A new, playable exhibition is hitting ACMI in Melbourne from this September, featuring more than 30 groundbreaking video games from the 1970s to today.
Game Words explores the creative connection between developers, players and technology. Through original design materials, concept art, rare objects and more than 44 opportunities to get hands-on and play games, the exhibition illuminates how we design, build and experience video games.
Major titles featured in Game Worlds include ‘Final Fantasy XIV Online’ (Square Enix), ‘Minecraft’ (Mojang Studios), ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’ (ZeniMax Online Studios/Bethesda Softworks), ‘SimCity’ (Electronic Arts), ‘The Sims’ (Electronic Arts), ‘Stardew Valley’ (ConcernedApe), ‘World Of Warcraft’ (Blizzard Entertainment), ‘Neopets’ (World Of Neopia), and anticipated new Australian release ‘Hollow Night: Silksong’ (Team Cherry).
As part of the exhibition, visitors can discover how home-grown studios bring games to life. They can also play after dark, with late-night access, plus developer talks, inclusive and accessible exhibition visits and industry events throughout the run. Dates for themed fan events are to be announced soon.
There will also be four newly commissioned microgames from established and emerging Australian game developers. Players can care for a communal creature in ‘ACMI EGG’ by Apartment 809, restore colour to the game world in ‘Salix8 Sunset’, traverse different perspectives in ‘What’s Your Angle’, and be transported back to the holden era of video game hint lines in ‘Hint Line ’93’.
Collectors rejoice – exclusive merchandise will only be available from the ACMI Shop including limited-edition collectibles for ‘Neopets’, ‘The Sims’, and ‘Hollow Knight: Silksong’. Plus. . . A series of ACMI-produced books delving into ‘The Sims’ and ‘Hollow Knight’.
“Game Worlds is not just an exhibition for video game fans and their families, but for those who are curious about why we say they are the ‘defining art form of this century’,” ACMI Director and CEO Seb Chan says. “This exhibition celebrates the people, the players, the craft and technologies that make on-screen world-building possible. We are very excited to premiere a new ACMI-made exhibition for our visitors to experience, play, and enjoy here in Melbourne first, before it heads out overseas on a long international tour.”
“By charting over 50 years of technical innovation and personal creativity, Game Worlds offers a new perspective on video games, revealing the abstract, even absurd, foundation of technical innovation that underpins the world’s most popular entertainment medium, and celebrating the communities that form within them,” Co-Curators Bethan Johnson and Jini Maxwell say. “Our exhibition honours the real-life experiences that are made possible by and through video games, highlighting the players and developers – and stories that bring video game worlds to life.”
Tickets are on sale now.
Game Worlds is on at ACMI (Melbourne) from 18 September-8 February.
