London Science Museum hosts GameOn exhibit

London museum showcases games

Ian Livingstone to discuss the rise of Lara Croft; David Braben will mull over the evolution of video games since Elite at London Science Museum.

By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK

Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:09 am PT

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As part of the London Science Museum's Game On exhibition, several talks by key UK game industry pros have been announced. These include Eidos Interactive's Ian Livingstone on the topic of "10 Years of Lara." Livingstone will reflect on the icon's 10-year anniversary. The talk will take place on November 13.

Other talks include Kuju's Nicolas Rodriguez on "Dance Mats and Joysticks: Who's Playing Now?" on November 1. Rodriguez will discuss the impact of new controllers such as dance mats, buzzers, and EyeToy on the gaming landscape.

David Braben, who developed the classic game Elite in the 1980s, takes a trip down memory lane with "Gaming: Now and Then" on November 20. Braben will discuss the evolution of video games since he started in the industry, from their humble beginnings to the cinematic level of many games today.

In addition, Mark Griffiths, professor at Nottingham Trent University, will discuss some of the psychological issues that games prompt in his presentation, "Gaming in Mind," on November 28.

The Game On exhibition, which is sponsored by Nintendo, will run from October 21 to February 25. The exhibition aims to "explore the history, technology, and culture of computer games." There will be over 120 playable game classics such as Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Kart.

Visitors will also be able to see the DEC PDP-1 computer on loan from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The DEC PDP-1 is the computer that ran one of the world's first video games--Spacewar!--back in 1962. There will also be a large-scale art exhibition by UK artist Jon Burgerman and a collection of classic game posters and ads.

Another highlight of the exhibit is a special section on Japanese game culture, with displays of manga and anime, which have influenced video games, and playable Japanese games, including Densha De Go! and Dance Dance Revolution.

All lectures take place from 7 to 8 p.m. and cost £7. Tickets to the Game On exhibition cost £8.50 for adults and £6.50 for children. Combination tickets for the Game On exhibition and the evening talk can be bought for £11. More information can be found on the London Science Museum's website.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6159465.html

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I was just looking at the Science Museum website and they have a very detailed description of all the sections/topics covered at the exhibit. Take a look...

About the exhibition

From the PDP-1 of the 1960s to the latest must-have consoles Game On will examine the technologies that have revolutionised the gaming world. The exhibition will feature the ten most influential consoles of all time plus more than 100 playable games so you'll be transported back in time to play some of the defining games of the last forty years and reminisce over the classic games of your childhood. Meanwhile younger gamers will be introduced to the history of current gaming software and hardware and get their hands on the now retro games that their parents played in their youth.

Our experts are currently putting together the content for the exhibition but currently it is expected that Game On will be divided into 13 sections which will explore the following:

Section 1: Early Arcade Games:

This section explores the early history of arcade games. In 1962, Steve Russell a researcher at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) designed a game called Space War! on the DEC PDP-1 computer, the first game to be developed on a computer with a monitor.

A range of rare vintage arcade games will be shown, such as the first manufactured arcade game Computer Space (1971) and Pong (1972) both developed by Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari. Other major playable games from this period - Space Invaders (1978), Asteroids (1979) and Pac-Man (1980) - will also be included, along with rare ephemera such as original publicity materials and early merchandise.

Playable games

Space war – Vectrex

Pong - Projection

Pac-Man - Projection

Space Invaders – Cocktail table

Space Invaders Part II – Cocktail table

Upright Arcade Machines

Space Invaders Part II

Space Invaders

Asteroids

Xevious

Donkey Kong

Berzerk

Dig Dug

Ms Pac-Man

Galaga

Galaxian

Missile Command

Centipede

Section 2: Top Ten

This section explores the story of game consoles from 1972 to the present day. It describes and displays the range of machines produced by Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and others, which have brought gaming into the home over the last 30 years. Visitors will be able to play and see some of the key consoles, including the first one made for the home - the Magnavox Odyssey (1972) as well as replica of the prototype The Brown Box (1968).

Playable games

Tennis – Magnavox Odyssey

Freeway – Atari VCS

Death Chase – Sinclair Spectrum

Mario Bros – Nintendo Famicom

One on One Basketball – Commodore

MSX Collection – Sega Saturn

Lemmings – Commodore Amiga

Fighting Street – PC Engine

Tetris – Super Nintendo Game Boy

Ridge Racer – PlayStation

Virtua Tennis 2 – Sega Dreamcast

Tempest 2000 – Atari Jaguar

Project Gotham Racing 3 – Microsoft Xbox 360

WRC – Rally Evolved – Sony PlayStation 2

Mario Superstar Baseball – Nintendo GameCube

Section 3: Games Families

This section looks at the world of games and examines where the impetus for different kinds of game play has come from. With 35 playable games, this area is divided into three main parts and follows the classification of games families devised by the Le Diberder brothers in their book L’Univers des Jeux Video:

Thought Games:

Games which have their origins in traditional board games and text adventure books including Puzzle Games (Puyo Pop Fever) and Adventure Games (Secret of Monkey Island).

Action Games:

Action games in the following categories: Reflex Games (Parappa the Rapper 2), Racing Games (Indy 500), Shoot Em Ups (R-Type), Fight Games (Street Fighter II Turbo) and Platform Games (Pitfall).

Simulation Games:

Simulations including, Sports Sims (Pilot Wings), Complex Sims (Sim City), Life Simulations (Animal Crossing) and Open Ended (Elite).

Playable games

1. Puzzle

Codebreaker – Atari VCS

Sokoban – Sega Mega Drive

Bust A Move 4 – Sega Dreamcast

Puyo Pop Fever – Sony PlayStation 2

2. Racing

Indy 500 – Atari VCS

Microprose Grand Prix – PC

Super Mario Kart – Super Nintendo

3. Action

Breakout – Atari VCS

Super Buster Brothers – Super Nintendo

PaRappa the Rapper 2 – Sony PlayStation 2

Super Monkey Ball 2 – Nintendo GameCube

4. Shoot ‘em Up

Star Soldier – Nintendo Famicom

R- Type – Sony PlayStation

Gradius V – Sony PlayStation 2

5. Adventure & RPG

Zelda – Ocarina Of Time

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – PC

Adventure - Atari

The Secret of Monkey Island – PC

6. Simulation

ESPN NHL 2K5 – Microsoft Xbox

Elite – Nintendo NES

Pilotwings – Super Nintendo

Populous – Super Nintendo

Sim City – Super Nintendo

Animal Crossing – Nintendo GameCube

7. Fighting

Street Gangs – Nintendo NES

Street Fighter 2 Turbo – Super Nintendo

Virtua Fighter 2 - Sega Saturn

Garou Mark of the Wolves - Neo Geo MVS

8. Platform

Pitfall – Atari VCS

Bubble Bobble

Prince of Persia – Sega Mega Drive

Mario 64 – Nintendo 64

For info on the other sections, go here...

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/exhibition...eexhibition.asp

They even have a section on movies based on games.

Edited October 10, 200619 yr by Trinity34