This might help settle the debate on whether video games should be considered art: An initial batch of 14 video games is zapping its way into the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
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Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design, said the 14 are part of an initial wish list of about 40 games to be acquired soon.
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"We are very proud to announce that MoMA has acquired a selection of 14 video games, the seedbed for an initial wish list of about 40 to be acquired in the near future, as well as for a new category of artworks in MoMA?s collection that we hope will grow in the future," she said.?
She said this acquisition will allow MoMA to study, preserve, and exhibit video games as part of its Architecture and Design collection.
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The initial group, to be installed in the Museum?s Philip Johnson Galleries in March 2013, includes:
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- 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)
- Canabalt (2009)
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Other games the MoMA is planning to acquire soon include:
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- Spacewar! (1962)
- games for the Magnavox Odyssey console (1972)
- Pong (1972)
- Snake (originally designed in the 1970s; Nokia phone version dates from 1997)
- Space Invaders (1978)
- Asteroids (1979)
- Zork (1979)
- Tempest (1981)
- Donkey Kong (1981)
- Yars? Revenge (1982)
- M.U.L.E. (1983)
- Core War (1984)
- Marble Madness (1984)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- The Legend of Zelda (1986)
- NetHack (1987)
- Street Fighter II (1991)
- Chrono Trigger (1995)
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
- Grim Fandango (1998)
- Animal Crossing (2001)
- Minecraft (2011)
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Are video games art?
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Antonelli said video games are not only "art" but are also design, adding MoMA selected the for its collection as "outstanding examples of interaction design."
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She said that in the past year and a half, MoMA had sought the advice of scholars, digital conservation and legal experts, historians, and critics in forming the wish list.
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"Our criteria, therefore, emphasize not only the visual quality and aesthetic experience of each game, but also the many other aspects?from the elegance of the code to the design of the player?s behavior?that pertain to interaction design," she said.
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Design criteria
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Antonelli said the central interaction design traits that the museum privileged are:
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- Behavior: scenarios, rules, stimuli, incentives, and narratives
- Aesthetics
- Space
- Time
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Acquisition procedure
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MoMA?s acquisition process includes:
- obtaining copies of the games? original software format (cartridges or discs) and hardware (consoles or computers) whenever possible.
- acquiring the source code in the language in which it was written, so as to be able to translate it in the future.
- requesting corroborating technical documentation, and possibly an annotated report of the code by the original designer or programmer.
- working out the complex rights situation.
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Antonelli said MoMA?s general counsel is in deep negotiations with the publishers.
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"Of course, what we acquire depends on each game, how it is best represented, and how it will be shown in the galleries. If the duration of the game is short enough, the game itself could be made playable in its entirety," she said.
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If the game is too complex or too time-consuming to be experienced as an interactive display in the galleries, MoMA will create a video akin to a demo, in which the concept and characters of the game are laid out. ? TJD, GMA News
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