p68, VENUES

"- When going online, you shouldn't try to emulate the experience of a physical event; instead, consider what you have to gain from the online experience.
- Online exhibits put the focus on the experience over the object . . . [I do not know what this means]
- Choose the software or tool based on your audience and the experience you want to create. . .
- Aim for a ludic experience. Find playful, dynamic ways of approaching the game experience. . . . for example, field trips to online games with a specific goal (scavenger hunts), virtual performances, ludic gatherings playgroups, or playful video calls."

Whew, lots of good advice about things I can't think about right now, but i"m going to read ONLINE as well as the online portion of VENUE...

Oh my god noo it's my chapter. I am not even going to read it. skip skip skip

Audience (p35-)

Some example audiences are discussed in this chapter.

"PROFESSIONALS . . not only those who make games for a living. . . [they] may work in many game-related industries . . . interested in educational workshops, skill-building events, and networking opportunities. . . . industry workers . . . may have vested interests in subjects such as worker rights issues in the game industry."

"GAMERS . . . [have] a high degree of game literacy, but often in specific games and genres. Gamers may become disinterested in games other than those they like."

"The ART AND CULTURE AUDIENCE is not motivated by an interest in games . . . instead . . . with a broader view of culture . . .
. . . venue (e.g. regular museum-goers[..]) . . . context ([..] a medium adjacent to their geek culture [..] the event for the party) . . .
While this audience often needs more game literacy mediation, their less stringent expectations may make them more interested in various games. . . . [these] audiences will judge included games not necessarily by "game standards" but rather by broader cultural comparisons."

"SPECIFIC IDENTITIES // An audience from a particular geographical location, ethnicity, class, gender, or cultural group may present unique curatorial challenges."

Themes (p29-)

VOICE
"who are you, and what do you care about?"
good advice

CONTEXT
where is the exhibition happening?
a question again of audience but also place. "the physical environment of your event presents practical limitations and thematically impacts what you choose to show." i ran into this with the mobile controls of droqever... how annoying!
who is it for?
"consider who else might be invested in the exhibition's narrative, personally, professionally, or even financially . . . weigh this carefully when funding opportunities arise. These constraints or directives may fundamentally alter the theme"
when is it happening?

VISION AND SCOPE
"Write a curatorial statement early in this process that clearly states your vision for the exhibition."

PURPOSE AND MEANING

A clear, concise statement for what you wish to convey . . . A theme as general as "the history of games" doesn't provide reasons to include one work over another

AUDIENCE

Considering who you're selecting for and presenting to . . . pout yourself in the shoes of who you're curating for; consider how you can satisfy and subvert theiryour expectations

Selection (p23-)

"- What is the purpose of your selection?
- Who is it for?
- What are your constraints?
- What process(es) should you use?"

i am remembering that part of the goal is to be curatable, something like that... make your own mixtapes, so to speak. how can i facilitate that if the games live on a website, if they exist in an immutable blob? hmm.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Budget (How long can you sustain the activity? What various expenses can you afford?)
- Venue
- Time (Are you scheduling for overlap with other events? Who will be responsible for promoting, documenting, and maintaining that documentation? Is there a plan to pass off these responsibilities?)
- Durability (Maintenance if things break)
- Safety (and accessibility)
- Programming (are there other events happening at the same time or esp. within the event? e.g. talks, parties, tours)
- Interpretation (themes, who will attend, how will you frame the work for your expected attendees)
- Participants (artists)
- Documentation (How do you hope people remember this activity, and what do you hope they learn from it? how do i hope i remember this activity, and what do i hope i learn from it? selfish motivation i am aware but as a self-curator i suppose it is what it is. solipsism and sonder.)

I am back from the examples, particularly biome[..]glitch.me and Don't Die. They have all the problems that I have had, personally, with droqever, and other real-world collections... There is too much work, a great deal of work, and none of it a thing of bottomless depth & craft. I am not sucked into the world of a smaller piece of work in a collection, and so perhaps a collection is not the right shape for something?

But, consider Rooftop Cop; I loved that game. I suppose it helped that there were things to get 'sucked into', not that each thing was meant to be played for a long time. Hmm.

"The format of video game curation can be highly varied, from one-night events, festivals, and temporary exhibitions, to permanent museum collections and archives. . . . Generally, formats are informed by what type of work you are curating, the venue in which you are presenting it, your target audience, and the duration of the activity."

Oh, there are some examples. This is great!