ANNUAL INTO THE PIXEL AUCTION BEGINS

The annual Into the Pixel auction is underway on eBay. All proceeds from the auction will help promote future Into the Pixel collections, and benefit the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Foundation, a non-profit charitable arm of the AIAS, and the ESA Foundation.

Into the Pixel features a representative sampling of video game art, selected by a panel of jurors from a field of submissions. This year’s collection includes depictions of scenes from popular video games such as Broken Age, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, The Last of Us, Super Time Force, and Transistor. To bid on your favorite pieces, click here.

"Broken Age" by Nathan Stapley, from the popular Broken Age video game

VIDEO GAME MUSIC GAINS MASS ACCEPTANCE

Video game music is growing in popularity and gaining recognition as an artistic genre.

What began as simple melodies created with nascent sound synthesizers has blossomed into licensed, full orchestral pieces that are as integral to popular culture and are earning industry praise. Last year composer Austin Wintory’s soundtrack for the widely acclaimed title Journey became the first video game score to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media” category. Wintory’s album was honored alongside compositions by musical legends including John Williams, Howard Shore, and Hans Zimmer.

Composer Austin Wintory, whose soundtrack for Journey became the first video game score to be nominated for a Grammy Award

Academic institutions have also acknowledged this trend. In January, Youngstown State University’s (YSU) College of Creative Arts and Communication and Dana School of Music convened leading composers and academics to discuss the emerging genre for the inaugural North American Conference on Video Game Music. The event featured 19 presentations that analyzed video game scores, and examined interesting topics such as sounds, performance, melody, instrumentation and music technology.

“The study of video-game music is quickly emerging as a legitimate academic discipline,” said Steven Reale, assistant professor in YSU’s Dana School of Music and the lead organizer of the event. “Soundtracks for various video games serve to heighten the game’s story, amplify its interactivity, position it culturally, or serve as touchstones for music pedagogy.”

Additionally, renowned colleges and universities including New York University, Yale University, Berklee College of Music, and the New England Conservatory now offer classes that prepare students for careers in this field. Berklee College of Music, for example, offers minor degree concentrations in Video Game Scoring that includes classes about music techniques, orchestral mock-up production, and interactive scoring for video games.

From the Super Mario Brothers theme song to the 100-minute-long score for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, video game music has become increasingly sophisticated and emerged as a vibrant field for music students, composers, listeners, and gamers.

LIBRARIANS EMBRACE 8-BIT ARCHIVES

Librarians across the U.S. are collecting and archiving video games as a way to preserve classic works of art, and to encourage kids to visit their local libraries.

Librarians from the Minuteman Library Network, a consortium of 43 public and college libraries in MetroWest Massachusetts, believe archiving video games is as essential as collecting books, music, and film. In addition to understanding games’ artistic importance, the librarians recognize that video games have mass appeal and entertain visitors of all ages.

John Walsh, assistant reference supervisor at the Newton Free Library in Newton, MA, began collecting and lending video games nearly two years ago. Today, the library’s collection tops 400 titles ranging from educational games to blockbuster hits, and library patrons borrow games 10 times more frequently than books.

Other librarians from the Minuteman Network archive and lend video games to help highlight the positive impacts of game play. Amiee Villet, a young adult services coordinator at Robbins Library in Arlington, MA, views video game archiving as an educational service. “A lot of what video games are is problem solving. You’re helping your brain develop, even if you’re not realizing it,” Villet told The Boston Globe.

Major universities and even the federal government also have video game preservation programs. The Library of Congress conserves a growing collection of video games in its Moving Image Section, which includes more than 3,000 games for a variety of platforms and more than 1,500 strategy guides. In addition, the Library of Congress is funding The Preserving Virtual Worlds project, a series of studies headed by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, Stanford University, and Rochester Institute of Technology to explore methods for preserving digital games and interactive fiction. After the first phase of the project, researchers published a report that established a set of best practices and highlighted potential challenges to archiving the medium. The second phase of the project, which is underway, seeks to examine best practices for archiving educational titles and using virtualization technologies.

The Library of Congress’ Moving Image Section includes more than 3,000 video games and more than 1,500 strategy guides

As libraries across the country continue to preserve and lend video games, they will safeguard the digital era’s Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye, and ensure future generations continue to mine their local library shelves.

VIDEO GAME HELPS PREPARE TEAM USA HOCKEY FOR OLYMPIC GOLD

The U.S. men’s hockey program is using video games to help train current and future Olympic stars.

For the past five seasons, Team USA’s youth development players have used IntelliGym, a program resembling the 1980’s classic video game Asteroids that exercises players’ minds and prepares them for the psychological challenges of competition. Originally designed as a cognitive training program for Israeli pilots, IntelliGym requires players to move a triangle through a chaotic hockey rink past fast-moving obstacles and opponents.

Team USA players in Michigan playing IntelliGym

The game becomes more difficult and fast-paced as players advance, and requires them to take on new challenges such as making a minimum number of passes before shooting. These exercises help young players to hone critical cognitive skills, such as spatial awareness, perception, anticipation, concentration, poise, and pattern recognition, during crucial developmental stages to sharpen their “hockey sense” and prepare for the sport’s rigorous mental demands.

Team USA players start with twice weekly, 30-minute sessions individually tailored to their strengths and weaknesses. More challenging sessions often last up to 45 minutes and adapt to the player’s level of improvement. After each session, coaches receive players’ scores and use detailed data reports to help players strengthen their weaknesses. The results have been dramatic. Team USA won two of the past four world under-20 tournaments and four of the past five under-18 world titles after integrating IntelliGym into training regimens.

The IntelliGym program has also been tailored for other sports that require players to think under pressure. NCAA Division-I basketball teams from powerhouses including the University of Connecticut (UConn), University of Kentucky, and Memphis University, have used IntelliGym as a training tool.

UConn’s legendary Head Coach Jim Calhoun has praised the system and predicted that programs at every level will be quick to adopt it.

"The Basketball IntelliGym is revolutionary and any coach that will look at it will recognize immediately what it can do for his players,” Calhoun has said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if five years from now every college and pro team in the U.S. will have the IntelliGym Trainer as an integral component of its training system."

Spatial awareness and quick decision-making are key skills that often separate good players from great players. With the help of interactive and cognitive training games such as IntelliGym, players are preparing to compete at the highest level to achieve their goals and bring home Olympic gold.