As someone who grew up playing games on the ZX Spectrum, I couldn’t wait to watch From Bedrooms to Billions – and here is our review.
As I mentioned, when I was a kid I played most of my games on a ZX Spectrum and a BBC Micro B, I was definitely a Spectrum kid, although I had friends who had Commodore 64s. I first heard about From Bedrooms to Billions when the KickStarter began and I was both excited to relive those days and slightly nervous that looking back on the games that I spent hours and hours of my life on (I’m talking about you Jet Set Willy for starters) just wouldn’t hold up to the test of time.
The film sets out to explore the entire UK Video Games Industry starting in the 1970’s, with interviews with all the key players, gameplay footage, and great anecdotes.
I remember a lot of what was covered in the film, hanging out in computer shops, typing in games listings from the back of magazines, getting the latest game and playing it with your mates – this is what got me into computers in the first place, and I have never looked back. We didn’t have the Internet back then so the only way to find out more about games or your favourite developers was to read about it in magazines like Crash! or Your Spectrum / Your Sinclair.
I don’t want to ruin any of the great stories so all I will say is that if you are a child of the 70’s or 80’s and you want to relive your youth you have to watch this, and if you are a little younger than that then this will be a great history lesson for you.
Anthony and Nicola Caulfield have done an amazing job on this film – it really took me back to my childhood and it’s easy to see that for them this was more than just making a film, it was a real passion. I for one can’t wait to see what they tackle next!
The film lasts over two hours, which seemed to fly by, there are lots of additional materials though, depending on which of the four editions you buy.
You can buy From Bedrooms to Billions now from FunStock.co.uk – do it, you won’t be disappointed.
