The Museum of Modern Art has brought a little bit of Barcade into the fold, announcing that they've acquired 14 of the 40 video games they hope to bring in to a new game gallery. So far they've got Pac-Man, Tetris, Another World, Myst, SimCity 2000, vib-ribbon, The Sims, Katamari Damacy, EVE Online, Dwarf Fortress, Portal, flOw, Passage, and Canabalt. Eventually they hope to bring in games like Super Mario 64 and Minecraft. But are video games art? On the museum's website, MoMA’s Paolo Antonelli declares:
"They sure are, but they are also design, and a design approach is what we chose for this new foray into this universe. The games are selected as outstanding examples of interaction design—a field that MoMA has already explored and collected extensively, and one of the most important and oft-discussed expressions of contemporary design creativity. Our criteria, therefore, emphasize not only the visual quality and aesthetic experience of each game, but also the many other aspects—from the elegance of the code to the design of the player’s behavior—that pertain to interaction design."
While curating the collection, they went to scholars, digital conservation and legal experts, historians, and critics for advice, fine-tuning their collection down to their final list of 40, which they will "install for your delight in the Museum’s Philip Johnson Galleries in March 2013." And yes, for the most part visitors will be able to play the games... it's just too bad Timothy Leary's Nintendo Power Glove can't somehow be incorporated into this.
