July 2006
Out & About: Game On!
The Science (and Fun) of Video Games
“Game On!,” the newest exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, is a smorgasbord of video games from the last 40 years. It covers everything: the history of games, the technology to create them, and the skills and education needed to go into the field. Every aspect of video games is depicted, from their humble beginnings as lab experiments in the ’60s, to Pong and Space Invaders and other luminaries of arcade culture, to their movement into homes via consoles.
The exhibit’s greatest strength is the thorough history about how games have evolved, both as a cultural phenomenon and as a relatively new technology. This is achieved by having visitors walk through what may be the best arcade ever assembled for the general public with more than 100 games to play. There’s a section, after the main part of the exhibit, that goes into greater detail about the creation of games and the steps, skills and people that are needed to bring them into existence. This is necessarily heavy on explanation, and would be best for older kids and curious adults.
Every recognized genre of game is represented, with something to interest anyone who has ever touched a joystick. You can play “God” games like The Sims, as well as role-playing, puzzle-solving, sports and action games. There are areas devoted to subjects some might not know about, such as how Japanese games differ from those offered to American audiences or the subculture of home programmers – people who create their own games without the benefit of a studio and professional equipment. However, should you or your kids not be scholars of the medium, there’s still plenty to do – you can make fools of yourselves trying to keep up with dance games or introduce your kids to that game you loved when you went out for pizza in high school.
For parents, the exhibit will be a trip back to arcades of decades past. Through most of “Game On!,” the games are divided by genre or by theme, mixing older and more recent games. However, one room is devoted to arcade games of the ’70s and ’80s. When I visited, parents were standing over their children’s shoulders, giving them tips on how best to play Centipede and the original Donkey Kong. With more recent games, this was often reversed, with kids standing next to their parents, giving guidance and recommendations.
To make the exhibition appropriate for everyone, games that are excessively violent or rated M (mature) are not available to play. Instead, they’re referenced in displays, including a storyboard for Grand Theft Auto III and design notes for Max Payne.
While there is a section devoted to games for younger kids, by and large the kids having the best time were 8 and older. It was one of the calmest exhibits of this kind I have ever witnessed – the children were mesmerized by the games, looking about in awe rather than running around rambunctiously. Even on a busy Saturday, there was very little waiting, mostly due to the sheer number of things to do.
This exhibit alone can fill an entire afternoon, and your children (and possibly you as well) might have to be pulled away from it when it comes time to leave. Overall, the exhibit isn’t heavy on the science of video games, unless you’re meticulous about locating the informative signs scattered throughout.
“Game On!” will be at the Pacific Science Center through Aug. 31. The center is located at 200 2nd Ave. N. in Seattle, on the south side of Seattle Center. Admission to the exhibit is $3, in addition to the regular entrance fee (Adults, $10, Seniors, $8.50, Juniors ages 3-12, $7) For more information, contact the visitor services line at 206-443-2844 or visit the exhibit’s Web page at http://gameon.pacsci.org.
Breanne Boland is a Seattle freelance writer who still loves Tetris best of all.
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