The Art of Video Games
The Art of Video Games is an upcoming exhibition to be displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from March 16, 2012 through September 30, 2012. The exhibition is designed to highlight the evolution of art within the video game medium over its forty-year history. Following its time at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition will tour to other museums in the United States.
The exhibition currently is being planned by the museum. They have selected 240 games from across several different computing and video game platforms and genres, and allowed the public to vote for 80 that will be displayed through videos and screenshots in the exhibition galleries.
Purpose
The Art of Video Games is considered one of the first exhibition for video games to explore their artistic nature. The Smithsonian American Art Museum described the exhibition as "[exploring] the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies".[1] The exhibition aims to demonstrate the influence of art and popular culture on video games, and the subsequent reflection of video games on culture. The Smithsonian American Art Museum plans to highlight the impact of new technology on the creativity of video game developers.[1] Though "video games as art" has been a controversial subject, it is believed the exhibition will demonstrate that video games are an artistic medium.[2]
The exhibition curator is Chris Melissinos, who founded the Past Pixels organization to help preserve older video games. Initial planning of the exhibition began in late 2009.[3][4] Melissinos selected numerous video games across a forty-year time span that highlighted the art of video games through "their graphic excellence, artistic intent and innovative game design".[3] The list was narrowed to 240 games with help of an advisory board of experts, developers, and journalists in the field, including Brenda Brathwaite, Louis Castle, Ed Fries, Jerry Holkins, Chris Kohler, Mike Krahulik, Jennifer MacLean, Steve Meretzky, Ray Muzyka, David Perry, John Romero, Tim Schafer, Kellee Santiago, and Greg Zeschuk.[3][5] To select the games that would be put on display, the museum created an online voting application running from February 14, 2011 to April 17, 2011, allowing registered users to select one of three games from each featured console and each game genre, "Target", "Adventure", "Action" and "Combat/Strategy".[3] The games ultimately selected by the public will be displayed through video screens and artwork. Various stations will allow visitors to play some of the selected games. Alongside these, the exhibition will include video interviews and insights with video game industry leaders, such as David Crane, Warren Robinett, Kellee Santiago and David Jaffe.[6]
In addition to the exhibit, Melissinos worked alongside Patrick O'Rourke to create a 216-page book, The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect (ISBN 978-1-59962-110-4), to publish alongside the exhibit. The book will highlight all 240 games selected (as listed below) and interviews with key figures in the industry.[7]
Games exhibited
The following list of games are those that were selected by Melissinos and the advisory board for inclusion in the exhibition. The exhibition is divided into five chronological eras, showcasing platforms from within that era. For each platform, three games from each of four game genres have been initially selected for inclusion, with one game determined by the public voting to be part of the final exhibition.[3] The publicly selected games are indicated by bold text in the tables below.[8] In addition, playable versions of five additional games, selected by the committee and representing each era below, will be rotated throughout the exhibition run: respectively, these are Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower.[8]
Era 1: Start! (1970s - Early 1980's)
| Platform | Genre | Game | Year | year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari VCS | Target | Space Invaders | 1980 | |
| Missile Command | 1981 | |||
| Yars' Revenge | 1981 | |||
| Adventure | Adventure | 1980 | ||
| Pitfall! | 1982 | |||
| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | |||
| Action | Tunnel Runner | 1983 | ||
| Haunted House | 1981 | |||
| Pac-Man | 1981 | |||
| Combat/Strategy | Combat | 1977 | ||
| Star Raiders | 1979 | |||
| Video Chess | 1979 | |||
| Colecovision | Target | Carnival | 1982 | |
| Zaxxon | 1982 | |||
| Buck Rodgers: Planet of Doom | 1982 | |||
| Adventure | Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress | 1985 | ||
| Gateway to Apshai | 1983 | |||
| Pitfall II: Lost Caverns | 1984 | |||
| Action | Donkey Kong | 1982 | ||
| Jungle Hunt | 1983 | |||
| Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle | 1982 | |||
| Combat/Strategy | Evolution | 1982 | ||
| Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator | 1983 | |||
| Artillery Duel | 1983 | |||
| Intellivision | Target | Demon Attack | 1982 | |
| Star Strike | 1981 | |||
| Space Battle | 1979 | |||
| Adventure | Advanced Dungeons and Dragons | 1982 | ||
| Swords and Serpents | 1982 | |||
| Thunder Castle | 1986 | |||
| Action | Microsurgeon | 1982 | ||
| Tron: Maze-atron | 1982 | |||
| Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man | 1983 | |||
| Combat/Strategy | Armor Battle | 1977 | ||
| B-17 Bomber | 1982 | |||
| Utopia | 1981 |
Era 2: 8-bit (1983-1989)
Era 3: Bit Wars! (1989-1994)
| Platform | Genre | Game | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Genesis | Target | Gunstar Heroes | 1993 |
| Viewpoint | 1992 | ||
| Ranger X | 1993 | ||
| Adventure | Phantasy Star IV | 1993 | |
| Flashback: The Quest for Identity | 1992 | ||
| Shining Force 2 | 1993 | ||
| Action | Earthworm Jim | 1994 | |
| Sonic CD | 1993 | ||
| Michael Jackson's Moonwalker | 1990 | ||
| Combat/Strategy | Herzog Zwei | 1990 | |
| Dune II: Battle for Arrakis | 1994 | ||
| Nobunaga's Ambition | 1986 | ||
| Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
Target | Gradius III | 1990 |
| Star Fox | 1993 | ||
| Super Smash TV | 1991 | ||
| Adventure | Chrono Trigger | 1995 | |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | 1991 | ||
| Earthbound | 1995 | ||
| Action | Super Star Wars | 1992 | |
| Super Mario World | 1991 | ||
| Donkey Kong Country | 1994 | ||
| Combat/Strategy | SimCity | 1989 | |
| Syndicate | 1993 | ||
| Act Raiser | 1990 |
Era 4: Transition (1995-2002)
Era 5: Next Generation (2003-current)
External links
- Smithsonian American Art Museum The Art of Video Games exhibition information
- The Art of Video Games voting site
- The Art Of Video Games: From Pac-Man To Mass Effect book website
- Past Pixels
References
- ↑ a b Exhibitions: The Art of Video Games. Smithsonian American Art Museum, abgerufen am 16. Februar 2011.
- ↑ Chad Sapieha: Smithsonian shines spotlight on video game art. In: The Globe and Mail. 17. Februar 2011.
- ↑ a b c d e Kyle Orland: Smithsonian American Art Museum Opens Public Vote On Game-Centered Exhibit. Gamasutra, 14. Februar 2011, abgerufen am 16. Februar 2011.
- ↑ Chris Faylor: Smithsonian Planning 'Art of Video Games' Exhibit. Shacknews, 7. Dezember 2009, abgerufen am 17. Februar 2011.
- ↑ Art of Video Games – Advisory Group. Past Pixels, abgerufen am 16. Februar 2011.
- ↑ Evan Narcisse: Level Up!: Pick Which Video Games Get Shown at the Smithsonian In: Time, 16. Februar 2011
- ↑ William Usher: The Art Of Video Games: From Pac-Man To Mass Effect Coming This March. Cinema Blend, 30. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 30. Januar 2012.
- ↑ a b The Art of Video Games Voting Result. (PDF) The Smithsonian Institute, 5. Mai 2011, abgerufen am 5. Mai 2011.