These factors are key to the recent embrace of game making and game culture among museums. Meanwhile, the open-source movement has facilitated the simplification and availability of game-making tools, opening up the field to new voices and stories. Simultaneously, contemporary artists have started receiving more critical recognition for creating deep, intimate, and experimental games. Much of this can be attributed to the work of a handful of scholars, including Mary Flanagan, Ian Bogost, and Eric Zimmerman, who have produced significant bodies of scholarship rooted in the long-standing art historical tradition of games. Since then, a lot has changed in the realms of critical theory and practical development relating to play.
![museum play org education game creation workshop museum play org education game creation workshop](https://uptownsj.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/20180815_124629-768x763.jpg)
In 2010, Roger Ebert went so far as to vociferously claim, “Video games can never be art.” 1 This would have been unheard of a few years ago, not only because of the perceived childishness associated with games and play, but because games are often thought of as low-culture entertainment. But if you’ve been following trends in the arts lately, you may have noticed that museums around the world are embracing games by producing game-focused exhibitions, hosting special arcade events, and even adding games to their permanent collections. These phrases might sound familiar maybe you’ve even uttered them yourself.
![museum play org education game creation workshop museum play org education game creation workshop](https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/ProgramsLearning/schools-and-educators/2019-Art-Goes-To-School.jpg)
“I haven’t played games since I was a kid.” This type of collaboration is unprecedented for an art museum of SFMOMA’s scale, and it embodies many of the ideas highlighted in this report.
![museum play org education game creation workshop museum play org education game creation workshop](https://fabricworkshopandmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FWM_9698_LR.jpg)
In the coming months, a game designer will take up residence within the museum context to create an original game designed specifically for museum visitors. PlaySFMOMA, a new initiative that draws from this work, is an experiment designed to facilitate a more playful museum experience. In 2014, SFMOMA commissioned me to research games in museums, which resulted in the white paper Games for Museums, Museums for Games.