Museum Game on the Wii
Posted in Museum Expansionism, Technology on 24. Mar, 2009
I had hoped that Majesco Entertainment’s game ESCAPE THE MUSEUM (via blogs.smithsonianmag.com) would be about a curator’s ambition for job satisfaction.
Apparently, the scenario is that you are curator Susan Anderson and you’re in the museum during a large earthquake. Everything is thrown onto the floor and there are puzzles to solve in order to save objects and get around the museum’s security systems.
Now, the large graphic on the front of the box says “Hidden Object Game”. Is that like the hidden objects games I used to play in Flash? Where you had to find almost a single pixel amongst a huge complicated image like the world’s most frustrating Where’s Wally? Wouldn’t know having not played the actual game.
It’s nice to see museums as settings in computer games. I can’t think of many times that has happened. I can only think of a GTA IV mission and the level from Condemned 2. Warning: The video in these links are ultra violent, contain naughty language and people getting killed in a variety of graphic ways. Strange how museum’s are typecast. The Condemned 2 video is interesting through, because it’s basically a guy walking around a museum with an advanced mobile phone. The game obviously works upon a set of location triggers. How hard could it be to make Condemned 2 in real life using augmented reality hardware? (Without, you know, the brutal murder and stuff).
Can anyone else think of museums in computer games?
This is kind of interesting to me because I’ve had a great idea for a computer game involving museums. But, I have no idea how one goes about getting ideas on paper. I can’t code or draw or make models, but I already have a framework of what the game in my mind. Can anyone help point me to a format of how to write/author a game?
Hey, thanks for linking to Around the Mall. According to a small article from Variety, the upcoming movie Night at the Museum 2 will be turned into a video game for Xbox 360 and possibly the Nintendo systems. I’ve also heard rumors of something for mobile phones as well.
I like your job satisfaction idea though. You should pitch that!
Night of the Museum 2 video game? So to add to psychotic murder or shoot outs, they’ll be artefacts coming to life and having a war?
When did museums become so violent?
>>Where you had to find almost a single pixel amongst a huge complicated image like the world’s most frustrating Where’s Wally?<<
That is exactly what is. Plus some puzzle solving to get into or out of rooms. Quite annoying and rather disappointing.
Thanks for that concise review!
…You bought it?
Here’s a museum modeled after Chicago’s Field Museum in Midway’s Stranglehold (2007)
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/14105
Here’s a screenshot from Sierra’s ‘The Dagger of Amon Ra,” set inside a musum
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/dagger-of-amon-ra/screenshots/gameShotId,302351/
Here’s a writeup about a game demo set in a museum:
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/leon.2009.42.2.133?journalCode=leon
And the game itself:
http://www.evl.uic.edu/spiff/class/cs426/projects/fall2006/Navi/pages/media.htm
Thanks for the headsup, I’ll check out the “Escape the Museum” game
I have it for PC. “Susan” must through all the debris filled rooms to get to har daughter and then get them both to safety.
She gets calls on her cell from her boss and has to save items in each room. But, of course they are crap and not important. Like “a paperclip” and not the sarcophagus toppling down the stairs. You do get hints and there are gems or coins to collect to get more points.
One room has a TRex skeleton and she has to located 15 hissen bones and the she has locate wire and a pulley and rig up a battering ram to get to the next room. There those kind of “exit puzzles” every few rooms.
http://makeitbigingames.com/2007/09/how-to-pitch-your-game/
Pitching a game is like pitching a tv or movie idea. You’s need to get your story together and first try to meet with a small gaming production company. If you can garner any interest they would know how to create a professional pitch and where to pitch it.
Where I live the Government offers a new media development fund and I could find a local production company via their site. Maybe there is a similar program where you are.
Cheers. That’s grand.