GAMES+museums
History and trends
Christopher Totten, Kaylin Lapan, and Drew Robarge
14:30 - 14:40: Introductions
14:40 - 15:00: Overview of noteworthy game events and exhibitionsPresented by Chris Totten, Kaylin Lapan, and Drew Robarge
15:00 - 15:15: Focus topic #1
15:15 - 15:30: Focus topic #2
15:30 - 15:45: Break
15:45 - 16:00: Part 2 Introductions
16:00 - 16:20: Curation overview Drew Robarge - Smithsonian American History Museum
16:20 - 16:40: Playing the museum: integrating games and play into exhibits American University Traverse team
16:40 - 17:00: Wrap
Christopher Totten
Executive Organizer Smithsonian American Art Museum Indie Arcade
Game Artist in Residence American University
Author An Architectural Approach to Level Design and Game Character Creation in Blender and Unity
Community organizer Washington, DC game community, IGDA DC
Kaylin Lapan
Executive Organizer Smithsonian American Art Museum Indie Arcade
New Media Programs Coordinator & Front-end Developer Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery
Exhibitions Watch This! Revelations in Media Art, 2015 & The Art of Video Games, 2012
Photo by: Tatiana Gulenkina, 2015
The Art of Video Games
Technology
1991Nam June Paik
Born: Seoul, Korea 1932Died: Miami Beach, Florida 200625 video monitors, 3 laser disc players with unique 3 discs in a cabinet of various materials 127 x 51 7/8 x 75 5/8 in. (322.6 x 131.7 x 192.1 cm.)Smithsonian American Art MuseumMuseum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment1994.29Not currently on view
Curator Chris Melissinos
Importance SAAM's record breaking, first venture into the world of video games.
Specs 20 gaming systems ranging from Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3 featuring 80 video games selected with help from the public. 5 games were playable.
Watch This!Revelations in Media Art
Technology
1991Nam June Paik
Born: Seoul, Korea 1932Died: Miami Beach, Florida 200625 video monitors, 3 laser disc players with unique 3 discs in a cabinet of various materials 127 x 51 7/8 x 75 5/8 in. (322.6 x 131.7 x 192.1 cm.)Smithsonian American Art MuseumMuseum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment1994.29Not currently on view
Curator Michael Mansfield
Importance Marked the acquisition of Flower and Halo 2600 into SAAM's permanent collection. First exhibition in which games are displayed on equal footing with pioneering artworks.
Specs Artworks displayed include Halo 2600 and Flower (both playable) alongside Martha Rosler's Semiotics of the Kitchen and Nam June Paik's recently discovered Etude 1
eGameRevolution
Curator J.P. Dyson
Institution The Strong Museum of Play
Importance Permanent exhibition of the largest video game collection in the world.
Specs John Romero’s first computer, Brown Box Replica, NES Stadium competition games
Museum of Modern Art
Curator Paola Antonelli
Institution Museum of Modern Art
Importance One of the early art museums to collect video games including original artwork
Specs Magnavox Odyssey, Tetris, Canabalt, Feng Mengbo’s Long March: Restart (2008)
Photo credit: MOMA
The Game Worlds of Jason Rohrer
Curator Michael Maizels
Institution Davis Museum at Wellesley College
Importance One of the first exhibitions to focus on a video game designer.
Specs Passage, Primrose, Inside a Star-filled Sky, Diamond Trust of London
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Indie Arcade
1 day event showcasing indie games
Classic gaming and game cover bands by MAGFest
1st year: Mid-Atlantic regional indie developers, 43 entries, 16 chosen games, ~4000 attendees
2nd year: International scope, 150+ entries, 32 chosen games, 11,750 attendees
Technology
Augmented Reality
What: Mobile applications recognize visual patterns in the real world and project digital information onto that image on the device screen.
Use: Adding supplementary information to exhibits. Making guides. Showing digital exhibits.
Potential: Scavenger hunts, game-like experiences in the museum, interactive stories.
Technology
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)
What: Uses radio waves to communicate between two objects (tag and reader) Tags typically hold user profiles.
Use: Adding information to exhibits customized to the user or adding scannable info to exhibit items.
Potential: Building game-like experiences where visitors can have custom profiles and/or characters.
Technology
Mobile and internet technology
What: Mobile applications connected to web or GPS data
Use: Adding supplementary information to exhibits. Making guides. Adding a digital storytelling layer to museum environments.
Potential: Scavenger hunts, game-like experiences in the museum, interactive stories, online visitor profiles, social media.
Play
Playground installations
What: Adding playful interactive installations where visitors are invited to physically engage the space.
Use: Design installations, many are commissioned by noteworthy designers (architects, etc.)
Potential: Environments designed like game levels with implicit “rules.”
Play
Game installations
What: Installations that are both games and art pieces
Use: Design installations with published rules of how to interact with it in a game-like way, often featuring a game master.
Potential: Playful engagement, community building, designing games with educational content.