A feature-length documentary entitled GoldenEra is scheduled to release on June 27th, giving nostalgic fans a closer look at the making of the Nintendo 64’s iconic GoldenEye 007 game.
Inside the documentary, viewers will “learn how a young and inexperienced team at UK development studio Rare were handed the James Bond licence, before making a game that would change the medium forever when it was released”.
GoldenEye is revered as a modern classic. Released in an age where ‘movie licences’ made notoriously poor games (where 90% of the budget was spent on securing the rights, leaving 10% to cover off the development of the game) it surprised everyone by being pretty much perfect.
This first person shooter – which borrows locations and themes from the movie but pretty much takes the Bond licence and runs with it – coined many of the tropes and features present in every quality first person shooter to date.
Behind the scenes
The documentary is set to feature insights from the original GoldenEye 007 team, and members of the gaming press that covered the game on its release way back in 1997. It will also touch base with a lot of the fans who played the game 25 years ago who talk about its resulting impact.
GoldenEra director Drew Roller said, “GoldenEye 007 wasn’t just an obsession for me in the late 1990s; it inspired my career, and continues to influence me to this day… And it didn’t just influence who I am – through speaking to so many game industry experts, it’s clear it informed a lot of other careers.”
“And perhaps more so, the game went on to shape titles that have become phenomena of popular culture, such as Call of Duty and Halo. Equally, GoldenEye 007 introduced design conventions now standard in countless successful titles. When you play a game today, there’s almost certainly some GoldenEye 007 DNA in there. That’s what makes this story so important to tell.”
GoldenEra will be available to watch on Altitude.Film as well as other digital platforms in the UK and Ireland from June 27th.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
