Game On Exhibition – Industry Pioneers to Give Talks

SPOnG spent a rather enjoyable Saturday afternoon hanging out at London’s Science Museum’s Game On exhibition, playing a winning array of classic arcade and console titles from Pong and Donkey Kong through to the more recent classics, Rez and Rockstar Games’ Table Tennis.

We will be also be heading back down to Kensington for the series of weekly Wednesday night lectures planned in for the following four months, taking place at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre through to the end of the exhibition’s run until February 2007. (Full details on the first four talks can be found at the bottom of this news piece)

The press release we just received informs us that, “Key figures from the UK videogames industry will give their unique insights into every aspect of the art, from control methods to the history of key franchises and the evolving nature of videogame development, as well as debating and discussing the sociological, psychological and physiological effects of interactive entertainment.”

We could, of course, have played many of the games on show at Game On in the comfort of our own living rooms, although this kind of defeats the purpose of being able to have a videogame-themed day out with all the family. Most of the Game On attendees SPOnG saw this weekend were families, with both very young children and in many cases elderly grandparents in tow, all of whom were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

We also overheard many a fondly-remembered, nostalgic anecdote being told, mostly from the overexcited dads trying to convince their more cynical offspring that ‘Donkey Kong was where it all started’. And so on (Bollards! It was, of course, Pong. Ancient Ed.)

The fact that most of the arcade titles were playable on their original, lovingly restored cabinets, combined with the superb history of gaming murals on the walls of the exhibition hall (courtesy of Nottingham-based artist Jon Burgerman) made the trip to Kensington all the more worthwhile.

One thing we did learn, over and above everything else, is that Pong, played on the most difficult setting, is f*cking impossible!

Here’s the details on November’s Wednesday night talks for November (the exhibition also opens late till 9pm on Wednesdays, when SPOnG suspects it won’t be as busy as it is on weekends):

1 November, 19.00-20.00
Dancemats and Joysticks: Who's playing now?
Nicolas Rodriguez, Kuju Studios
Gameplay used to be all about waggling joysticks and the frantic pressing of buttons. But now we can use buzzers, microphones, cameras and dance mats to entertain ourselves. Find out how these devices are changing the video games we play and the people who are playing them with Nicolas Rodriguez, producer of Kuju Studios.

13 November, 19.00-20.00
Ten Years of Lara
Ian Livingstone, Eidos Interactive
In 1996 a new video game and its star burst into our lives. A decade on and Lara Croft is now a major gaming icon, starring in her own movies and comic books. Join Ian Livingstone of Eidos Interactive for a special ten-year anniversary talk about this virtual heroine's past, present and future.

20 November, 19.00-20.00
Gaming: Now and then
David Braben, Frontier Development
Video games have changed in the last 20-30 years. Once we were content with electronic ping pong, now our games have storylines, characters and amazing graphics. Join David Braben, UK games designer, as he looks at how games have developed and his experiences of developing the classic game Elite as well as new titles like The Outsider.

28 November, 19.00-20.00
Gaming in Mind
Professor Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University
Do video games represent a new way to learn and interact in our increasingly digital world? Or do they make us more violent and addicted to the gaming buzz? Find out about the psychology of interactive technology and video games today with Professor Mark Griffiths.