Following up from a few days and the blog about my trip to the opening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum – The Art Of Video Games exhibit, I had a chance to go through all the pictures, some taken with an iPhone and some with a real camera. Be warned though, if you take a look at all of these pictures, you’re going to see everything the exhibit has to offer – and if you’re planning on visiting it for yourself, well then, you might be disappointed. But if you don’t think you’ll get a chance to view the exhibit, either here in Washington D.C. or any of the other locations it will travel to…then you can take a look at this and see everything you would have if you had visited it firsthand. Also, just to note, the “Gamefest” activities continued on Saturday but since the Hideo Kojima event was already booked, I decided to skip out on the rest of it.

You can view the webcast here and the official Art of Video Games website here.

Hideo Kojima is considered one of the most important and innovative video game designers of his generation. Best known for the Metal Gear series, published by Konami, Kojima introduced a new cinematic style of video game that blended narrative, character development, and artful graphics. Join us for a fascinating conversation with a video game design master and The Art of Video Games curator, Chris Melissinos.

What follows is a walk thru of the exhibit, as expressed through photographs. I’ll leave my comments below some of the pictures. Also, the lighting in some areas didn't play nice for photography and because it was opening day for a big exhibit like this, it was hard not to get people in the pictures. Hope you enjoy them.

(You should have heard all the chatter from non-gamers walking by when they saw this sign.)

(I so wanted to grab this dude's hat.)

(Hmm. Let's see. Annie Leibovitz's Pilgrimage or The Art of Video Games exhibit. Too easy.)

(Busy but fun filled days.)

(The walk to the exhibit right after it opened.)

(All these pictures are legal.)

(Painted on the wall at the entrance. It's bigger than it looks.)

(Although some would say I am old, I want to be an old gamer like this guy. Yes, he was there for the exhibit.)

(The above four pics were all part of a looping five minute video that showed clips from games, old and new.)

(If you donate, your name gets added to the banner below.)

(The first room.)

(Had lots of artwork.)

(And some display cases. Wait, what? Halo 2600 on Atari?)

(Some other cool stuff from Ultima, A Bard's Tale and other games.)

(One of the video screens that showed interviews with big names in the industries.)

(These screens showed different gamers and their reactions to the same game.)

(The below few shots show off the five "playable" games.)

(The guy holding the mic is the curator of the exhibit and author of the book - Chris Melissinos.)

(The below screens are of the final room that show off all the consoles - each with four games.)

(The end of the exhibit.)

(Pioneers in the world of gaming - Chris Melissinos, Mike Mika, Keith Robinson, Rand Miller, and Don Daglow. Don't ask me who is who, I don't remember, but I think I have them in order.)

(Who would ever believe you'd see this kind of merchandise in the Smithsonian Institution gift shop?)

(Cutest salt and pepper shaker ever!)

I think this was a huge move for the video game industry to be taken more seriously by mainstream society. The exhibit even earned some national press attention with stories at MSNBC and CBS. Now, I think it is important to note that some gamers were critical of the exhibit…expressing concern over some games that weren’t even nominated (like Tetris and Grand Theft Auto). Trying to capture 40 years of gaming in a smaller exhibit is a daunting task, so of course there are going to be some gamers who are upset because their favorite game was left out.

Overall, I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, and not just because it was free, but because I think video games are art and quickly becoming one of the dominant forms of entertainment media. If you’re in the Washington D.C. area, it’s definitely a must see. I just don’t know if I would travel there just to see it.