The Turin Cinema Museum opens a Video Game Zone

“Cinema and video games have totally different characteristics, structures, personalities and methods of enjoyment, but the intersections and mutual influences are innumerable and increasingly evident”– declares Domenico De Gaetano, director of the National Cinema Museum of Turin, announcing that the museum has decided to open an area entirely dedicated to video games, the Video Game Zone.

The first tranche of acquisitions includes 13 titles, including Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment, 2023), Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft, 2023), Broken Sword (Revolution Software, 1996), Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Kojima Productions, 2021).

“If cinema with its moving image has shaped the collective imagination through visual storytelling, video games have extended this imaginary, offering not only stories to watch, but also to experience and influence directly thanks to their nature as an interactive image” – declares Fabio Viola, co-curator of the exhibition. The introduction of video games at the National Cinema Museum is not only a formal step in the recognition as a full-fledged art form, but aims to underline and stimulate dialogue between different but absolutely complementary art forms, showing the intersections, the influences mutual and the unique expressive potential of these two media that have marked the 20th and 21st centuries.

In addition to the creation of a dedicated area, the National Cinema Museum has launched an acquisition campaign linked to the world of gaming, which is not limited to the playable version but includes rare and unpublished game design production materials, such as sketches, manuals technical, notes, storyboards, preparatory drawings, scripts and objects used internally in the creative stages before release. These materials of high museum value, which are often lost or deleted, are fundamental testimonies and underline how the process that leads to the creation of a video game is, in many cases, similar to the creation of a film.

“In my career I have always supported the idea that video games are a form of creative expression, just like cinema or literature” – underlines game designer David Cage. “For 66 years, the National Cinema Museum of Turin has been exploring the impact of cinema on society and the opening of a permanent space dedicated to video games is a milestone for interactive media. As a creator, I am honored to have our games showcased Heavy Rain And Detroit: Become Human and I am thrilled to celebrate the opening of the exhibition with a Masterclass. It will be an opportunity to discuss how video games and cinema influence each other to push the boundaries of storytelling.”