Starting March 16th, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will be showcasing the forty year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on visual effects and technology. It will feature some of the most influential artists and designers in the industry, and games for twenty gaming systems.
Chris Melissinos, the curator of the exhibition, worked with the public and an advisory group of people from varying fields within the video game industry to select the 80 games included in the exhibition.
Five games will be featured to show player interaction with virtual worlds, and highlight design innovations that set the standards for the games that came after them. These games are Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower.
The exhibition will start with “Game Fest”, a three-day festival which will feature panel discussions, movie screenings, and live bands.
“The Art of Video Games” will run from March 16th through September 30th, and will travel to ten cities in the US following it’s presentation in Washington DC. For more information, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s web site.
With the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games less than 24 hours away, the big game in this week’s Nintendo Download is very fitting. The Olympics are all about the quest for the gold medal and the Game Boy classic, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, is also all about the desire for gold. Though, in this case, Wario is looking for a giant gold statue instead of a tiny medal.
After appearing on the NES, Super NES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and the Wii, Mario’s first super adventure is making the jump to the 3DS. That’s right, Super Mario Bros. is available to download from the 3DS eShop today.
