MoMA kicks off video game exhibit this March

March will start on a nostalgic note for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as it features Pac-Man and 13 other video game classics in an exhibit starting Friday.

 

It will be the first time the MoMA will unveil the 14 games, which it recently acquired, according to a report on tech site Mashable.

 

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the MoMA's department of architecture and design, told Mashable more than half of the games will be playable, and will be "displayed on screens affixed to gallery walls."

 

But Antonelli said that while the controllers will be available for use, consoles will be hidden "to minimize any visual noise."

 

To be displayed at MoMA's Philip Johnson Galleries until January are:

 

 

"Games were chosen according to a variety of criteria including visual quality, elegance of the code and design of playing behavior," Mashable said.

 

Traffic challenge

 

But Mashable said the MoMA may face the challenge of "traffic flow," as some classics like "Pac-Man" are likely to be "heavily played."

 

It said the likely heavily played games are placed near entrances and exits, while demos are available for games that have a steep learning curve.

 

"We don't want the same person to stay in front of a screen for an hour," Antonelli said.

 

Target: 40 games

 

The MoMA plans to acquire 26 more games after the initial 14.

 

Antonelli noted that in 2006, the museum rethought its design collection to go beyond posters, records and other traditional media.

 

MoMA first acquired 23 digital fonts and then moved on to games. — TJD, GMA News