Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

'The Art of Video Games' Exhibition Opens

Posted by Soulskill on from the it's-a-me,-michaelangelo dept.

bednarz writes "The Smithsonian's 'Art of Video Games' exhibition opens today. To kick it off, they're holding a three-day festival with panel discussions, live action gaming, and crafting activities. 'Video games allow us as human beings to explore our dreams, our fears, our thoughts, our morals, and engage with each other in a way that no other medium allows us to. I find that inspiring and beautiful, and I am so happy to be alive during this time. We are going to experience, I think, one of the greatest surges of artistic intent in human history, and I believe that the majority of it will come through video games,' said Chris Melissinos, former Sun exec and guest curator of the new exhibition."

6 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Art by busyqth · · Score: 3, Funny

    We are going to experience, I think, one of the greatest surges of artistic intent in human history, and I believe that the majority of it will come through video games,'

    It's true. Duke Nukem is so... so... beautiful! *snif*

    1. Re:Art by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      I planted Mona Lisa's face in my crops in farmville, then recreated the scene in minecraft!!!

      Actually I said that sarcastically, but that would be kind of cool. I retroactively take back the sarcasm.

    2. Re:Art by justforgetme · · Score: 2

      Well it's better than looking at some "random" naked fat lady that sold for 124M £

      --
      -- no sig today
  2. List of Games... by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

    Where the heck is the Apple ][ category ... no Oregon Trail, Choplifter, Lode Runner, Rescue Raiders, Karateka (the first game to have cut scenes), nor Conan ???

    *sniff* no Loom, Monkey Island, Guardian Heroes. :-/ Nice to see Rez, and Shadows of the Colossus though.

    i.e.
    * Although there isn't much to do in Shadow of the Colossus other than
    killing the colossi and sightseeing, you'll find yourself captivated
    enough by the scenery to sink hours into just wandering around the
    place and drinking in the beauty of the setting. Scenery Porn at its
    finest. [ http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SceneryPorn ]

    http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/games/featuredgames/

    * Atari VCS
    Pac-Man (Action), Space Invaders (Target), Pitfall! (Adventure), Combat® (Tactics)

    * ColecoVision
    Donkey Kongâ (Action), Zaxxon (Target), Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (Adventure), Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (Tactics)

    * Intellivision
    TRON: MazeâAtron (Action), Star Strike (Target), Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Adventure), Utopia (Tactics)

    * Commodore 64
    Jumpman (Action), Attack of the Mutant Camels (Target), The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate (Adventure), Pirates! (Tactics)

    * Nintendo Entertainment System
    Super Mario Brothers 3 (Action), 1943: The Battle of Midway (Target), The Legend of Zelda (Adventure), Desert Commander (Tactics)

    * SEGA Master System
    Marble Madness (Action), After Burner (Target), Phantasy Star (Adventure), Spy vs Spy (Tactics)

    * SEGA Genesis
    Earthworm Jim (Action), Gunstar Heroes (Target), Phantasy Star IV (Adventure), Dune II: Battle for Arrakis (Tactics)

    * Super Nintendo Entertainment System
    Super Mario World (Action), Star Foxâ (Target), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Adventure), SimCity (Tactics)

    * SEGA Saturn
    Tomb Raider (Action), Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei (Target), Panzer Dragoon Saga (Adventure), SimCity 2000 (Tactics)

    * DOS/Windows
    DOOM II (Action), Diablo II (Target), Fallout (Adventure), StarCraft (Tactics)

    * PlayStation
    Metal Gear Solid (Action), Einhander (Target), Final Fantasy VII (Adventure), Final Fantasy Tactics (Tactics)

    * Nintendo 64
    Super Mario 64 (Action), Star Fox 64* (Target), The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Adventure), Worms Armageddon (Tactics)

    * SEGA Dreamcast
    Sonic Adventure (Action), Rez (Target), Shenmue (Adventure), ChuChu Rocket! (Tactics)

    * PlayStation 2
    Shadow of the Colossus (Action), Gradius V (Target), ÅOEkami (Adventure), Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Tactics)

    * Microsoft XBox
    Halo 2 (Action), Panzer Dragoon Orta (Target), Fable (Adventure), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Tactics)

    * Nintendo GameCube
    Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Action), Star Foxâ: Assault (Target), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Adventure), Pikmin 2 (Tactics)

    * Modern Windows
    Portal (Action), flOw (Target), Fallout 3 (Adventure), Minecraft (Tactics)

    * Microsoft XBox 360
    Bioshock (Action), Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Target), Mass Effect 2 (Adventure), Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (Tactics)

    * Nintendo Wii
    Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Action),

    1. Re:List of Games... by pjt33 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Where the heck is the Apple ][ category

      The categories were selected based on number of units sold. That's why there's no Amiga category either.

    2. Re:List of Games... by pjt33 · · Score: 2

      The curator is Chris M, who used to be the Sun exec trying to push Java in the gaming world, and IIRC collects arcade games. So it wasn't a typical art critic who did the initial selection.

      His shortlist was then put up for public vote to select one game each in a Cartesian product of four vaguely-defined genres and a number of platforms, so some gamers were involved in the selection.

      Of course, the problem with involving gamers is that there's an inherent bias towards better known games, so more interesting but lesser known ones didn't make the final cut.