Museum post not related to sticky.

[j_factor]

Wasn't that a show on one of those modern gaming channels? It was only shown once and then locked away for good. Damn shame.

You mean Icons? It wasn't that good. The episode on game music, for example, just talked about a few specific composers and their works. It wasn't really about the history of music in games, and it didn't talk about anything technical. Some of the episode subjects were awfully specific (e.g., EverQuest), while some were ridiculously broad (e.g., arcade games).

[digitalpress]

The more intersting story is "Why are games the way they are?". The story about why Mario has a mustache, or why he's called Mario. How many people realize that the clouds in SMB are the same tile pattern as the bushes? Nintendo has done a great job in recent years talking about things like that. Like the fact that SMB originally had fruit instead of coins, but they changed it because coins were something everyone would want to collect.

I'm not sure that a gaming museum is the proper medium for such stories, or that such a museum could really stay in business.

You're thinking way too traditionally. In fact, in an interview I recently did with Game Informer (should be available in the next few weeks) I explained that our vision of the museum would focus as much on the people and the stories as it would the items themselves. Very little will be "look don't touch". The place will be highly interactive. Again, think more Classic Gaming Expo on a daily basis. And at least in my personal variation on our theme, the place will be lively and colorful. Dare I say "rockin".

If it's the stuffy boring museum concept that's a deterrent, then I can understand the critique. If you've been to any of the events I've organized it should really squash the notion that a museum in my care would be anything like that.

[InsaneDavid]

I'm commenting because i've spent the last 10 years gathering prototype gaming hardware in the hopes of lending or donating it to a dedicated gaming museum.

You have a tremendous resource you can bring to the community, but i don't think it's well served in a museum setting. Nobody will go to a museum to look at an old set of rare atari games, or NES flash carts, or even a SNES CD system. A website with a few pictures is good enough to satisfy most people's curiosity.

The more intersting story is "Why are games the way they are?". The story about why Mario has a mustache, or why he's called Mario. How many people realize that the clouds in SMB are the same tile pattern as the bushes? Nintendo has done a great job in recent years talking about things like that. Like the fact that SMB originally had fruit instead of coins, but they changed it because coins were something everyone would want to collect.

EDIT: Link isn't working at the moment.

I think that's something unique to the Digital Press empire, you have the connections to the original Atari and intellivision creators, you can publish those stories. That's the kind of thing that's interesting to a lot of people. I question if you have the same kind of connections to modern game development.

Call of Duty is the best selling game of all time, how much do you know about it? Do you know why there aren't any female characters in the game? Do you know what technical limitation forced the developers to remove customizable camouflage from CoD4? Did you know that the camera never stops moving during any cut scene in Halo 1 due to a flaw in the game's engine? Or that the characters in Halo 1's cutscenes were usually controlled by a developer using a controller? Do you know what really killed the Tony Hawk franchise?

These are the things that gamers, and the public find interesting. Not the games themselves, but the stories behind them. Don't create an experience that the average person can find while looking at pictures on the internet, or using emulators on their PC. Create something that can't be experienced any other way.

I'm not sure that a gaming museum is the proper medium for such stories, or that such a museum could really stay in business.

Computer History Museum. Every time I've ever been there were a ton of people in there and it's 99% static displays. The curators make it interesting, as with any museum. Having this in Silicon Valley is another prime reason why it is successful. I don't want to get off topic about that sideshow in Ottumwa, Iowa. Location has a lot to do with these things.

EDIT: Link isn't working at the moment.

[Rob2600]

These are the things that gamers, and the public find interesting. Not the games themselves, but the stories behind them. Don't create an experience that the average person can find...on the internet, or using emulators on their PC. Create something that can't be experienced any other way

Um, I can read interviews with developers on the internet whenever I want. Just saying.

[Rob2600]

I just registered with Kickstarter and made a donation.

Like Greg posted above, Joe hosts monthly NAVA events at his store for free and I've attended many of them. Sometimes I buy something at the store, but most times I just hang out, play old games, and socialize. Supporting the museum is the least I could do to pay Joe back for all the free fun he's provided me.

[badinsults]

You know, I am excited by the prospect of a museum for video games done by people who are fans of the medium, for both public and research purposes. The main caveat that leads me to not donate (aside from being a poor student who does not live in the United States) is the eight year plan to open the physical museum. Eight years is a little too close to "might never happen" territory.

I would love to have a place where unusual and interesting gaming items such as the prototypes I own where they can be properly cataloged, preserved and studied. However, at this juncture the plan simply seems to make a traveling display that doesn't fully qualify as a museum.

I would be more interested if you guys hooked up with an educational institution and bring in some heavyweight contributors. Perhaps start a website to display what items are already in the collection, and their significance. Digitpress.com has a lot of interesting things on it, but it isn't really very well organized, and quite frankly still looks like a website designed 12 years ago (frames anyone?).

I'm sure you will reach the goal you have set out. But at the moment, I just can't justify investing in this venture.

[Rob2600]

After all these years of providing us with the DP forums for FREE, plus hosting the FREE monthly NAVA events at his store, can't everyone give the guy $5?? Joe asks for a small donation to help fund what will be one of the most awesome video game museums ever, and suddenly half the members of this forum think they're seasoned venture capitalists who insist on seeing a spreadsheet detailing how their $5 will be spent. Seriously?! It's five f-ing dollars.

Next time you're out wasting money on yet *another* Intellivision or Genesis console to add to your junk pile, remember how a fraction of that cash could've been put toward something that'll actually benefit our hobby.

He's involved with this community and not just "returning" here.

If by "involved," you mean reporting fellow forum members who modded their Xbox 360s to Microsoft, then you're correct.

[digitalpress]

Almost there.

A pre-emptive "thank you" to those who care and have supported our endeavors past and present, and trust that we will acknowledge you in endeavors future.

Our future is coming on, it's coming on, it's coming on