The Art of Video Games Exhibition - Coming to a Museum Near You!

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has an impressive collection, and video games are some of the most recent additions.  The study and preservation of video games as an artistic medium is now a part of the museum's Film and Media Arts Initiative.  The Art of Video Games exhibition took place at the museum in 2012, and set off for a tour of museums around the U.S.  (See below.)

The following video trailer provides a brief overview of some of the video games included in the exhibition:


A few quotes from the Art of Video Games trailer:

"Games are so much more than just code that runs inside of a computer.  You are looking at the output of passion, of love, of art, and the people who create these games." - Chris Melissinos, Curator, The Art of Video Games

"One of the things that is really fun with games is the whole idea of the playful mind…and how can we make games surprise you." - Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari

"You don't need technology to create feelings, and love, and fear, and hate, and passion…you need great storytelling." -Jen MacLean, Video game developer


The trailer and photo below are from "Flower", the first video game included in the museum's collection.  Flower was created by Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago (ThatGameCompany).  It is a delightful, stress-reducing game - and one of my favorites.

Credit: Sony Entertainment/Smithsonian American Art Museum, Via NPR

(I first learned about Jenova Chen's work when he was a student at UCS's School of Cinema and Television. At the time, he wrote his MFA thesis on the topic of "Flow in Games", building on psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihali's theory of flow.  Part of his MFA work included the game "Cloud", which was available for free download.  I found the game to be very useful in my worked with teens who were considered "at-risk" or who had special needs.)

MoMA and Video Games
The Smithsonian isn't the only place where video games are curated.  The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has invested in a number of video games, supported by Paola Antonelli, the MoMA's senior curator of architecture and design.  

"The real core issue of interaction design is behavior.  Designers that deal with interaction design behaviors that go to influence the rest of our lives. They're not just limited to our interaction with the screen…" -Paola Antonelli

The following TED-Talk video explains the rationale behind MoMA's video game curation efforts.  It is worth taking the time to watch!


National Tour: The Art of Video Games 

Present:

Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York 

(October 25, 2013–January 19, 2014) 

Upcoming:
Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York 

(February 15, 2014–May 18, 2014) 

Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio 

(June 19, 2014–September 28, 2014) 

Flint Institute of Arts in Flint, Michigan 

(October 25, 2014–January 18, 2015) 

Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia 

(February 13, 2015–May 10, 2015) 

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, Tennessee 

(June 6, 2015–September 13, 2015) 

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami, Florida (October 9, 2015–January 25, 2016) 

Past venues:

Boca Raton Museum of Art in Boca Raton, Florida 

(October 24, 2012–January 13, 2013) 

EMP Museum in Seattle, Washington 

(February 16, 2013–May 13, 2013) 

Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona 

(June 16, 2013—September 29, 2013) 

Here is a description of the original Art of Video Games exhibition:

"The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium. The games are presented through still images and video footage. In addition, the galleries will include video interviews with twenty developers and artists, large prints of in-game screen shots, and historic game consoles. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition..." -Smithsonian American Art Museum

RELATED
Video Games: Now A Part of American ARt's Collection
Eye Level, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 12/17/13

The Art of Video Games Give Video Games Bonus Life, But the Next Level Awaits

April Fehling, NPR All Tech Considered, 12/22/13

The Art of Video Games (Exhibit website, Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Book: The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect (Chris Melissinos, Patrick O'Rourke

Film and Media Arts Initiative, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Games to lift stress away:  Flower, flOw, (and Cloud), from thatgamecompany
Lynn Marentette, Interactive Multimedia Technology Blog, 8/15/09
That Game Company  "Our Mission:  Create timeless interactive entertainment that makes positive change to the human psyche world wide."   Hiring!
Video Games: 14 in the Collection, for Starters
Paola Antonelli, Inside/Out, MoMA PS1Blog
Video Games: Seven More Building Blocks in MoMA's Collection
Paul Galloway, Inside/Out PS1Blog, 6/28/13
'All Hell Broke Loose': Why MoMA Is Exhibiting Tetris and Pac-Man

Games to lift stress away: Flower, flOw, (and Cloud), from thatgamecompany

As I set out to revisit some of my early posts on this blog, I came across a link to a review the Flower game, created for the Playstation 3 by Jenova Chen, Kellee Santiago, and other members of thatgamecompany. It is good to know that this group continues to work towards the goal of creating innovative games that provide gaming experiences that are calming, pleasant to use, and are unlike most game genres.



Flower (Credit: IGN)

"Supported HD Output: 720p, 1080i, 1080p- From the same developers that brought you the serene flOw comes Flower, whose gameplay has players guiding a flower petal across gorgeously rendered fields and plains, replete with individually modeled leaves of grass that blow and sway in the wind. Colorful, peaceful, and exhillerating, Flower is a difficult game to describe, and simply must be experienced in all it’s HD beauty to truly be appreciated. A real gem."

(Flower is played with the Sixaxis wireless game controller that can sense motions and provide precision in interactive game play. The Sixaxis was recently replaced by Duoalshock 3, which provides motion sensing and rumble. I'm not sure if the new controller works with Flower.)

The following video review by Pete Dorr won't give enough details about the game to spoil it for you. Go ahead and watch the review!


Since I don't have a PS3 (yet), I'm sharing a couple of reviews of Flower that I found on the IGN website:

"thatgamecompany's mellow, beautiful adventure through the dreams of plants starts out so disarmingly pleasant that one would be forgiven for assuming it's just a game about flying around and picking up flower petals. It's not until one experiences the couple-hour experience from beginning to end (preferably with 5.1 audio, the lights off and no human distractions) that the game really gets its emotional hooks into you. Without ever introducing a single line of dialogue, any characters (at least in the traditional sense) or clear goals, Flower takes you on a ride that's over far too soon, yet somehow seems just right for what it's trying to do: suck you into a world without the usual video game trappings while playing with your emotions in a way no amount of manufactured tear-jerk dialogue or surprise deaths ever could. It really is unlike anything else you'll ever play and stands as one of the best (if not the best) examples of SixAxis motion controls on the PS3."

Who knew the meaning of life could be so simple?
(Ryan Clements, IGN)

"thatgamecompany has depicted something that I never once imagined: what would a flower's dream look like if we could see it? Flower, a PS3 downloadable that comes as a spiritual successor to flOw, is one of the most beautiful games that I've ever played. Not just because the visuals are entirely breathtaking, but also because the experience of playing it offers more enjoyment, emotion and enlightenment than any game I've tried in years."

"Before you read on, keep in mind that Flower isn't quite for everyone. There will be those that experiment with it but won't see the point, as it strays so far from the traditional spectrum of gameplay systems, but it's truly worth playing...Flower is a poem, where you as the player participate in the dreams of flowers confined to the ever-changing landscape of a colorless city. Each dream, or stage, revolves around a different theme and gameplay objective, but your method of control remains the same: tilt the controller to direct a series of flower petals through beautiful environments. Press any button to stir up a wind that will coax them along. As you begin with one flower petal, you'll soon touch other flowers and gather more petals, generally influencing the environment in a way that pleases the dreamer. This setup works amazingly well to create varying tasks for you to enjoy..."

Flower was listed as one one of the best games for the Playstation 3 for HDTV, along with a flOw, a 2006 game from the same company:

Best Playstation 3 Games For Showing Off Your New HDTV




flOw
"Supported HD Output: 720p, 1080i, 1080p- Calm, serene, and beautiful in it’s simplicity, flOw was one of the first PSN titles released when the Playstation 3 launched in November 2006, and it’s still a gorgeous work of art. From the calming music, to the simple gameplay, flOw proves that you don’t need high resolution textures and thousands of animations to produce a beautiful image."

"FlOw is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and advance their organisms to the abyss."

I came across Cloud about four years ago, when I was looking for non-violent games that could support relaxation and stress-reduction. Cloud was created by some of the members of thatgamecompany when they were students at UCS.

I later posted about how I used the game in in my work as a school psychologist:

CLOUD GAME*

Cloud is a relaxing, nonviolent game, created by graduate students at USC. The character, a child, flies around, collecting clouds and putting them into puzzles in the sky. The music is very soothing. The game is free and can be downloaded through the website. This game could be used to help relax students with anxiety disorders, Asperger syndrome, etc., develop coping strategies. Here is the link to the Cloud video trailer.

(I use the Cloud Game as a form of crisis intervention with students undergoing high level of agitation and stress at the middle and high school level.)

Below is a video of the Cloud game, which was designed for use on a computer. It still appears to be available for free from the USC website.


FlOw was Jenova Chen's MFA Thesis, built upon Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi's Flow Theory:

"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

The game went on to become an award-winning PS3 game. The early web-based version of flOw is free, and some of the gameplay can be done using your finger on a touch screen. The music is relaxing, almost hypnotic.




Why this is important:

There is a need for games that can be used for relaxation, as most commercial games focus on action and thrills, often delivered through violence.

(Pictures and videos are from the IGN website, YouTube, and related websites.)