Blog

Over the last month, fellow CHEGhead Eric Wheeler and I attended two video game events—D.I.C.E. Summit and the Game Developers Conference (GDC)—featuring lots of information not only about the latest titles, but also about classic games and the history of the industry.
While at D.I.C.E. in Las Vegas I heard great perspectives on game history from Mark Cerny, Bing Gordon, Bill Budge, and others. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AAIS) also hosted their annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony, where […]

Continue Reading about Geeking Out on Game History at D.I.C.E. and GDC Published on:
March 14, 2011

Here’s a story about global toy distribution that’s driven by natural forces rather than consumer trends.
 There are few things I like better than heading to the beach to get lost in a good book. I read every day for my job at the museum, but my beach reading is play. Mark Twain was right when he said that “work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” If […]

Continue Reading about A Tide of Tub Toys Published on:
March 8, 2011

If you’ve seen me grinning as I drop tokens in ICHEG’s eGameRevolution exhibit, you’ve probably concluded I’m a huge retro coin-op fan. Games like Galaga, Tron, and Centipede keep me coming back in hopes of a new high score. In my book, playing “Golden Era” arcade cabinets never gets old.
My attachment to these classics makes me worry when I read about the pending release of a new version of one of these timeless games. It’s hard to live up to […]

Continue Reading about New Pac-Man Game Coming to ICHEG Published on:
March 4, 2011

Here at The Strong, we take dolls seriously. Archeological evidence places dolls among the very oldest playthings and proves that children have enjoyed them since ancient times. More recently, dolls played an important part in the life of the museum’s founder, Margaret Woodbury Strong. Margaret started collecting dolls as a girl and amassed more than 27,000 during her lifetime. Today, The Strong’s National Museum of Play builds on Margaret Strong’s collection, continuing to collect dolls and provide for their care. […]

Continue Reading about Dolls and their Care Published on:
March 1, 2011

I’ve played chess for decades, and during most of that time I’ve also enjoyed chess problems. Such puzzles, which chess players have constructed and enjoyed for centuries, present a chess position and task players to solve a particular problem related to it—white checkmates in four moves or black sacrifices a knight to win the queen. Sometimes these puzzles sharpen one’s chess game, as in Fred Reinfeld’s classic 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations, but more often they simply offer a […]

Continue Reading about Chess Problems and Computer Games Published on:
February 25, 2011

When I went to college, I couldn’t decide on a major. I didn’t switch my course of study the way lots of college students do—I just smooshed it all into a double major. One major was in English because I loved writing and reading stories. The other major was in history because, well, I loved stories about the past. Now that I’m a museum curator, a lot of what I do involves storytelling. Every day, as I study the museum’s […]

Continue Reading about Telling Tales and Sharing Play Stories Published on:
February 22, 2011

When I walk my dog, I also peek through neighbors’ windows and wrinkle my nose at textiles, wall paper designs, and furniture. When I attend parties, I pretend to engage in conversation while I discreetly determine how to rearrange the hosts’ furniture. I know that’s not polite, but I’m being honest here. I also know that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and decorating budgets are often slim. But adding a touch of style to your gamer pad […]

Continue Reading about Bringing Video Game Style to Your Home Published on:
February 18, 2011

How many times have you been told that “you can’t judge a book by its cover”? As a librarian, I fully endorse this sentiment. I would, however, like to create a related maxim: you can’t judge a closed book by its fore-edge. What’s a fore-edge, you ask? In book-speak, that’s the name for the edge opposite the spine. Hidden beneath the gilt or marbled covering on some books’ fore-edges, you just may discover a most exquisite watercolor.

The years between 1785 […]

Continue Reading about Fore-Edge Paintings: Hidden Treasures Published on:
February 15, 2011

Farmville

As a video game researcher, I love talking about all sorts of games with all kinds of gamers. Obviously my job at ICHEG affords me many such opportunities to do so. Yet, I often talk gaming with acquaintances who don’t consider themselves gamers. There’s actually a lot of gaming buzz among them—and it isn’t just about playing Zynga’s Farmville on Facebook.
Here is what they are talking about: mobile gaming apps. While games for mobile devices certainly aren’t new, the touch […]

Continue Reading about The Buzz Surrounding Mobile Gaming Apps Published on:
February 11, 2011