A permanent space for video games in the Aula del Tempio of the National Cinema Museum: the idea of the director Domenico De Gaetano has become reality since yesterday, it is the Video Game Zoneand allows the art of “games” to find its prestige in the most iconic building in the city. «From today – explains the director – ours becomes one of the first institutions in the world to take this step, after Melbourne and Seattle. The question we asked ourselves was: how to talk about contemporaneity? We think we have understood it».
It will not be possible to play in the museum but it will be possible to delve into the secrets and mechanisms of some of the most famous titles: the new exhibition itinerary allows you to immerse yourself in this world thanks to a central projection that offers a montage of films and TV series that have cited, paid homage to or have been inspired by video games and gaming culture, from the great Hollywood productions to indie cinema, from the legendary “Tron” of 1982 to “War Games” and “Super Mario Bros.”, from David Cronenberg’s “EXistenZ” to the first season of “The Last of Us”.
There are also four audio-video stations showing the intros and trailers of the video games and other materials that tell the story of their creation process, display cases containing concept art and notes, design documents and objects from the various video game narrative universes.
“Cinema and video games – adds De Gaetano – have totally different characteristics, structures, personalities and methods of fruition, but the intersections and mutual influences are innumerable and increasingly evident. We have created a unique space of its kind, perfectly inserted in the museum itinerary. Thus begins a path of acquisition of works, study and research, all aimed at the creation of an exhibition that will see the light in the coming years”.
Another novelty related to video games is the creation of a special electric blue Mole Star to be awarded to great names in this art: the first to receive it, before holding a masterclass, was David Cage, founder of Quantic Dream. “I am honored to be the first to have this award and to see video games receive such attention: it is a lifetime achievement award but I feel like I am not at the end of mine yet!” – he said -. I have been working in this field for 27 years now, I have always supported the idea that video games are a form of creative expression, like cinema or literature. The opening of a permanent space dedicated to video games is a milestone for interactive media.
“I’m honored to be the first to have this award and to see video games receive such attention: it’s a lifetime achievement award but I feel like I’m not at the end of mine yet! – he said -. I have been working in this field for 27 years now, I have always supported the idea that video games are a form of creative expression, like cinema or literature. The opening of a permanent space dedicated to video games is a milestone for interactive media. I am honored to have our games “Heavy Rain” and “Detroit: Become Human” on display. Video games and cinema influence each other to push the boundaries of storytelling.”
