BBC’s Click is celebrating today with an interactive edition of their tech show Click, fronted by Spencer Kelly. There are some fascinating news stories, some fun bits and towards the end a brilliant chat with long time SpecialEffect supporter Ian Livingstone.
The experience is had in a web-browser using a point-and-click interface. I tested with no problems on a Windows PC and Chrome browser. Once started, you will get prompts to choose between two or three options as to what to do next. This should work well with touch-pad devices, head-trackers, eye-gaze and other mouse pointer accessible devices. You do have to respond within a time-limit but it is possible to pause and rewind the current segment.
Options are limited to what to delve into, and how deep, but the choices are compelling (at least I found them so). There’s stories on self-driving cars, lorries and diggers. You can take a ride if you like. You can talk to local people affected by new technology. There’s fun stories. There’s a bit on the history of “Fighting Fantasy” choose your own adventure games, Tomb Raider and more. Loved that bit.
If you’re 15 or older you may also enjoy Charlie Brooker’s brilliant Bandersnatch interactive fiction on Netflix, which works in a very similar way but is much more of a game.
So delighted to share details of our 1,000th show!!! Choose what YOU want to watch in a very special and fully interactive episode #click1000 pic.twitter.com/hBE1XppuGJ
— BBC Click (@BBCClick) July 5, 2019
Click Interactive 1000 Furious Wizard raises staff in anger at Spencer Kelly who has stolen his hat. Options: Keep the hat. Return the hat. Three options. Let’s take a ride! Meet the locals. The Uber crash. Two options from the cockpit of a huge tipper lorry. Let’s ride! or Explore the tech. View from inside a huge tipper lorry. Yellow tipper lorry in a dusty quarry. Young girl in bed looking towards a blue and green soft teddy bear. Options: Next story or How does Huggable help? Image of Deathtrap Dungeon adventure game book with notes on how it was made. Options: Stay in the office or Visit Ian’s House. Image of Spencer Kelly with Ian Livingstone in his kitchen looking at a map of an adventure game book. Three options: See more of Ian’s maps. To the games room. I’ve seen enough thanks. Ian Livingstone’s gamesroom witha big Jimmy Hendrix poster. Lara Croft models. A computer desk. Floor to ceiling shelving full of game boxes.
