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Video Game Hall of Fame inducts ‘Tomb Raider’ and ‘Final Fantasy VII’
The Strong museum has announced this year's inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame -- Spacewar!, John Madden Football, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII. They were selected from 12 finalists that also included Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King's Quest, Metroid, Minecraft and Ms. Pac-Man. "The four inductees span multiple decades, countries of origin, and gaming platforms, but all have significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general," said The Strong museum in a statement. Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII were finalists last year.
The educational games of your youth have their own museum exhibit
The Minnesota Education Computing Corporation might not be the most recognizable game developer today, but if you went to elementary school in the US anytime in the eighties or nineties, then you've almost certainly played -- and probably learned something from -- one of its educational games. The company started in 1973 as an initiative to put more computers into classrooms across Minnesota and eventually created over 300 different software titles, including the version of The Oregon Trail that became the cultural touchstone it is today. Now MECC and The Oregon Trail are finally getting the recognition they deserve in a retrospective exhibit from the Strong, the National Museum of Play.
The Video Game Hall of Fame basically inducted your childhood this year
The National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York announced the four titles it's inducting into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this year, and they're all pinnacles in the industry: Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokémon Red and Blue and Street Fighter II. But if you think they were all shoe-ins compared to the competition, prepare to get your nerd hackles raised. The games that didn't make the cut this year include Final Fantasy VII, Myst, Portal, Resident Evil and Microsoft Windows Solitaire.
The Strong Museum's latest addition digs deep into gaming history
Video games are a unique, nascent art form and it makes sense to preserve them. While efforts by the Internet Archive have been underway for a while, it hasn't been a priority for the gaming industry to archive their own products. Most archival projects happen thanks to the unpaid efforts of super fans bent on saving their beloved gaming experiences. Today, though, The Strong Museum, also known as the National Museum of Play, announced that Scott Adams, the developer behind 1978's text adventure game Adventureland, has donated a ton of materials from his long career in the industry.
The Strong Museum will open a 'Women in Games' exhibit in 2018
"Women have indelibly shaped every aspect of the history of video games, and that story needs to be better documented and told." That's Jon-Paul Dyson, director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. This week, The Strong revealed its plans for a Women in Games initiative that aims to document the contributions of women in the fields of computer science and video games. Women are already included in The Strong's existing exhibits and archives, but Dyson says their work has been "underappreciated" overall.
Vote your favorite video game into a hall of fame
Video games don't seem to be going anywhere, but the same can't be said for institutions that've wanted to enshrine them. The latest effort comes by way of the folks at The Strong, also known as The National Museum of Play. The New York-based outfit will consider basically any type of game for its freshman class of World Video Game Hall of Fame honorees, be it arcade, console, computer, handheld or mobile. All you need to do is submit your pick on The Strong's website and make a case for why it's your choice. How does the advisory committee choose from there? Well, that's not exactly a scientific process.
Myst and SimCity enter the History of Electronic Games collection
Broderbund Software's legacy is sure to live on through ports, sequels and source code, but what about the game developer's behind-the-scenes history? Thankfully, it won't be fading away any time soon. Company founder Doug Carlston has donated Broderbund's software and corporate records to The Strong, a museum dedicated to all forms of play. The move should help illustrate the creation process behind every title that Broderbund published, including classics like Myst, Prince of Persia, the original SimCity and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. The collection isn't limited to game assets -- Carlston is donating correspondence, photos and other material that reveals the studio's culture. Few people will get to see this treasure trove of gaming nostalgia in person, but it should preserve Broderbund's accomplishments for a long time to come.
