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Why, with the vast resources, and fundamental human subjects at our disposal, have museums failed to make more than a handful of really compelling games? Are we too wedded to the idea that games must be educational? Do we lack the in-house skills to make subject matter and game engines gel, or are we simply trying to enter an overcrowded marketplace with too few resources? Should we leave making games to the professionals?At Wellcome Collection, we are beginning the process of making games for our website that put compelling gameplay at the centre of the experience, building our subject matter and resources around that experience. Games have their own logics and structure, and there's no reason these should be subjugated to narrow educational aims any more than the physical layout of the museum should determine the information architecture of our websites. The playful and exploratory impulses that draw gamers towards great games are still largely untapped as a means of engagement.Using the mini-workshop format, we will present our progress to date and open up a discussion of other museums' experience, sharing our ideas and understanding of games. We will use simple exercises to look at matching our available resources (narratives, photography, object databases) to modes of gameplay, as well as investigating reusable game engines, game syndication, and building enthusiasm for games inside the organisation.A presentation from Museums and the Web 2011 (MW2011).
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Gaming the Museum
Martha Henson and Danny BirchallWellcome Collection, London
www.wellcomecollection.org
@marthasadie@dannybirchall
Mini-workshop
Friday 8 April 2011
Museums and the Web, Philadelphia
Approaching games
Collaboration
Real content
Gameplay
Learning
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be effective
There’s a bigger audience on other websites
Social media doesn’t necessarily spread games
People will think and talk about your game in unexpected ways
Questions
Replicating success
Extent of collaboration
Sharing/learning from each other
Gameplay beyond ‘gamification’?
Goals for this workshop
Testing our ideas
(Re)using what works
Sparking collaboration
Sharing knowledge & experience
Brainstorming exercise
Groups of 3-6
Random game types
Select a collection, aspect, mission
Bring the two together
Present your game, and issues
Q&A
Share and reflect
bit.ly/gamingthemuseum
(http://conference.archimuse.com/forum/gaming_the_museum_share_and_reflect)
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