A more in-depth look at examples of games in museum spaces.

1. GAMES+
museums
History and trends
Christopher Totten, Kaylin Lapan, and Drew Robarge

2. 14:30 - 14:40: Introductions
14:40 - 15:00: Overview of noteworthy game events and exhibitions
Presented by Chris Totten, Kaylin Lapan, and Drew Robarge
15:00 - 15:15: Focus topic #1
15:15 - 15:30: Focus topic #2
15:30 - 15:45: Break
15:45 - 16:00: Part 2 Introductions
16:00 - 16:20: Curation overview
Drew Robarge - Smithsonian American History Museum
16:20 - 16:40: Playing the museum: integrating games and play into
exhibits American University Traverse team
16:40 - 17:00: Wrap

3. Christopher Totten
Executive Organizer Smithsonian
American Art Museum Indie Arcade
Game Artist in Residence
American University
Author An Architectural Approach to Level
Design and Game Character Creation in
Blender and Unity
Community organizer Washington,
DC game community, IGDA DC

4. Kaylin Lapan
Executive Organizer Smithsonian
American Art Museum Indie Arcade
New Media Programs
Coordinator & Front-end
Developer Smithsonian American Art
Museum and Renwick Gallery
Exhibitions Watch This! Revelations in
Media Art, 2015 & The Art of Video Games,
2012
Photo by: Tatiana Gulenkina, 2015

7. The Art of Video
Games
Technology
1991
Nam June Paik
Born: Seoul, Korea 1932
Died: Miami Beach, Florida 2006
25 video monitors, 3 laser disc
players with unique 3 discs in a
cabinet of various materials 127
x 51 7/8 x 75 5/8 in. (322.6 x 131.7
x 192.1 cm.)Smithsonian
American Art Museum
Museum purchase through the
Luisita L. and Franz H.
Denghausen Endowment
1994.29
Not currently on view
Curator Chris Melissinos
Importance SAAM's record breaking,
first venture into the world of video games.
Specs 20 gaming systems ranging from
Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3 featuring 80
video games selected with help from the
public. 5 games were playable.

8. Watch This!
Revelations in
Media Art
Technology
1991
Nam June Paik
Born: Seoul, Korea 1932
Died: Miami Beach, Florida 2006
25 video monitors, 3 laser disc
players with unique 3 discs in a
cabinet of various materials 127
x 51 7/8 x 75 5/8 in. (322.6 x 131.7
x 192.1 cm.)Smithsonian
American Art Museum
Museum purchase through the
Luisita L. and Franz H.
Denghausen Endowment
1994.29
Not currently on view
Curator Michael Mansfield
Importance Marked the acquisition of
Flower and Halo 2600 into SAAM's
permanent collection. First exhibition in
which games are displayed on equal
footing with pioneering artworks.
Specs Artworks displayed include Halo
2600 and Flower (both playable) alongside
Martha Rosler's Semiotics of the Kitchen
and Nam June Paik's recently discovered
Etude 1

9. eGameRevolution
Curator J.P. Dyson
Institution The Strong Museum of Play
Importance Permanent exhibition of
the largest video game collection in the
world.
Specs John Romero’s first computer,
Brown Box Replica, NES Stadium
competition games

10. Museum of Modern
Art
Curator Paola Antonelli
Institution Museum of Modern Art
Importance One of the early art
museums to collect video games including
original artwork
Specs Magnavox Odyssey, Tetris,
Canabalt, Feng Mengbo’s Long March:
Restart (2008)
Photo credit: MOMA

11. The Game Worlds
of Jason Rohrer
Curator Michael Maizels
Institution Davis Museum at Wellesley
College
Importance One of the first exhibitions
to focus on a video game designer.
Specs Passage, Primrose, Inside a Star-
filled Sky, Diamond Trust of London

13. Smithsonian American Art
Museum
Indie Arcade
1 day event showcasing indie games
Classic gaming and game cover bands by
MAGFest
1st year: Mid-Atlantic regional indie
developers, 43 entries, 16 chosen games,
~4000 attendees
2nd year: International scope, 150+ entries,
32 chosen games, 11,750 attendees

14. Technology
Augmented Reality
What: Mobile applications recognize visual
patterns in the real world and project
digital information onto that image on the
device screen.
Use: Adding supplementary information to
exhibits. Making guides. Showing digital
exhibits.
Potential: Scavenger hunts, game-like
experiences in the museum, interactive
stories.

15. Technology
Radio Frequency
IDentification
(RFID)
What: Uses radio waves to communicate
between two objects (tag and reader) Tags
typically hold user profiles.
Use: Adding information to exhibits
customized to the user or adding
scannable info to exhibit items.
Potential: Building game-like experiences
where visitors can have custom profiles
and/or characters.

16. Technology
Mobile and
internet
technology
What: Mobile applications connected to
web or GPS data
Use: Adding supplementary information to
exhibits. Making guides. Adding a digital
storytelling layer to museum
environments.
Potential: Scavenger hunts, game-like
experiences in the museum, interactive
stories, online visitor profiles, social media.

17. Play
Playground
installations
What: Adding playful interactive
installations where visitors are invited to
physically engage the space.
Use: Design installations, many are
commissioned by noteworthy designers
(architects, etc.)
Potential: Environments designed like
game levels with implicit “rules.”

18. Play
Game installations
What: Installations that are both games
and art pieces
Use: Design installations with published
rules of how to interact with it in a game-
like way, often featuring a game master.
Potential: Playful engagement,
community building, designing games with
educational content.