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Topic’s streaming service brings you exclusive TV and films from around the globe. Try it free. Cancel anytime.Learn More

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

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Topic is a First Look Media company

The Artists

United StatesDocumentaryTV-G1 Season | 10 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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10 Episodes

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

The Revolution Will Be Digitized

S1 | E2

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12 Mins

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.

Doom was a fast-paced and immersive first-person shooter game whose success was the envy of the industry.

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.

Searching for Shangri-La

S1 | E6

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12 Mins

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

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

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

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

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

Credits

Director

Peter Mishara

Producer

Christina Piovesan