Building Community Through Video Games
Chris Totten reflects on how the gaming community around SAAM Arcade has grown since the first event debuted seven years ago
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SAAM Stories: SAAM Arcade
SAAM Arcade is an annual event that explores how video games act as a medium for expanding the way Americans tell and experience stories. SAAM is a leader in exploring the impact and artistry of video games and was one of the first art museums in the United States to acquire video games as part of its permanent collection. Video games create compelling participatory and social spaces imagined by artists and designers and activated by players whose individual interactions are uniquely required to complete the experience. Enjoy a series of blog posts that explore the artistry of gaming through the eyes of artists, independent developers, and gamers.
To learn more about SAAM Arcade 2021: Building Community, Embracing Individuality
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SAAM Arcade 2021: What Is a Game Jam?
SAAM Arcade is back with a new virtual program format, the museum’s first-ever Game Jam. Learn more about what a game jam is in this blog post!Categories -
SAAM Arcade: Focus on Women in the Video Games Industry
Five Questions with Renee Bates, visual development artist and professor at Ringling College of Art & DesignCategories -
SAAM Arcade: Game Changers
Celebrating the ratification of the 19th Amendment by highlighting women’s narratives and contributions to the video games industryCategories -
Game Over: Images from SAAM Arcade 2019
Gamers gonna game: taking a closer look at SAAM Arcade 2019Categories -
SAAM Arcade 2019: Representation Matters
This year's Arcade explores games that highlight voices from the LGBTQ+, mental health, and people of color communities.Categories -
SAAM Arcade 2019: Art, Video Games, and Empathy
SAAM Arcade, "Breaking Barriers," features diverse and inclusive video games by independent video game developers.Categories -
SAAM Arcade: Breaking Barriers
An interview with Tanya DePass, the founder of We Need Diverse Games, who will deliver the keynote at this year's SAAM Arcade.Categories -
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Get Your Game On: SAAM Arcade 2018
Congratulations are in order! We’re so excited to announce that we’ve selected fifteen incredible independent games to showcase at this year’s SAAM Arcade!Categories -
Submit your work for SAAM Arcade 2018: Game on!
It’s that time again! The Smithsonian American Art Museum is inviting all independent video game developers to submit their work to the museum's fourth annual SAAM Arcade.Categories -
Picture This: SAAM Arcade 2017
This past weekend, SAAM celebrated all that is good about video games when it hosted its annual SAAM Arcade. Almost 20,000 attended the two-day event held in the museum's Kogod Courtyard and throughout the museum. This is the third year SAAM has held this event as part of an ongoing initiative to showcase video games as an important part of our visual culture as well as study at the museum.Categories -
SAAM Arcade: Let the Video Games Begin
SAAM is turning into a video game arcade! On Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6, anyone can participate in game building workshops, hear musicians performing music inspired by classic Nintendo and Sega themes, and play more than 100 games.Categories -
District of Play: DC’s Vibrant Video Game Scene
Time's running out to submit your game to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's SAAM Arcade. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2017. Below, Dorothy Ann Phoenix of the International Game Developers Association's DC Chapter discusses the great opportunities available to gamers and game developers in DC.Categories -
Submit Your Game to the 2017 SAAM Arcade!
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is inviting independent video game developers to show their work at the museum's annual SAAM Arcade this August 5-6, 2017.Categories -
Video Games: SAAM's Indie Arcade
Chris Totten, a professor at American University's Game Lab, coordinator for January 16th's Indie Coast to Coast Competition as part of SAAM's Indie Arcade, and head of the Independent Game Developer's Association (IGDA's) D.C. chapter, recently wrote about the intersection of video games and art.Categories