Posted on 02/28/2013 9:40:23 AM PST by nickcarraway
New York's Museum of Modern Art will unveil for the first time its newly acquired video game collection on Friday, helping to feed a growing nostalgia for classic games and the arcades that once housed them.
Fourteen games will be installed in the museum's Philip Johnson Galleries including: Pac-Man (1980), Tetris (1984), Another World (1991), Myst (1993), SimCity 2000 (1994), vib-ribbon (1999), The Sims (2000), Katamari Damacy (2004), EVE Online (2003), Dwarf Fortress (2006), Portal (2007), flOw (2006), Passage (2008) and Canabalt (2009). Games were chosen according to a variety of criteria including visual quality, elegance of the code and design of playing behavior.
Games, more than half of which will be playable, will be displayed on screens affixed to gallery walls, says Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the MoMA's department of architecture and design. Although controllers will be available for use, consoles will be hidden "to minimize any visual noise," Antonelli tells Mashable.
Traffic flow presents an interesting challenge for the exhibit's curators. Games that are likely to be heavily played, such as Pac-Man, have been strategically placed near entrances and exits. Demos have been developed for games that require a significant amount of time to learn, such as EVE Online and Dwarf Fortress, so that visitors can take them in and move on. "We don't want the same person to stay in front of a screen for an hour," Antonelli explains.
The 14 games are part of a list of 40 the MoMA intends to acquire in the near future. According to Antonelli, the museum in 2006 began to rethink its design collection to include forms beyond posters, records and other traditional media. First, the museum went about acquiring 23 digital fonts and then moved on to games, seeking out experts in both fields to come up with acquisition lists.
The games will remain on display until January of next year.
Good for EVE Online. I play it (almost) just to watch the purty graphics and ‘splosions.
What, no Duke Nukem?
“Classic”????? Please.
My Midway Duckhunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BThG-u8SWA
and Chicago Coin Blue Max
are classics.
No quarters for me though, I got the keys hehehe.
Where’s Space Invaders, Pong and Donkey Kong??
I wouldn't put any of yours on that list.
What about “Leisure Suit Larry?” Top of the line EGA graphics!
Mark
Why no SOCOM? Why no Starship Troopers online?
Hate to think how many quarters I put in Galaxia
Well,Pac-Man too.
No Diablo II?
“NOT EVEN DEATH CAN SAVE YOU FROM ME!”
Spent more than a few rolls of quarters on “Defender”!
Friend of mine owned an arcade, when he sold out I bought a full sized version of it for our home game room...
Darn thing still works after thirty years!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.