Museum of Art and Digital entertainment
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A video game museum is rebuilding an MMO designed for the Commodore 64
Thought you were old-school for playing Everquest and Ultima Online? Step back, son: those games are spring chickens next to 1986's premier virtual world: LucasFilm's Habitat. Don't fret if you haven't heard of it -- the Commodore 64-powered online world only lasted for two years and was exclusive to Quantum Link, an ISP that would eventually evolve into America Online. Habitat seems fairly basic by today's standards, but it was a breakthrough in its own era, featuring support for thousands of simultaneous players in a self-governed virtual world. It's gaming history, and Alex Handy, founder and director of the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment in Oakland, is trying to revive it.
The Daily Grind: Should museums preserve MMOs?
I may be in the vast minority here, but I am keenly interested in the attempt by the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment to resurrect (for however long) the incredibly ancient Habitat -- and to make it playable by folks today. Usually we consider dead MMOs as just that: dead. Yet we're starting to see more examples of strange resurrections and fan restorations that are reversing the decomposition process. The Habitat story got me thinking about how these games might be saved for the long-term, particularly through special institutions such as museums. Twenty years from now, would you like to see your favorite MMOs restored and run using free museum servers to honor their legacy and to provide a way to revisit old stomping grounds? Is this a pipe dream when we consider issues of rights and IPs and other legal entanglements? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Museum hopes to resurrect Habitat, 'world's first MMO'
So here's a bizarre little piece of MMO news for your Friday morning: This weekend, with the help of Kixeye and Fujitsu, a volunteer-driven, public museum in Oakland, California, hopes to relaunch an antique Lucasfilm game called Habitat, which it's calling the world's first massively multiplayer online game (that part is probably debatable, but let's hear them out). "The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (The MADE) will be spending Sunday, September 28th, attempting to resurrect the world's first massively multiplayer online game, Habitat. The project seeks to relaunch the Habitat server on original Stratus Technologies hardware from 1989, and to allow users on the Internet to connect to the game server for free using a Commodore 64 emulator. The MADE is the first videogame museum to attempt such a relaunch. In fact, there has never been an attempt to relaunch a 28 year old, dead MMO before, primarily because MMO's are mostly a phenomenon that has existed only over the last 15 years." According to Wikipedia's curators, Habitat was created in 1985 as the "first attempt at a large-scale commercial virtual community that was graphically based" and is "considered a forerunner of the modern MMORPGs." MADE even claims the game invented the term "Avatar" for use in online games. The 1989-era server hardware it'll run on can today support 10,000 users, says the museum. Massively's very own Game Archaeologist, Justin Olivetti, investigated Habitat's history in a two-part series in 2012. The Game Archaeologist moves into Lucasfilm's Habitat: Part 1 The Game Archaeologist moves into Lucasfilm's Habitat: Part 2
Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment begins 'Level 2' fundraising
The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment in San Francisco held a Kickstarter fundraiser last year to put money together for a public space, and that round of fundraising resulted in a successful gallery showing of some old early 3D games. Now, the museum is at it again, trying to raise money directly for the next six months.It's called the "Level 2" campaign, and the Museum is trying to raise another $20,000 for various events and programs. Anyone who donates more than $25 will be able to get a gift of a sticker or a t-shirt. If you don't want to go through PayPal, the museum is accepting donations directly at its Oakland location as well.The museum has been holding video game tournaments, programming classes (seen above), and open hours every week, and is now home to the GamePro archives. The donation campaign will run through March 31.
MADE museum delves into early 3D games
The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment will host its first exhibit in Oakland starting December 3. Appropriately for its first foray into a physical exhibition space, the museum is highlighting "The History of Early 3D." That's 3D as in polygons, not glasses. Think Star Fox and Doom.
Video game museum uses Kickstarter to find a home in San Francisco
San Francisco's Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment is an organization "dedicated to the preservation of video games, and the presentation of games as art," but it has a problem: it's currently homeless. The MADE has a growing collection (some of which can be seen above) and a slew of ideas for programming (like classes, talks, and gaming parties), but needs "a safe space near public transit" to call its own. And so it's taking to Kickstarter, where you can donate to help the organization towards its goal of raising $20,000. A measly $5 gets you a ticket to the museum if and when it opens; $1000 or more will put your name on the wall. In between, you can get access to a pre-opening party, or nab some signed games, T-shirts, and stickers. It sounds like a good cause if you're in San Francisco and happen to be the kind of person who'd like to visit a museum designed for video games.
