Smithsonian Holds Vote On Video Games For Exhibit

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian American Art Museum is asking the public to help select video games that will be included in its first exhibit to explore the art and visual effects of gaming.

The exhibit, "The Art of Video Games," is scheduled to open in March 2012 with a focus on the evolution of games as an artistic medium over the past 40 years.

The public can vote online through April 7. Voters can choose 80 games from a pool of 240 choices in various categories. The games on the site were chosen for their graphic appeal, artistic intent and innovative game designs. Results will be posted in May.

The winning games will be displayed at the museum next year as screen shots or short video clips.

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Online:

Smithsonian American Art Museum : http://www.artofvideogames.org/

Comments

[Aliceann Marquiess]

09:45 PM on 02/22/2011

Very cool. Going through all of those games brought back a lot of good memories.

[DRaymond]

06:53 PM on 02/22/2011

I e-mailed the museum to comment that they had really dropped the ball in having an exhibit on video game art and not include Myst.
 
They replied that Myst was one of the games that would be playable in the exhibit. and thus was not included in the vote.
 
So if you are thinking the same thing about some other missing game it could be the same reason.

[JasonMcl]

08:26 PM on 02/22/2011

They are missing world of goo as well, that would be a tragedy to not include it.

[DRaymond]

09:36 PM on 02/21/2011

When I saw the name of the exhibit one game came to mind, but because of their classifications and time periods it was not available as a choice so I am very disappointed in the curators.
 
The game I am thinking of is Myst.
 
How can you talk about groundbreaking art in video games and not include Myst?

[jparso3]

10:08 PM on 02/21/2011

one of the most unrated games ever

[DRaymond]

01:13 AM on 02/22/2011

I guess you mean underrated, but hardly so. it was a critical and commercial blockbuster.  It was truly amazing for 1993 technology.  Apart from its astounding beauty it showed how immersive the first person viewpoint could be.  Most games in 1993 were isometric 3rd person views or side-scrollers.

[RutherfordLaser]

10:16 PM on 02/21/2011

I was pretty disappointed in their choices as well. It looks more like the dollar bin than a list of groundbreaking games.

[JasonMcl]

08:46 PM on 02/21/2011

The limitations of posting here and my lack of foresight have basically put my posts out of order.

But I will sum up here:

This is a brave and fantastic exhibit, because there are a lot of people who do not consider this medium art because they have not experienced anything but the mainstream titles.

When motion pictures were first invented, there were undoubtedly people out there that believed that they could never be considered art. This has since been disproven and movies are widely celebrated and cherished as not only great art, but also an integral part of our culture.

These video games below are products of passion that inspire passion in others. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so not everyone will see them in the same way that gamers see them.

But do not doubt that there are a lot of people who have made these games a part of themselves just as they will make themselves a part of history.

The Games I have chosen as examples below are:

Planescape Torment
World of Goo
Portal
Zelda III

Other examples would be:

Shadow of the Colossus
Valkyria Chronicles
Final Fantasy 10 \ 6 \ 7
Half Life 2
Super Mario Brothers 3

[RutherfordLaser]

07:41 PM on 02/21/2011

Chrono Trigger had better be there.

[JasonMcl]

08:30 PM on 02/22/2011

It is and I voted for it :D

[JasonMcl]

07:39 PM on 02/21/2011

Zelda III: A link to the past: Adventure Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFvCpRyE7Jc

Fun.

This is no more than an example of an extremely well made game from the early 90's. It is simple, creative and people who have played this game favor it over the flashy 3d sequels. The game just had all the right elements in all the right places.

Games like this are still widely played even to this day thanks to Emulators and they can be played on almost every mobile device. It is difficult to describe just how fun and creative this game is overall, it is something that I keep going back to over and over again.

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Portal: Action Puzzle Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w

Innovation.

Portal is a fantastic puzzle game. It is relatively short and a sharp mind will beat it in just a few hours. But it is something that most people will always remember. Portal has you trapped in an abandoned science facility and places you at the whims of a malicious AI tasked with testing an experimental "Portal gun". The game is considered a masterpiece because although it is a shooting game, you go though the entire game without riring a single bullet.

Instead you are forced to out-think your opponents and use your wits not firepower, to survive. This non-violet approach sets the game on a higher level and its quirky, passive-aggressive AI opponent has esured its place in history.

[JasonMcl]

07:37 PM on 02/21/2011

I am pleased to see this. It is important for people to know that Video games can exist as an art medium and that not all games are mindless call of duty shooting galleries.

I would like to show you 5.

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World of Goo: Puzzle Physics Game
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22000/ (ipad version too).

Atmosphere.

This game is undeniably visual art. The experience is just downright chilling but it is also very approachable and casual game and doesn't require a tremendous amount of skill or time.

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Planescape Torment: RPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape_torment

Depth.

This game is estimated to have 800,000 lines of dialogue and most of those depend on how you choose to play the game. Your character is on a path to discovery, he awakens in a morgue and finds he cannot permanently die. And every death takes a little bit more of himself.

The more intelligent and wise your character is in-game and the more you pry into the world around you as the player, determines the amount your character discovers about himself and the amount you learn of the actual game.

People who play and understand the game develop a fairly strong bond with it because what you get out of the game is directly related to your intellectual ability. Understanding it completely, without outside help, is the mark of a VERY inquisitive and creative mind.