Skip to main content

Soon, the video game museum will have an exhibit dedicated to women

the strong museum announces women in games project two working an office feat
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, is a collections-based museum focused on the “exploration of play.” It hosts the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) and the World Video Game Hall of Fame — meaning it’s the place to go to experience anything to do with the history of computer gaming.

The museum has announced an upcoming Women in Games project aimed at recognizing the contributions of women in creating electronic games. The initiative will pull together and maintain materials that highlight the impact women have had on the gaming industry.

“Women have played major, if often underappreciated, roles in the development of both games and computing, the two streams of cultural and technological development that combined to produce the modern-day video game industry,” said Jon-Paul Dyson, director of ICHEG. “Women have indelibly shaped every aspect of the history of video games, and that story needs to be better documented and told.”

The Women in Games initiative will utilize the Strong Museum’s existing holdings, comprised of prototypes, games, design and marketing documents, correspondence, photographs, and other materials, and will add in new materials as well. Some of the more important collections include the Ken and Roberta Williams Sierra-Online collection, Her Interactive, Inc Collection, and the Atari Coin-Op Division Collection.

The project is being spearheaded by Shannon Symonds, ICHEG associate curator, who described the effort:

“The Strong’s Women in Games initiative will chronicle the many ways women have shaped the development of games, from design and production, to manufacturing and marketing, to consumption and criticism. We invite anyone with relevant materials, or who would like to help us tell this important story, to collaborate with us in a number of ways — from donating materials to underwriting programs.”

The Women in Games exhibit is schedule to open in September 2018, and will cater to the museum’s more than 2 million on-site and online visitors. To find out more about the Women in Games initiative, or to lend your support, you can contact Symonds.

Mark Coppock
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
Earth Defense Force 6 just removed its controversial requirement
The Diver class in Earth Defense Force 6.

While the response to Earth Defense Force 6, the latest in the gory sci-fi shooter series, has been generally positive, many PC users had complaints, specifically about how they were required to sign in with an Epic Games account to play online co-op.

The developers have good news for those players. On Thursday, developer Sandlot released a small update on Steam that removed that requirement. Now you can play online missions without the account. "This application has been modified so that you can play online missions without signing into your Epic Games Account," the post reads.

Read more
3 new Xbox Game Pass games you should play this weekend (October 4-6)
Sifu's main character at age 70 in Sifu.

Later this month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will receive its biggest day-one release ever with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Until then, we'll have to bide the time with other recently added Xbox Game Pass games. Thankfully, multiple games came to Microsoft's subscription service during Tokyo Game Show in September and one particular highlight just landed this week. If you're looking for something to play this weekend, these are the games you should be looking for on Xbox Game Pass.
Sifu
Sifu | Sloclap | Night Club Gameplay Teaser | PS4, PS5 & PC

Sloclap's Sifu is an intense action game with intricate hand-to-hand combat that feels like it could've been pulled right out of John Wick or a classic kung fu movie. It's incredibly satisfying for that reason alone, but Sifu's most unique hook happens when players die. With each death, players get a little more powerful but age up and lose a bit of health. This gives Sifu a one-of-a-kind difficulty curve because it gets easier and more difficult in different ways with each death. With lots of content and accessibility updates under its belt at this point, you'll have a fantastic time checking out the complete version of Sifu now if you've never played it before. Sifu is available to Game Pass subscribers across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It's also on PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie - Xbox Game Pass Trailer

Read more
3 new PS Plus games you should play this weekend (October 4-6)
Ellie and Riley look at each other in The Last of Us Part 1's version of Left Behind.

It's October, so it's finally time to start watching more horror movies and playing more horror video games to get in a spooky mood. Thankfully, recent additions to PS Plus are making it very easy to settle into that vibe. On top of that, a wrestling video game has just hit PlayStation Plus Essential ahead of the last big WWE events of the year. All of that has informed my picks for the three games PS Plus subscribers should check out this weekend.
The Last of Us Part I
The Last of Us Part I - Announce Trailer | PS5 Games

At this point, The Last of Us is so iconic that it needs little introduction. It was a landmark horror video game that set new standards for video game narrative with its tale about Joel and Ellie. It was originally released for PS3 in 2013 and remastered for PS4 in 2014. The Last of Us Part I is a remake built for PS5. It gives the entire game a visual overhaul and adds accessibility features and an overall game feel to bring the adventure more in line with its 2020 sequel. If you haven’t played The Last of Us yet, you need to try it out now that the definitive version of it is on PS Plus.

Read more