

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9 Episodes

Meet the group of rogue programmers who, in the 1980s, decided to elevate computer games to an art form.

The Dragon Slayer

Though his industry was becoming increasingly concerned with the bottom line, Chris Crawford understood that video games could revolutionize storytelling.

For one programmer, the future of gaming was about more than art. It was a social issue.

The history-inspired Civilization games say less about the past than they do about what’s next.

Searching for Shangri-La

Extending his empire to the small screen, George Lucas built a video-game incubator on his own ranch.

Dungeons & Doctors

Young doctors-turned-game-designers performed a digital transplant on an iconic role-playing game.

Before video games could get graphic, text-based adventures imagined the future of literature.

From Then to Now

From the art gallery to the boardroom, video games are going places their inventors never anticipated.

The Revolution Will Be Digitized

Pong took computer games out of the lab and into the dive bar. Here’s how the runaway success of Atari’s first game led to the company’s eventual downfall.

Credits

Director

Peter Mishara

Producer

Christina Piovesan