When curating video games one has to keep in consideration the interactive nature of the form. At its core interactivity is what defines video games and differentiates them from video art and film, thus, stripping interactivity from a game negates its very essence. Unfortunately, very few video game exhibitions are capable of presenting all its works in their interactive form. These can be separated into technical limitations, conceptual limitations and accessibility limitations.

Limited space can force curators to make decisions over which games will be playable and which to present in deactivated form. Some games may require large custom interfaces or specialized equipment such as game cabins or VR igloos to name a few. In this case it is better to prioritize these displays over games that the visitor may be able to acquire and play at home since access to the former is much less probable.

This is not to imply an arcade solution is not possible, for example, the V&A's Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt (2018-19) features one such section where visitors walk into an arcade-like space where they are free to play most of the games within. However, this only applies to a fraction of the exhibition in order to limit overstimulation.

And while sensory overstimulation may be used by a talented curator as a rhetorical or conceptual tool, in most cases it is best to avoid bombarding the audience with too many sounds or images as these may interfere with transmitting the themes and atmosphere desired by the game's creators.

Overcrowding, particularly in the case of very popular exhibits can also place a need to limit the amount of playable games in a space as it poses both logistic and health and safety concerns particularly in the case of VR games where the participants may have limited visibility/mobility and having a crowd too close may result in accidental injury.

While it may be considered a technical limitation, playtime length also puts limitations on the curator at a conceptual level. While most art games lean towards exhibition friendly formats such as short playtime or pick up and put down timeframes, some games, particularly commercial ones may require playtimes of over 50hrs to fully experience. In this case decisions have to be made as to how to present gameplay. The simplest solution would be to allow players to take the game from the beginning, however this will result in tutorials being played over and over as well as not offering the full experience. In other cases, the game may be more suited to be played at home at leisure so the themes are fully communicated or the state of flow and control fluency is achieved.

As such, not all video games may be served by presenting them in their interactive form

exhibition theme

Other sections of the exhibition do feature deactivated (unplayable) video games instead opting for short videos or screenshots instead. The V&A gets away with this deactivation because at its core the exhibition is centered on the design process of the games rather than the games themselves, making this second aspect of the exhibition a prime example of how thematic limitations can be in fact liberating in the design process.

color blindness, mobility limitations, game literacy,

Rene G. Cepeda

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