Video Games in the Museum

电子游戏是我们这个时代最重要的艺术和设计现象之一。一个游戏是一个gesamtkunstwerk或'总艺术品'，结合动画和建筑，电影摄影和服装和产品设计和性能，编剧和布景，以及许多其他学科。数以百万计的人通过生产，分销或消费受到游戏行业的影响。在这一领域开发的技术正开始应用于从教育和培训到广告的许多其他领域。100年后，人们会把我们的时刻看作是视频游戏出现的关键阶段。然而，几乎没有人努力保护这一正在形成的历史。游戏开发者对存档自己的作品兴趣不大，博物馆和档案馆部门也很少有例外，他们可能认为电子游戏是一种流行文化，不在其职权范围内。在阿伯泰大学专业学术知识的支持下，V&A现在将填补这一空白。我们的目标是确保今天的视频游戏将成为未来文化遗产的一部分。虽然我们希望网络能够促进实现这一目标的新想法，但我们的方法是与行业合作伙伴合作，创建可供收购的解释性游戏“元版本”。我们将合作创建一个数字文物，明确设计用于博物馆收购的目的，以及标准的商业版本。“元版本”将是一个复刻版，其中游戏的功能与解释和档案材料分层。例如，场景和人物可能会在逐步重建中呈现，开发人员使用画外音和图形进一步注释。这将使观众深入了解游戏和创建游戏的过程。这样的“元版本”将在游戏现有的设计语言中呈现，并且本身可以是互动的，最好是从商业产品的“游戏风格”中衍生出来的。其结果将是特定的博物馆的收藏品（一个独特的和真实的文物具有历史价值）。经同意后，可在网上和画廊向公众提供。该研究网络将讨论这一拟议办法，并编写案例研究，供收集和展示。它还将鼓励关于收集和展示视频游戏的辩论。四个研讨会将为知识交流和传播提供机会：1）脆弱性和适应，[2014年3月]。由Co-I Kieran Long在博物馆当代和研究部门的支持下组织，第一个研讨会将设定目标并提出合作伙伴反馈的模型。与会者将包括行业代表;学术专家;和行业观察员，如亚历克斯·威尔特希尔（边缘杂志的前编辑，2013年委托V&A报告视频游戏设计和开发）。2）邓迪当代艺术，[2014年8月]。由PI Gregor白色组织的第二次活动将吸引来自视频游戏行业的艺术和设计专家。本次研讨会将支持正在进行的工作，以V&A邓迪，定于2016年开放。3)游戏开发者大会/南加州大学，[2015年3月]。USC是世界领先的视频游戏设计中心。该研讨会将作为一个平台，吸引美国的开发商参与，从而扩大脆弱性和适应问题研究所的收集活动，并提供进行比较研究的机会。4)V&A，[2015年6月]。闭幕式将向感兴趣的公众介绍调查结果。在这次研讨会上，我们将发布一份关于我们推荐的协议的报告，并介绍案例研究，展示该研究如何应用于特定游戏的收购。

Video games are one of the most important art and design phenomena of our times. A game is a gesamtkunstwerk or 'total artwork', incorporating animation and architecture, cinematography and costume and product design and performance, scriptwriting and scenography, and many other disciplines. Millions of people are affected by the gaming industry through production, distribution or consumption. Techniques developed in this field are starting to be applied in many others, from education and training to advertising. In 100 years, people will look back on our moment as a key phase of emergence for the video game. Yet there has been little effort to preserve this history-in-the-making. Game developers have shown little interest in archiving their own work, and with few exceptions the museum and archive sector has been disengaged, perhaps seeing video games as a form of popular culture that lies outside its remit. With the support of specialist academic expertise at the University of Abertay, the V&A is now set to fill this gap. Our ambition is to ensure that the video games of today will be part of the cultural heritage of the future.While we expect the network to prompt new ideas about achieving this objective, our approach is to work with industry partners to create interpretive 'meta-versions' of games for acquisition. We will collaboratively create a digital artifact, designed explicitly for the purpose of museum acquisition alongside the standard commercial version. The 'meta-version' will be a palimpsest, in which the features of the game are layered with interpretation and archival material. For example, scenes and characters might be presented in step-by-step reconstructions, which are further annotated by developers using voiceover and graphics. This will provide viewers with an in-depth understanding of the game and the processes used to create it. Such a 'meta-version' will be rendered within the existing design language of the game and could itself be interactive, ideally in a way that is derived from the 'play style' of the commercial product. The result will be specific to the museum's collection (a unique and authentic artefact with historic value). Subject to agreement it could be made available to the public online, as well as in-gallery. The research network would discuss this proposed approach and develop case studies for acquisition and display. It will also encourage debate about the collection and display of video games generally. Four workshops will provide opportunities for knowledge exchange and dissemination:1) V&A, [Mar 2014]. Organized by Co-I Kieran Long with support from the Contemporary and Research Departments at the Museum, the first workshop will set objectives and propose models for partner feedback. Participants will include industry representatives; academic specialists; and industry observers such as Alex Wiltshire (the former editor of Edge magazine, commissioned in 2013 to report for the V&A on video game design & development).2) Dundee Contemporary Arts, [Aug 2014]. Organized by PI Gregor White, the second event will engage art and design specialists from the video games industry. This workshop will support ongoing work toward V&A Dundee, set to open in 2016. 3) Games Developer Conference/University of Southern California, [March 2015]. USC is a world-leading center for video game design. This workshop would serve as a platform to engage USA-based developers, permitting an expansion of the V&A's collecting activities and an opportunity for comparative study. 4) V&A, [June 2015]. The concluding event will present findings to an interested public. At this symposium we will release a report on our recommended protocol, and profile case studies showing how the research has been applied to the acquisition of specific games.