 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Videotopia is a travelling science museum exhibition documenting the history of video games. Originally created by Keith Feinstein, it is based on a larger collection of video game machines, now housed at The Strong in Rochester, New York. [1]
It includes a wide range of commercial video arcade machines and game consoles, and also interactive multimedia kiosks containing information about the history of the games' development and their impact on popular culture. By 1996, the exhibit had had 20,000 attendees. [2] In 1998, Feinstein's collection included 300 machines, and the touring exhibit had 75 of them. [3] By 2009 the touring exhibition included 100 machines, and the collection amounted to 15,000 items relating to video games. [1]
Videotopia was operated by Feinstein's longtime curatorial partner Jeff Anderson, who maintained the exhibit's vast game collection, based in New Jersey.[ citation needed ] Later Jon-Paul Dyson took over and the collection moved to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong in Rochester, New York. [1]
Videotopia has been featured at numerous science museums in the U.S., such as the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, as well as overseas and in selected performances of Video Games Live. Videotopia has been featured on television on CBS: This Morning, the History Channel, CNN, CNBC, and many local television news programs[ citation needed ] and written about in Forbes magazine, [3] USA Today , Technology Review, TICKET,[ citation needed ] and Next Generation . [2]
In September 2009, the National Center for the History of Electronic Games made an announcement on the Strong National Museum of Play website that they acquired the Videotopia collection. The exhibit occurring at the time was extended until January. Additionally, Jon-Paul Dyson of NCHEG expressed their commitment to continue to have a rotating display of games from the Videotopia collect. [4] Games that have been on display at the museum include Atari Football (1979), [5] Space War (1977), Space Encounters (1980), Space War (1982), Space Attack (1979), and Space Invaders (1978). [6]
A video game, also known as a computer game or just a game, is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device to generate visual feedback from a display device, most commonly shown in a video format on a television set, computer monitor, flat-panel display or touchscreen on handheld devices, or a virtual reality headset. Most modern video games are audiovisual, with audio complement delivered through speakers or headphones, and sometimes also with other types of sensory feedback. Some video games also allow microphone and webcam inputs for in-game chatting and livestreaming.
Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher of over 100 games from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company focused on computer wargames then later added role-playing video games. SSI published the Panzer General series and the official video game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons.
System Shock 2 is a 1999 action role-playing survival horror video game designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during production into a sequel to the 1994 game System Shock. The alterations were made when Electronic Arts—who owned the System Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher.
Tempest is a 1981 arcade video game by Atari, Inc., designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface divided into lanes, sometimes as a closed tube, and viewed from one end. The player controls a claw-shaped "blaster" that sits on the edge of the surface, snapping from segment to segment as a rotary knob is turned, and can fire blaster shots to destroy enemies and obstacles by pressing a button.
GameSpot is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022.
The Strong National Museum of Play is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1969 and initially based on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum opened to the public in 1982, after several years of planning, cataloguing, and exhibition development for the museum's new building in downtown Rochester.
The Science Museum of Minnesota is a museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science, and mathematics education. Founded in 1907, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution has 385 employees and is supported by volunteers.
Dona Bailey is an American video game programmer and educator. Bailey, along with Ed Logg in 1981, developed Atari, Inc.'s arcade video game Centipede.
Gaymer and gay gamer are umbrella terms used to refer to the group of people who are identified as homosexual and have an active interest in video games or tabletop games, also known as gamers. Bisexual, and transgender gamers are often categorized under this term.
In-game advertising (IGA) is advertising in electronic games. IGA differs from advergames, which refers to games specifically made to advertise a product. The IGA industry is large and growing.
The concept of video games as a form of art is a commonly debated topic within the entertainment industry. Though video games have been afforded legal protection as creative works by the Supreme Court of the United States, the philosophical proposition that video games are works of art remains in question, even when considering the contribution of expressive elements such as acting, visuals, design, stories, interaction, and music. Even art games, games purposely designed to be a work of creative expression, have been challenged as works of art by some critics.
Space Gun is a 1990 first-person shooter arcade game released by Taito. The game is set aboard a crippled space station that has been overrun by hostile alien creatures. The objective is to rescue human crew members while destroying the alien creatures. The game lets the player shoot limbs off the creatures, resulting in blood splatters.
The history of video games spans a period of time between the invention of the first electronic games and today, covering many inventions and developments. Video gaming reached mainstream popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since then, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern culture in most parts of the world. The early history of video games, therefore, covers the period of time between the first interactive electronic game with an electronic display in 1947, the first true video games in the early 1950s, and the rise of early arcade video games in the 1970s. During this time there was a wide range of devices and inventions corresponding with large advances in computing technology, and the actual first video game is dependent on the definition of "video game" used.
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) collects, studies, and interprets video games, other electronic games, and related materials and the ways in which electronic games are changing how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of culture and geography. Located at The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States, it houses one of the world's largest, most comprehensive collections of electronic game platforms, games, and related materials, with more than 37,000 items.
The Gamer Symphony Orchestra at the University of Maryland is a student-run symphony orchestra and chorus at the University of Maryland. The orchestra is the first collegiate ensemble to draw its repertoire exclusively from the music of video games. Most of GSO's members are non-music majors The orchestra holds a free concert every semester during the academic year and yearly charity fundraisers that benefit Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
The Strong is an interactive, collections-based educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States, devoted to the study and exploration of play. It carries out this mission through six programmatic arms called "Play Partners":
The World Video Game Hall of Fame is an international hall of fame for video games. The hall's administration is overseen by The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and is located at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, United States. The museum began the International Center for the History of Electronic Games in 2009, announced the formation of the hall of fame in February 2015, and opened it on June 4, 2015. It is located in a dedicated part of the "ESL Digital Worlds: High Score" exhibit at the National Museum of Play; prior to an expansion of the museum in 2023 it was located in the museum's "eGameRevolution" exhibit. The Strong has also run the National Toy Hall of Fame since 2002.
George Rollie Adams, is an American educator, historian, author, and museum professional. As president and CEO of The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, from 1987 through 2016, Adams led the development of the world's first collections-based history museum devoted solely to the study of play and its critical role in learning and human development and the ways in which play illuminates cultural history. During his tenure, The Strong became home to the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, electronic games, and other artifacts and documents pertaining to the history of play. The Strong also acquired the National Toy Hall of Fame and established the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, World Video Game Hall of Fame, Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Woodbury School, and American Journal of Play.
Keith Feinstein is the creator of Videotopia, a traveling museum exhibition that chronicles the history of video games, and co-founder and Creative Director of Eureka Exhibits, an exhibit company focused on advancing science education through interactive installations that utilize video game technology. Feinstein has appeared in the TV documentary series Modern Marvels and the CNBC documentary Game On! (2003), credited in each as video game historian.
