Te Papa to showcase the best in gaming this summer

Forget dinosaurs, mummies and dead animals – Te Papa Museum is all about gaming this summer.

Well, maybe not ALL about gaming, but a new Game Masters exhibition will feature more than 120 playable games from the last 40 years.

Games in the exhibition will include Donkey Kong, The Sims, The Legend of Zelda, and Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as newer mobile games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

The aim is to profile a selection of some of the globe's most influential game designers including Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer and game-god himself Hideo Kojima.

On top of the playable games, visitors to the exhibition can also check out a custom-built gaming area with rare original game artwork, interviews with designers and huge interactive displays.

Three sections make up the exhibition: Arcade Heroes, which focuses on early gaming from the late 70s through to the 80s; Game Changers, a look at the most influential game designers of all time; and Indies, exploring the future of gaming and how independent games are becoming an ever-growing force in the industry.

Game Masters will also feature old-school classic Out Run, created by Sega genius Yu Suzuki in 1986; if you didn't know, Suzuki is the man behind such classics as Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing.

A Game Masters publication will be available for purchase and will feature more than 100 gaming images, designer profiles and essays.

I generally make a point of avoiding museums for fear that I will become educated, but this looks well worth a visit – it hits Wellington's Te Papa on December 15, with admission prices yet to be announced.

For more information visit http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/exhibitions/Pages/GameMasters.aspx