Museums are currently undergoing an identity crisis. In order to remain relevant in today’s society, museums are reevaluating and reinventing their role from a passive collection to a 21st century interactive experience. The jury is still out as to how this should be accomplished but games and other interactive media appear to hold promise. The power and allure of gaming to audiences is undeniable and many cultural institutions are wondering how to harness their potential or, as Jane McGonigal put it, “turn visitors into players.” Games can offer an immersive experience that many find impossible to resist but how do museums adapt these tools to promote their own agendas?
A multidisciplinary research initiative involving the departments of Cultural Resource Studies, Game Design and Development and New Media is exploring the intersection of games and museums. That games have the potential to teach and create immersive experiences is well documented. Less clear, however, is how they connect with the real world experience of museum collections. Can an online game change viewer attitudes towards a museum and increase attendance? Can online interactive media build context for the viewer so that they have an improved connection to the objects in the collection? Can games used within a museum improve visitor comfort levels and engagement with the collection?
Funding for projects in this initiative varies, and is drawn from a multitude of sources, including private donations, public funds in support of cultural institutions, internal funds, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, grants from NCPTT, and funding from the Library of Congress IMLS program and the Preserving Creative America Act (to name a few).