Birmingham is often one of the UK’s forgotten cities when it comes to history with only shows like Peaky Blinders throwing a light on how pivotal the city was to so many art forms and industries that made the United Kingdom what it is today.
One of those forgotten histories is the role the city played in the ongoing revolution of online games, many of which have either passed through Brum or were designed there by gaming pioneers whose names will only grow in prominence as the years go by.
Here we look at exactly how the city of Birmingham has played such a key role in making online games what they are today, with everything from one-off stories that have gone down in gaming folklore, to individual Brummies who made their mark on the realm of gaming.
Classic Games Make Headlines in Birmingham
Classic games that have been centuries in the making have certainly been ever present in Birmingham’s history and this is evidenced in the number of high-quality gaming establishments that exist within the city limits where everything from chess to table games can be played. It was at one of these venues that a brilliant story emerged involving famous illusionist Derren Brown, who one night in 2013 had been entertaining a crowd at a local gaming hall’s events space, before then hitting the tables himself later in the evening.
The tale goes that Brown left the premises having wowed casino goers with his blackjack skills. The story has gone down in the history of this famous old game, which Brown played to such a high level that casino floor bosses asked that he leave the establishment. It’s unclear if the whole thing was a publicity stunt or if Brown was just too good at the game for his own good.
US Gold – Defunct but Not Forgotten
Right at the outset of the online gaming revolution, some of the industry’s shining lights were tiny independent development studios and publishers, which pushed the boundaries of what was possible on a gaming screen.
One of those companies was Birmingham-based US Gold, whose founder Geoff Brown played a key role in developing seminal titles such as Ace of Aces, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game, and Street Fighter. Eventually the company was swallowed up by Eidos Interactive who moved their operations away from Birmingham, but old-school gaming fans still remember that US Gold, from Witton, were at the heart of some of the most recognizable gaming brands ever conceived. The company even won the prestigious Golden Joystick Awards in 1988, cementing themselves as legends of the industry.
Brum Uni – Connecting Society with Online Games
So far, we have seen that Birmingham is jam-packed with gaming stories that will go down in the annals of gaming history as well as boasting some of online gaming’s founding mothers and fathers. What few people realize, though, is that when it comes to online gaming academia, few can compete with Birmingham University’s Dr. Alex Wade, whose specialty is examining how video games have shaped society and vice versa. He regularly publishes peer reviewed pieces that shed light on little-known niches of the gaming universe and therefore keeps Birmingham at the cutting edge of gaming theory and thinking.
Part of a wider Midlands Tradition
More so than anywhere else in the UK, the Midlands is rife with game development and design talent, much of which stems from cities like Birmingham, Leicester, and Nottingham. The latter once played home to the excellent Retro Arcade Gaming Museum. There are also established companies like Rare, Codemasters, and VooFoo studios who continue to churn out world class titles in the area, with no sign of them slowing anytime soon.
