WORCESTER, Massachusetts — A new exhibit at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is taking visitors on a journey through video game history, and one retro game is grabbing attention.
What you need to know
- Video Game Console Wars is an exhibit at Worcester Polytechnic Institute that chronicles the history of video games.
- The exhibit spans the years 1976 to 2001, with a particular focus on Tetris this week as the game celebrates its 40th anniversary.
- Students and faculty say the game's simple design has made it timeless.
- The campus community has a friendly competition to see who can get the highest score.
“Video Game Console Wars,” organized by the school's Department of Interactive Media and Game Design, is an exhibit covering consoles and games from 1976 to 2001.
Arthur Carlson, WPI's university archivist, said it's hard not to feel a sense of nostalgia as you walk through the exhibit.
“The first console I played on was an Atari,” Carlson said. “My brother and his friends played on earlier consoles and stuff. It's really fun to relive a little bit of my childhood every time I come to work.”
But of all the classic games, none compare to Tetris, and this week the game celebrates its 40th anniversary, with the exhibition featuring the classic game on display alongside a playable copy for the Nintendo Entertainment System console.
Things are quiet around WPI during the summer holidays, but you'll likely find people chasing high scores, like Gillian McCuistion, WPI's Access and Outreach Archivist.
“It's a very unsettling game, but I love the simple game mechanics,” McQuistion said. “In terms of simple game mechanics, I think it's stood the test of time and has gone down in history as one of the most accessible games to play and the gold standard of video games.”
Earlier this year, a 13-year-old gamer became the first player to complete the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Tetris, completing so many levels that the console couldn't keep up.
“I think it's really amazing,” said Madeline Bethia, a game design student. “I saw some videos on YouTube about the history of the game and speedruns, and it's really cool to see people play this super old game so thoroughly.”
Meanwhile, Carlson currently holds the top score in a friendly competition between WPI students and faculty, and he's impressed himself.
“Apparently, he was playing a version of the game where the game couldn't process the memory,” Carlson said, “so essentially he never finished the game. He just couldn't move forward.”
While Tetris is getting a lot of attention as it celebrates its 40th anniversary, the exhibit is also an opportunity to look back at video game history and for WPI students to consider where video games can take us next.
“We want to use this as inspiration to respect the traditions of video game design but think about how we can push the boundaries, how we can make games more accessible, how we can make games more representative,” McQuistion said.
