Marin Escalera

Public history sites are way to connect historical studies with the public in a fun and interactive way. In the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex there are multiple museums that cover so many different areas such as art, nature, machinery, cultural history, local history and so much more. Though not all fall into the historical public history category there is still a good selection which vary from the traditional museum exhibit format to a historical house format. While these museums have done a great job of making interactive and information filled exhibits they have recognized that times are changing and the digital space is becoming as important as the physical. Due to this many museums have started making digital version of their exhibits so they can have a further reach for those who can’t come in person. These digital versions include things like virtual tours, VR walkthroughs and other things that allow you to look through the materials of the museum beyond just a couple of pictures. To see this difference for myself I went to the National Video Game Museum in Frisco Texas to compare their physical exhibit and their digital exhibit.

Physical Exhibit

            The National Video Game Museum first opened its doors in 2016 in the city of Frisco in Texas which is in the northern part of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. This museum dedicates itself to displaying the evolution of video game technology and its cultural impact in the West. The museum itself is divided into 17 sections or “stages” as it is referred to in the museum. Each stage covers a different aspect of video game consoles, starting from the introduction of digital games, the timeline of consoles, the creation of handheld consoles, the evolution of computer games, VR, Video game soundtrack and even highlights board games in one section. Throughout the museum there are interactive sections that allows guest of any age interact with things related to the respective sections. In section one that focuses on the beginnings of gaming the museum has created a giant Pong game that two players can play against each other. Pong is known as one of the first commercially successful games and is a simple black and white game in which players play a table tennis like game of bouncing a ball back and forth. While simple the game has become a well known iconic symbol. The display allows everyone who has played or hasn’t played the game to experience it. In the following section that shows the timeline of consoles all the consoles are displayed and there is an interactive exhibit display where users use a giant Super Nintendo controller to use on a TV screen that has all the consoles to choose from. The user can pick any console of their choice and it will open up an exhibit label that give a brief history of the console, popular games for it, rare games for it, concurrent popular culture moment at the time of release and the number of sales it had. Each section has an interactive element whether it be to play games on the highlighted time period consoles or if it’s interactive with exhibit label like in the timeline console section or the music soundtrack section where you can listen to defining tracks of the different genres. Though the most interactive and special sections are Stage 13, 14 and 17 because they are designed to look like the time period they represent where guest can enter and interact with things as if they were in that time period. Stage 13 is set up as a living room from the 1980s with an Intellivision console guest can play with on the TV. Stage 14 is set up to be a teen’s bedroom from the 80s with a Nintendo NES set up to play the iconic game Duck Hunt. The final room Stage 17 is built to model an arcade filled with many cabinets that guest can actually play and use coins to pay for it. So museum has a good balance of displays, information, and interactive elements.

            The primary audience of this exhibit is video game fans of all ages since it covers the history of the beginning of games to currents day so it has something for everyone. Its main argument to its audience is the importance and overall innovating evolution of video games as technology and popular culture. This was communicated in a fun and interactive design as seen with the different stages throughout. Each exhibit holds the actual consoles, games, boxes in which they came in, controllers with various items having exhibit labels. Most of these exhibit labels on the individual items were not too long though the labels for some of the sections were longer than a paragraph which can deter the guest interest in reading. Although the interactive factors in each section do offer a learning experience. The overall museum is not exceptionally large so it is easy to navigate and the flow of traffic is following the numbered stages so the guest can see the growth throughout the years. This easy flow allows all who visit to be able to go through and learn without issue. Whether it is a child who is barely entering the world of gaming or if it’s an adult who has been there from the start, the museum is very accessible to all who visit. While guest are allowed to roam at their own pace there are tours which are offered to give a more detailed explanations for the stages though those who give the tours are not walking the floor. They are usually in the entrance where entrance is paid for and tokens for the arcade are given. Overall this museum is a fun and interactive site that connects the history of videos games to the public audience. The museum is ever growing and looking at ways to expand so something that would be a nice inclusion to make the exhibit more relatable especially to the younger generations is to have a section for the games and consoles of the 2000s. Since the main focuses starts to die down with the early 90s. Alongside this since the exhibits are also covering older times younger guests may not be too familiar on how to work the games available to interact with so instructions would be helpful. This would help with it being more efficient and accessible to a younger audience.

Digital Exhibit

            The main focus of the museum is its physical site though since the COVID 19 shutdown and the growth of online presence the museum has taken a step into the digital realm. Going to their home page you are greeted with a slideshow showcasing different areas of the museum and a sentence featuring the purpose of the museum. With the slogan “Step into the history of gaming” the website greets visitors to scroll through and look. At first glance what you find is links to tickets, museum hours and general visitor information. Though scrolling more down it guides the users to a page that shows their different exhibits with a summary and pictures. While this does not provide the full interactive experience it does provide a bit of information of the structure of some of the stages. To get a more in depth view of the museum the user needs to go to the virtual tour tab which is bit tricky to find at first but is visible after clicking the “Venue” tab. A promo video and summary how it works is presented. It shows that this virtual tour is mostly geared toward class field trips for schools that can’t make it to the physical location. The remote tours offer a 30+ minute guided tour hosted by one of the founders and a 15+ minute zoom call with one of the founders for questions. While the official working tour is still in the works I had the opportunity to talk to one of the founders and was able to see an exclusive insider look at a version of the tour. He also told me how the initial runs of it went during COVID. He mentioned that it wasn’t as enjoyable as an in person tour since the students could not play the games that are in the displays. Another fault he mentioned was keeping the student’s attention thorough out the call. As for the insider look it gives an insight on the museum itself and goes through each stage in a story like format. This would allow those who cannot visit the physical site still be able to learn about the history. Also since the video does go in depth in each section it allows users to learn more than they might have were they to go through the museum by themselves. Since when walking through and playing the different games it’s easy to miss certain labels and information. Although the virtual tour is filled with much information its overall downside is that it loses much of its interactive charm since the games can’t be shared online. So it lets users still learn about the history but lacks the interactive factor. The overall digital experience could be enhanced by also offering a self paced interactive 3D tour in which users can go through the museum as if they were there. This would be helpful for those who want to go through it but don’t want a guided tour or don’t want to watch a video about it.

            Overall both the physical and digital site offers guest the opportunity to learn about the evolution of video games in terms of its technological advances and pop culture. Despite following the same arguments in both versions each one seems to have a different focused audience. The physical site’s audience is anyone who has an interest in learning more about video game history regardless of age while the digital sites seems to aim more for being accessible to a classroom audience. As for the information itself it is the same on both ends though since the digital version is more guided than the physical, guest may get more information that way. So each version has its positive and things it could improve to be more effective in its overall argument. Despite that if there is an interest in video games or a curiosity on how technology has changed over time the National Video Game Museum will provide a delightful visit.