Constructing Digital Game Exhibitions: Objects, Experiences, and Context

• Main Author: Niklas Nylund
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
• Series: Arts
• Subjects: exhibition planning; museum work practices; game preservation; cultural heritage; digital game; original experience; context; construct
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/7/4/103

A large number of exhibitions worldwide deal with digital games, but curators lack a coherent understanding of the different aspects of games that can be exhibited or a clear vocabulary for talking about them. Based on a literature review on game preservation and visitor behavior in exhibitions, the paper makes an argument for understanding digital games on display as made up of <i>object</i>, <i>experience</i>, and <i>context</i> aspects. The study further presents a matrix model for understanding and working with games in exhibitions. The model makes for a more nuanced understanding of the different ways digital games can be exhibited. Additionally, it clarifies the position of games in exhibitions as socioculturally constructed through inherently ideological curatorial choices.